jliedl.ca

a deluge of marking.

a rash of meeting requests.

a report of overnight snowflakes. Ugh!

My sabbatical proposal is due the end of the month!

Sadly, I won’t be on sabbatical until January 2011 if this gets approved, but if I miss the deadline, I won’t even have a ghost of a chance so I’d best get cracking, eh?

ETA: Finished, Sunday at 4:20pm.

hearing someone praise your writing. Oh, yes, you can colour me happy this week! I appreciate it so much when editors and reviewers say that of my work. (And, not to brag, but they frequently do.)

I should remember to ensure that my students who write well (and there are many!), hear those same words coming from me. It’s so easy to just circle pithy phrases and finish off the marking with a “Great job!” that’s pretty noncommittal. That tactic’s tempting when there are still dozens of papers to push through in a pile of marking.

However, taking the moment to note that “This was extremely well-written!” or to highlight an unexpectedly virtuoso piece of research? That makes the difference between a promising student tuning out and igniting the incandescent glow of “I can do this!”

I want one of these or these. Since I haven’t had a watch to wear since youngest accidentally slammed my wrist into a car door this summer, that’s totally justified coveting, isn’t it?

In the world of entertainment, I’m yearning for this unfairly cancelled SF TV series on DVD, this screwball mystery TV series on DVD and this lame superhero angst-fest season also available on DVD.

And there are so many books that I’d love to read. The Mislaid Magician is just one of many.

So don’t say that I don’t ever give you inspiration on something to covet for yourself or on my behalf!

The local newspaper tells me to expect major construction delays on the one route to the university tomorrow as crews roll out more asphalt. I’d be happy if this signalled the end of construction but they’re expected to keep working on the road until November (although my particular commute will not be so badly affected by the remainder of the construction). The last time they rolled out the asphalt (on the other side of the street) it took us forty minutes to cover the five kilometres between our house and the U.

On the upside, this summer-long construction project goes a long way to making a reality of the Canadian proverb: “There are only two seasons in Canada: winter and construction.”

I’ll pack a few snacks along with my bag lunch since I figure the traffic will be horrendous. Hopefully I can make it from youngest’s school to campus (not quite three kilometres) in less than an hour and a half or I’ll be forced to cancel the morning class. As it is, I’m pretty sure that a lot of students won’t make it in for ten!

We’ve gone through the whole first week of classes and now, on my second Thursday of the term, I can sagely and unconditionally say that Thursdays suck.

My students? They’re awesome (particularly the first year students who are eager to contribute to the discussion).

My classes? Fun topics to teach.

But Thursday just wipes the floor with me, from the 5 mile trip from home to the office which mysteriously becomes a 40-minute trip thanks to extra construction zaniness, all the way through the loss of charge on my cell in the middle of my second class (I still haven’t replaced my wristwatch so I rely on my cell to be my timepiece, except when it powers down). Extra bonus points for having to figure out a last-minute commute out on the bus (which I magically managed to catch in time to meet up with husband and youngest child at her school pick-up). And walk all over heck and gone in fairly uncomfortable dress shoes.

I am never wearing heels again on a Thursday, this much I know!

I like editing other people’s writing. Really!

Seriously, I really enjoy transforming pages of mind-numbing academic-speak into something with a little more “snap”. It’s most fun to polish the writing of peers whose work only needs a bit of improvement. Student work more often is a challenge, especially in those cases where I can’t quite discern the point of the whole composition.

I’m avoiding editing my own writing at the moment, mostly because I’m afraid it will read more like the latter than the former. But I’ll have to bite the bullet and get going on the project tomorrow. Ready or not, red pen time is coming!

The conundrum of the first week of classes is that I’m usually overwhelming the student with background information needed to support the in-depth and thoughtful treatment of later classes. If we draw out the background, we’re a bit more relaxed but we’ll have lost about a quarter of the course to something that isn’t even in the description.

So “Western Civilization, Renaissance to French Revolution” is suffering this week through our galloping survey of the late Middle Ages. Even if I edit it severely (and I do), to cover key elements of religious and political history in one session is pure misery as I sacrifice this, that and the other thing in order to get it done. Read more »

Today, three of us left for the grade school quite early. We had an eight o’clock meeting to plan out autistic youngest’s school year program and goals. Many matters were tackled: our request that the school initiate the re-evaluation process so that when she’s aiming towards post-secondary education we have an up-to-date diagnosis and detailed assessment; plans for integration in one more subject than last year’s successful venture; a proposal that youngest be equipped with a laptop instead of searching down the missing and antiquated desktop that she’s used in the past.

Most importantly, there was a new person at the table, expressing opinions and drawing out some plans: youngest. Read more »

That’s the feeling of getting back in the classroom. Not that my students are trouble (on the contrary, my first year class exceeded expectations with their informed and lively discussion contributions). No, it’s the sheer scale of everything and the overwhelming time demands. And the effort of projecting my voice in two cavernous classrooms.

Mostly, it’s about time management. Even if I’m only spending three hours in the classroom, I struggle to claim ten minutes for my own use during the day. (Note to self: close doors when it’ s not office hours. And post a copy of your office hours schedule on your office door. Which still has the previous occupant’s name. But the powers-that-be have issued a work order to change the nameplate, so we have hope. Even if I have no such hope for the telephone extension to be corrected, despite that being authorized twice over.)

At least we went ahead and placed some caps on both of my super-sized classes. So there are only nine spaces left in the western civ class and two spots for the Ancient Near East survey. Even though there are actually more seats in both classrooms, the students are finding it tough to actually find seats and I’ll find it easier to keep on top of marking if I don’t have to worry about accommodating another 42 students the classrooms could theoretically hold.