Not here to be liked

So my final is in progress right now. I'm flooded with interesting questions. One student didn't write a certain equation on his equation sheet, so he doesn't know how to do an entire problem. I'm not sure what I can do for him, because well, he wanted the equation sheet. He just thinks that he's supposed to get whatever he wants, and he has asked me three times for the equation. Sigh.

Another student made me kind of want to cry, as he looked like he was about to when he came in saying that he had no clue how to do any of the problems. He was wondering what his grade was, and quite honestly he isn't the best in the class but he does pretty well. But he looked like he was going to burst into tears so I felt really terrible.

Finally, I ran into the chair of the department in the hall, and he asked when my final was. I said it was going on now, and that the students seemed to be thinking it was a bit too hard. His response was, "Then they're not going to like you." I felt like saying that I wasn't here to be liked, but instead to teach. Instead I just said that they'd already filled out the evaluations, so...

And now a bunch of the students hung out with me in my office, decorating my board. I think they've snapped, and really really need a break. I know I do.

Chilly in two ways

Finals have officially begun here, and as such it is very quiet. The few students you see around are walking silently, and any classroom that is full is perfectly silent. Very few faculty are around (given that all of my colleagues live in the 'burbs, they only come in if they really have to), and it's a little depressing. Then there's the bitter cold outside, which is biting.

I would have worked from home today but I have a review session this afternoon. It's kind of an interesting scenario. My students always want a review session during class, which I refuse to do. Primarily it's because there's a lot I want to cover, and having the review during classtime ruins that. Of course it backfires a bit on me, since it means I have to give a review session on my own time. In the end though it is worth it. I guess.

Either way I'm ready for the semester to be over. I'll get to teach a completely different class next semester (with mostly the same students), so that'll be a nice change.

Random thoughts

• When you have a 27 inch monitor, it's a little freaky when the background picture has your face which is practically actual size.



• A weekend spent watching reruns of Buffy, season three, is a worthwhile one indeed. Except for the need to finish off the season when there are real things that I'm supposed to be doing.



• Campus is always very quiet during reading week, and I find it is disturbing. This is nothing new, but I revisit this eery feeling. It's different than during actual breaks like winter and summer breaks. At those times, the students are just not around. Now they are, but they are all hiding and freaking out about their exams.



• The chicken and rice guy near campus here is not the greatest. I miss the one at 120th & Broadway. Here, he thinks that if you ask for hot sauce, you want to be crying while you eat. There was more hot sauce than chicken or rice, and it was a rather painful meal.



• I need to do all this analysis and am totally not in the mood. So instead, I'm sitting here thinking of random thoughts, trying to forget that I am far far from having tenure.

Class art project

I assigned my class an art project a few weeks ago. Yes, a science art project.

Actually, it was designed as a way to mildly torture them before Thanksgiving. I told them the Monday before the holiday that they would have a new homework posted online due the following Monday. That of course meant they had work to do over the holiday, and they kept begging me to change the due date but I held firm.

The actual homework was "Do something creative (write a story, poem, draw something, etc.) that relates to your favorite topic discussed in class so far." This brought in a ton of fun things like poems and paintings and I think the students spent more time on this than any other homework. And it really was a ton of fun.

And it's becoming something that has gotten several seniors come into my office to look at them, because everyone heard about them. I have to say it is kind of fun, and actually I think there was some learning that went on there, given the fact that they still had to think about what they were doing.

So yeah, I have to say as "kindergarten-ish" as it is, it was such fun that I believe it'll be a regular thing in my classes...

Alone again

So the Thanksgiving weekend was a lot of fun, and C is on his way back upstate. That's of course the bad part. But overall everything was great.

He arrived Wednesday night and we had delicious Mexican food. Thursday of course we had dinner with Maggie (I prepared a chicken instead of a turkey just for fewer leftovers), and watched White Christmas (my favorite holiday movie of all time). Friday we went with Mags to see Burlesque (it was an okay movie but not spectacular...), and at night after she left we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant in my neighborhood (courtesy of 1/10th of our wedding present from his sister, thanks Bran!), which was also fantastic. At night then we watched Scott Pilgrim vs the World, which was fun but about ten minutes too long.

Yesterday we got new cell phones, had wings for lunch, and saw Harry Potter (after dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant near Lincoln Center). That was sort of miserable because there was this horrible woman behind me that was a total b. She first complained because I didn't lean forward to let people get by her (since she apparantly couldn't get up because she's just that perfect). Then right when the movie began, I shifted and she started kicking my seat, and I heard her say to her friend, "He keeps pushing back!" I turned and said, "I was just adjusting myself, I'm sorry!" But she kept sighing anytime I moved and I fought every urge I had to just lean as far back as I could. I'm sorry, there is no way she didn't have enough room for her legs, the woman was 5 feet tall. I really hope the whole movie was ruined for her.

But the movie itself was good, although we really should have rewatched the previous one, since I hadn't seen that since it came out...

I'll get used to it, eventually...

I'm still having issues being referred to as "Professor." It's not that I mind it, but it is taking a lot of getting used to. Sure, there were times when I was called that before I actually became one, but then it was just kind of funny, since obviously someone was making a silly mistake.

I've made my way out of the city and will be giving a talk tomorrow at huge-public-university-in-ridiculously-tiny-town, and on the departmental website there is a notification of my talk, with the prefix, "Prof." in front of my name. I was used to "Dr.", although that too took some time to get used to. This will be the first seminar I give officially with that title, so my intro will include this latest step in my academic journey.

But it reminds me of how odd it has been all semester for students to call out "Professor?" when they have a question in class (I imagine these are times when I've had my back to them for such a long time that having their hand up to wait for me to turn around and call on them just served the purpose of making their arm go numb). Or when they walk into my office and say, "Professor, can I talk to you for a minute?" It's odd and strange, and I don't think it really fits me, but alas, there it is.

I think I would get used to it faster if I didn't make certain references in class that make half the class turn red from embarassment. Who am I kidding, that'll never happen.

Why I take issue with sports

It's not a huge secret that I'm not a big fan of sports. I understand why people like them, and I have had fun at sporting events. (Watching them on TV is still a mystery to me, but that's a different story.) Of course, I won't ever jump on the chance to watch a game, but that's not the point. Right now I'm more interested in college sports. That is, to discuss them.

And really, I mean to discuss them in the context of a school that is not very big in sports (like the school I currently am at). I have several students involved in sports, and of course that requires them to miss class once in a while. My policy in terms of missing class is, "Go ahead, you can miss every class you want, so long as the work gets done." In other words, I don't care if you have a "note" excusing you from class, because either way, you missed what we discussed and it is your job to get the notes and still keep up in class. Along with this policy is of course the fact that despite official office hours, if I'm in my office and you have questions, I will be more than willing to work with you.

That having been said, I am distressed by the following (not terribly hypothetical) scenario. A student is not doing too well in class, and this student is on two different sports teams. I won't say which sports but suffice to say, they are the sports that make people riot when their team loses. This student has made little comments that rather irk me (For example when I jokingly referred to the idea of extending the class time by twenty minutes this student's response was, "I'm already missing twenty minutes of practice just for this class." One thing to note is that this is a class in his major, not just some general requirement for graduation.), but that's not the issue.

The problem is that this student is in danger of failing this class. Primarily it is due to not turning in work, and when doing so, not really understanding the material. From this fear, the student has come to me to ask for two meetings a week to work through everything. I commended this, and was more than willing to put aside time for this. However, twice now the student has canceled because of sports (both times at the last minute).

Now my main issue: If you are failing in a class that is your major, then perhaps in addition to your full course load you should not be playing in two different sports (especially if it is your senior year and you don't want to spend an extra semester here). While I know college is not just about "them thar book-learnin'," I do know that academics are ultimately priority one. I don't care that athletics bring in money (because that money is always earmarked for more athletics-related things, and never used for academics, and it bugs me that universities are more interested in the overall income of the school, so they feed into it), because quite honestly, it is just a game for crying out loud.