First, it's been a go-oo-ood year to be a Gator fan.
Second, did the Big Ten lay an egg in the major bowls this year, or what?
1.08.2007
MLA Report A
Thoughts on reading the Report from the "MLA Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion":
Good ideas buried and blunted in a document that reads very much like something that came out of an institutional committee. I have a lot of respect for John Guillory, both personally and professionally (especially since sitting under him at a Folger seminar a couple of years ago and after hearing him make an appeal along these same lines at MLA 2004), and I have appreciated Berube's words about the committee's intentions. I neither know nor have read anything by the other members of the committee. I believe they tried to do the right thing. Still, the firecrackers in here are pretty much smothered by committee-eese.
The most important things to come out of this report, in my mind:
1. Reevaluating the relative value of the monograph versus the article
2. Attempting to accommodate scholarly work in multiple formats and venues
3. Removing the amorphous "collegiality" criterion for tenure--a notion ripe for abuse, as several recent cases can attest
4. A reevaluation of the shape and purpose of the dissertation (i.e., perhaps everyone's not writing an embryonic monograph. see: Piers.)
This last point would have multiple ramifications, especially in tandem with the first point.
The problem, and the authors of the report somewhat lamely gesture toward it, is that the only way reform can take place is if top-level institutions (Ivy League schools, the top state institutions) adopt the recommendations. But I'm not sure what their incentive is, since current practices have served and continue to serve them quite well. If Berkeley or Harvard refuses to engage reform, then there's certainly no incentive for UNC or Duke to do so, and if they don't, then the UT system, where I work, certainly won't.
Points 19 and 20 in the summary recommendations say things like "The task force encourages discussion of. . . " and "Departments should undertake a comprehensive review. . . " Wow, calm down there, folks. Don't want to get too overheated! I recognize the report for what it is: it has multiple audiences, and certainly the priorities at this institution (where I work) are not and should not be the same as those at Indiana or Stanford. Still, reform is by its very nature hard to get going.
And since I left my annotated copy of the report at home, I'll have to close with this. To those of you who could not possibly care less about what the MLA does or doesn't say, my apologies. Carry on.
Good ideas buried and blunted in a document that reads very much like something that came out of an institutional committee. I have a lot of respect for John Guillory, both personally and professionally (especially since sitting under him at a Folger seminar a couple of years ago and after hearing him make an appeal along these same lines at MLA 2004), and I have appreciated Berube's words about the committee's intentions. I neither know nor have read anything by the other members of the committee. I believe they tried to do the right thing. Still, the firecrackers in here are pretty much smothered by committee-eese.
The most important things to come out of this report, in my mind:
1. Reevaluating the relative value of the monograph versus the article
2. Attempting to accommodate scholarly work in multiple formats and venues
3. Removing the amorphous "collegiality" criterion for tenure--a notion ripe for abuse, as several recent cases can attest
4. A reevaluation of the shape and purpose of the dissertation (i.e., perhaps everyone's not writing an embryonic monograph. see: Piers.)
This last point would have multiple ramifications, especially in tandem with the first point.
The problem, and the authors of the report somewhat lamely gesture toward it, is that the only way reform can take place is if top-level institutions (Ivy League schools, the top state institutions) adopt the recommendations. But I'm not sure what their incentive is, since current practices have served and continue to serve them quite well. If Berkeley or Harvard refuses to engage reform, then there's certainly no incentive for UNC or Duke to do so, and if they don't, then the UT system, where I work, certainly won't.
Points 19 and 20 in the summary recommendations say things like "The task force encourages discussion of. . . " and "Departments should undertake a comprehensive review. . . " Wow, calm down there, folks. Don't want to get too overheated! I recognize the report for what it is: it has multiple audiences, and certainly the priorities at this institution (where I work) are not and should not be the same as those at Indiana or Stanford. Still, reform is by its very nature hard to get going.
And since I left my annotated copy of the report at home, I'll have to close with this. To those of you who could not possibly care less about what the MLA does or doesn't say, my apologies. Carry on.
Ah, the trials of college
Here's an email (name deleted) from a student who got a C in my class this semester:
I still haven't heard back from you since my last e-mail. I know it's a lot to ask but if I was able to do some extra credit to pull off a B it would be great. I have just found out that my GPA might hold me back from being initiated. This is a problem because the reason my GPA was poor this semester was because of pledging and I feel this is a whole semester wasted. I hope you understand and hope to hear back from you.Won't be initiated because pledging made you a C student?? Feel like you wasted a semester? Now that's a compelling reason for a grade change!
1.04.2007
Waaaaaaah!
When entitlement meets Cry-zewski, this is what you get. I guarantee you that had they won that game (where was Redick The Wonder-Boy??), this wouldn't be an issue.
Duke's student senate voted last month to bar Chapel Hill's Robertson scholars from Krzyzewskiville, saying their actions ruined the game for many Duke students last season.
Cry me a river. How pathetic. Next they'll try to ban ALL Carolina supporters from Duke-UNC games held in Cameron.
Hmmm. . . any mention of University of New Jersey-Durham gets my knickers in a twist. Must be basketball season!
Hmmm. . . any mention of University of New Jersey-Durham gets my knickers in a twist. Must be basketball season!
Course Evals
Comments from course evals:
I cannot write a paper to save my life but he really helped me to understand how to do not as badly.
Hated Paradise Lost. Too much God stuff.
Short essay good, long essay bad.
1.02.2007
Back at work, happy new year and all that
- How about the end of that Boise St. - Oklahoma game? How about W and Piers going to bed after the OU interception with a minute to go in the game? How about W and Piers missing the most exciting finish to a bowl game in recent memory?
- Chilling, because she says "coercion," and because the movement has legs. Get ready to defend your sody pop, oreos and fried chicken with your life!
- I'm making it a point to read through the MLA's report on tenure, etc. I'll be curious to see the actual substance of the report rather than the Inside Higher Ed or Chronicle summaries. More comment to follow. I also note that they're moving the meetings to after January 2. Great idea, especially since Piers and W celebrate their anniversary on Dec. 28.
- Little Boy Report: Quoting parts of books like The Little Engine that Could (favorite with Pappy) and Percy's Chocolate Crunch (favorite with Honey) from memory. And he can 'read' Not a Box all the way through, R & S.
12.30.2006
12.29.2006
Super Spam Name of the Day
message from: "Toil J. Barbarian"
I mean, how can you not read that email?
I mean, how can you not read that email?
Ten Years
We have been married for ten years--our anniversary was yesterday. How is that possible? So very thankful to have been given this time.
12.14.2006
In Which Piers Shuts Off the Computer for a While
Tomorrow, Piers and family leave for the Grand Christmas Tour. The semester is over, so grade complaints can now start. What a good time to leave town!
12.12.2006
examblogging
Here I am, standing in front of my Brit Lit Survey students while they take their exam. The best part about giving these is watching the body language. Some are methodical test-takers--they plan out their answers, write slowly, seem calm. Others expostulate with themselves under their breath, roll their eyes, glance up a lot. Some write with their noses practically on the desk, while others almost recline (inasmuch as they can, in these wretched 'desks' we make college students sit in). Lots of cracking of knuckles, chewing of gum, stretching of writing hands. The women run their fingers through their hair or play with their ponytails. Some folks write the whole exam with their jacket on.
This is a bittersweet moment--some students I'm perfectly fine to see go, but there are others who are a joy to teach, and I probably won't see them again. There are also those who would have benefited from my help if they'd been willing to take it. Some I tried hard to help, but they proved impervious to my efforts, and I wonder what else I could have done. A few I'll see again, which is a new pleasure for me in this job: to follow students through an academic career, teaching them multiple times and each time with new (usually more sophisticated) material.
Whoa. Someone just asked herself a question, thought of the answer, nodded in the affirmative, then authoritatively wrote it down.
This is a bittersweet moment--some students I'm perfectly fine to see go, but there are others who are a joy to teach, and I probably won't see them again. There are also those who would have benefited from my help if they'd been willing to take it. Some I tried hard to help, but they proved impervious to my efforts, and I wonder what else I could have done. A few I'll see again, which is a new pleasure for me in this job: to follow students through an academic career, teaching them multiple times and each time with new (usually more sophisticated) material.
Whoa. Someone just asked herself a question, thought of the answer, nodded in the affirmative, then authoritatively wrote it down.
12.11.2006
After waking up at 3 am today
I am prepared to make the following observation: You remember when you were a child, and woke up sick in the middle of the night, and your parents were so efficient, comforting, in control of the situation?
lies! all lies!
They were actually completely unaware of what day of the week it was, or even of the name of their spouse. They probably had a splitting headache and felt like they had Honeybaked Hams for hands.
lies! all lies!
They were actually completely unaware of what day of the week it was, or even of the name of their spouse. They probably had a splitting headache and felt like they had Honeybaked Hams for hands.
12.06.2006
Thank goodness for the interwebs
Ah, mockery. Food for the weary soul.
You gotta read the commentary on the cover for Gaddis' The Recognitions. Link.
You gotta read the commentary on the cover for Gaddis' The Recognitions. Link.
In Which Piers Wonders What This Guy is Thinking
This morning, I returned the paper to that guy who'd obviously either copied or bought a paper (the one in APA style with sources we don't have in our library). Wanting to see what he'd say, I call him out in the hall . . .
Okay, now, I've got a question--this doesn't seem like your work. It's not, is it?
Not exactly.
Because this is your first term, I'm going to give you a break here. If you turn in something by Friday that is your own work, I'll not give you the zero that you're going to get.
Well, this zero is worth five percent, right?
Right. But let me explain that you really need to not do this--I'm giving you a chance to make it right, but if you do it again, your professor will nail your butt to the wall.
(Student shows signs of agitation; lip quivering) now wait a minute--I didn't plagiarize; they wrote it for me.
(klaxons going off in Piers' head) But see, that's worse! You just can't go around buying papers! I'm trying to help you out here, but it's your choice. Alright?
(sullenly) alright.
Geez. I don't want to deal with this sh!te. I just want these yahoos (this guy, and two others in my other class) to go away. On the bright side, at least I can say that I've been passed a 'bought paper.'
Okay, now, I've got a question--this doesn't seem like your work. It's not, is it?
Not exactly.
Because this is your first term, I'm going to give you a break here. If you turn in something by Friday that is your own work, I'll not give you the zero that you're going to get.
Well, this zero is worth five percent, right?
Right. But let me explain that you really need to not do this--I'm giving you a chance to make it right, but if you do it again, your professor will nail your butt to the wall.
(Student shows signs of agitation; lip quivering) now wait a minute--I didn't plagiarize; they wrote it for me.
(klaxons going off in Piers' head) But see, that's worse! You just can't go around buying papers! I'm trying to help you out here, but it's your choice. Alright?
(sullenly) alright.
Geez. I don't want to deal with this sh!te. I just want these yahoos (this guy, and two others in my other class) to go away. On the bright side, at least I can say that I've been passed a 'bought paper.'
12.05.2006
Oh, hooray.
New York City has 'banned' Trans Fats. Reminds me of that Simpsons episode (#818, "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment") where Marge decides that the town needs to ban alcohol: Homer becomes a "Beer Baron," making the liquor in the basement of his house and transferring it secretly to Moe's Tavern.
I can see it now: Cars coming into Manhattan stopped and checked for Krispy Kremes! Clandestine "blubber-easies" where folks can get their secret fix of margarine! Stockpiled Oreos! A run on saltine crackers! KFC biscuits? None for you, Mr. Heart-Disease-Ticking- Timebomb! McDonald's will probably start greasing the palms of the Trans-Fat Inspectors--or better yet, they can just arrange for the UN (who, after all, has its headquarters right in town) to arrange for inspection of "suspected trans-fat sites," thereby assuring that there'll be no enforcement at all!
Next thing you know, they'll be coming for the sody-pop and the beer. Causes flabby thighs, beer goggles, and bad breath, you know.
I can see it now: Cars coming into Manhattan stopped and checked for Krispy Kremes! Clandestine "blubber-easies" where folks can get their secret fix of margarine! Stockpiled Oreos! A run on saltine crackers! KFC biscuits? None for you, Mr. Heart-Disease-Ticking- Timebomb! McDonald's will probably start greasing the palms of the Trans-Fat Inspectors--or better yet, they can just arrange for the UN (who, after all, has its headquarters right in town) to arrange for inspection of "suspected trans-fat sites," thereby assuring that there'll be no enforcement at all!
Next thing you know, they'll be coming for the sody-pop and the beer. Causes flabby thighs, beer goggles, and bad breath, you know.
talk about your good choices
Eleven years ago today (!) I asked her to marry me.
Is it possible the time can pass that quickly? I still remember the first time I laid eyes on her.
Is it possible the time can pass that quickly? I still remember the first time I laid eyes on her.
12.04.2006
It's a Monday
W woke up cranky, because Sidney and Simon and Piers nearly crowded her out of the bed last night.
The Little Boy woke up really cranky, because he doesn't feel well. He had a full-fledged fit when Piers tried to change him out of his PJ's this morning. Then he wanted to sit in my lap and have me hold him--even though I had to get to work.
Piers has a splitting headache and some numbskulls for students. The latest paper for one student features 6 resources we don't have in our library, and is documented extensively & perfectly in APA style.
Today's car care report: one oil change, one new battery, and four new tires.
And it's cold.
The Little Boy woke up really cranky, because he doesn't feel well. He had a full-fledged fit when Piers tried to change him out of his PJ's this morning. Then he wanted to sit in my lap and have me hold him--even though I had to get to work.
Piers has a splitting headache and some numbskulls for students. The latest paper for one student features 6 resources we don't have in our library, and is documented extensively & perfectly in APA style.
Today's car care report: one oil change, one new battery, and four new tires.
And it's cold.
12.01.2006
Life with a Toddler, Vol. 20
Tonight, we sent The Little Boy to bed after his dinner, and we ate late. We were just sitting, talking over the novelty of a quiet dinner, when I hear a sound from the hallway indicating that The Little Boy has opened his bedroom door yet again (for the third time or so). I go back to investigate, flicking on the hall light as I walk toward his room.
What should greet me but a stark naked Little Boy, standing in his doorway with a little wet spot on the carpet. Trying not to laugh out loud, I call for W. She walks back and bursts into laughter.
What are you doing, buddy?
I took dipow off. I teetee on fwoor.
You took your diaper off and you tee-teed on the floor?
Yessrr
Where is tee-tee supposed to go?
Potty
Do you want to go tee-tee in the potty?
Yessrr
So off we go, while W gathers up the discarded diaper and the shed pajamas. We clothe him, tuck him back in bed, and tell him to stay put. Then we return to finish our dinner.
What should greet me but a stark naked Little Boy, standing in his doorway with a little wet spot on the carpet. Trying not to laugh out loud, I call for W. She walks back and bursts into laughter.
What are you doing, buddy?
I took dipow off. I teetee on fwoor.
You took your diaper off and you tee-teed on the floor?
Yessrr
Where is tee-tee supposed to go?
Potty
Do you want to go tee-tee in the potty?
Yessrr
So off we go, while W gathers up the discarded diaper and the shed pajamas. We clothe him, tuck him back in bed, and tell him to stay put. Then we return to finish our dinner.
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