Tonight's slackers....

One family surgery, one mom with a stroke (okay, I do think this one is real and I feel bad), one flat tire, one flu, one ran out of gas, one family emergency, one family not being supportive of me returning to school, and two with no emails, calls, or text messages..... No I am NOT joking.   Oh, please, oh, please, let me go back to teaching master's students.  They are so much more creative with excuses.....

Get it all out of my head....

I got a call out of the blue from a large university for a tenure-track position.  I applied back 3 months ago to this generic ad.  I'm so excited I may pee on myself.  It's fairly close - only a few states away.  I have a phone interview tomorrow.  Hubby already making "moving" plans.  Uh, one step at a time, baby, one step at a time.

On another note, what's up with advisor not blogging?  Required for students, and told me I have to do it?!?  Hmmm......

Email from student

I am unable to attend tonights class due to a virus going through my home. It included headache, high fever, and bady ache. I don't want to take any chances of this spreding to anyone else. I had mad share of cleaning up throwup. Please send me any study material that is needed for the next class.

I love big text book companies....

As a student, they suck....I mean, paying $130 for a book only to have a new edition the next year so you couldn't sell it back???  However, now that I'm on the flip side, yeah expensive textbooks! :)  I don't actually think I have to teach ACCT after all....of course they have prepared PowerPoint slides, but now they have AUDIO enhanced PowerPoint slides!!!  Oh, yes, I get to just play them!!!  Let's add in the additional "video clips", course activities, and discussion questions, and there is quite little I need to do!  Yeah resources!!  Of course, I do need to dumb it all down, but hot damn, this is a time saver!!  Looking forward to testing it all out tomorrow!  Woop-woop!

OMFG!

Maybe I didn't need this blog after all. Students aren't SO bad...

Then I picked up additional adjunct positions at a private "college" (using quotation marks loosely). I'm teaching two classes - first year accounting & a freshman seminar. To get to know my acct students and understand their abilities, I gave them a little ungraded quiz on the first night. Three out of nine students defined liability as "insurance". And one answer to define asset was "big butt". Only one student got the 5 math problems correct (as in $15,000= x + $12,000 and 6% of $642 =___). One student didn't know how to use a calculator. Yes, I even handed out a 4 function calcuators to the group. They can text message, but don't know how to use my 4th grader's calculator..... Luckily I was told I only needed to teach 4 chapters in 15 weeks. That does not include the chapter on LIFO, FIFO, and averages. I decided to be adventurous and add that in. Second guessing that decision now.

Then there is the seminar class. I have three that are pregnant (out of the 21 students that actually showed up; out of that 6 are men). One is due in four weeks. Only one has a baby daddy. Four that showed up just registered and weren't on my roster. I have 11 other students that just didn't show up.

On the flip side, I'm teaching a masters level class again and it's awesome. I only have one whack student that got up in the middle of class to go move her car.

Kill me now...

Class project/paper. 5-7 pages. Had all semester to work on it. Reminded them. Let them out early to work on it.....

This student text messaged me to tell me she wasn't coming to class because she was sick. Also wanted to know how late she could email it to me and it still be "on time". Uh, that would be the minute class starts, like those turning in their papers! Late papers are 25% off first day, 50% second day, not accepted after that ---She sent hers at 11:44 at night. Sorry, 25% off.... Anyway here is her email...

Professor G, I fell asleep waiting for your text. It's the medication. I am attaching my homework problems and sending them to you but, I am not a great typists so my paper is taking a while. I will submit it tonite. I really haven't been focusing cause of my sickness. I have had to extend all of my assignments with my other instructors. One class I am averaging a D in so I really need this grade. Please bare with me. I have bronchitis on top of everything that I have been going through not to mention I am menustated for the second time in two weeks. One of my children are falling behind in his studies as well. I'm not having the best of luck.

*Another student, one currently getting an A in the class, completely forgot about the project and emailed me the night before and asked what grade she would get if she just didn't do it. Considering it's a test grade, that would mean a D. She came to class & turned nothing in then emailed me three pages of something around 11 pm. 25% off whatever grade those three pages would get you....

*Another student emailed his to me in an email. No, not as an attachement, an email.

Just when I think I've got it going on. Are you kidding me??

On other news, I got a call from another "school" asking me to adjunct. They want me to come in and do a 10-15 minute teaching demo. I was pretty much told that they are not a "diploma mill", but they strongly encourage their instructors to consider multiple ways to assess students to ensure strong passing grades. Also stated that, for example, you may only actually cover 4 chapters in Acct 1 and that would be just fine. Goodie. Let me see what I can come up with for my demo. How would I teach accounting to fourth graders? hmmm......

I think I'm selling my soul.

In a funk...

Have been to two meetings today. I think I'm just tired. Plus I have to teach tonight. Too much to do. Headache. Personal issues - Parent/teacher conference basically was a "talk" about how much my oldest daughter needs mom's attention and that she's okay academically but they're worried that I don't spend enough time with her. Are you kidding me? She is a needy kid, but let's not guilt me into being a bad mom. Of course, I sat there sobbing like a baby. What exactly do they want me to do? I'm sure they're going to love that I'll be across the country giving a national presentation when her class is doing their little program next week.

There's a family who lives around the corner who is mom-less right now. She was sent to training last year for several months, then came back only to leave again for a year. The military is paying for her to go to PA school. The dad is handling the two boys. I wonder if they guilt her? I also wonder about my friend who's husband worked two hours away and only came home on the weekends. He did that for two years and now is off in Kansas for military training. He's off to Afghanistan next. Are military people except from being "bad" parents??? Maybe just me because I have options.

The funny thing is I see my kids more now than I did when I worked full-time. I'd pick them up from daycare and often go to work on weekends to catch up. We didn't do a bunch of "fun stuff". Now I get them off the bus 2-3 days a week, they help me make dinner, we play a family board game at least once a week. Last weekend we went and played putt-putt and go-carting. My oldest needs lots of attention. She needs more one-on-one time. She probably needs to be put back on meds. I don't know. I guess back to the therapist/pediatrician. When she's sad, she pulls the "mom doesn't give me enough attention" and everyone coos over that because I don't come to every school function or field trip. Bite me. There is a dad in the picture. Hello....we're a two parent family.

Whatever.... on to other misc updates:

Advisor kept job (for now) but panicking due to enrollment. We'll be down to less than 20 students over the next three semesters. We'll be lucky to get 6 new enrollees during that time. I suggested (again) advertising. Shock! Now that we're desperate, we're going to do it. Well, in a half-assed sort of way - through emails to depts inside our university and to a few agencies/community colleges/organizations. Nothing over the top, but it may be enough to survive until they figure out what to do. Looks like it will move to full online program eventually. Serious talks. I'm glad I'll be finished and graduated.

My dissertation methodoloist is now Advisor. Dept Chair decided to get add on a different outside person, which means no methodologist. Add another person to the committee? No, he said she could do it. I told her today. I think she was happy, although faked the perturbed thing like "how dare he just assume...." You could tell she was excited. She said that I will have to do a lot of reading!! Woo-woo. It's an ethnography. Let's not get too crazy here.

Oh, and this was the email response to my question about my travel money for the conference:
I'm sorry to say that student travel was cut last year and hasn't been re-instated. I'm so sorry.