I've noticed
a few people have been asking readers to ask them questions in order to generate ideas for what to post about. Maybe it's just that time of the semester, when we're all fried and when coming up with material for our humble blogs takes a backseat to other things. I can tell you what I've been doing other than writing scintillating blog posts:
- Book manuscript crap. All of the boring editing and formatting and irritating crap that takes tons of time and yet isn't really rewarding.
- Grading. Mountains of grading.
- Laundry.
- Having many, many phone conversations about topics ranging from boys to publication to job market woes to the fact that my mom thinks my cousin's baby is stupid (he just turned one, but apparently the bulb of his intellect, it does not shine brightly, and yes, my mother is the sort of person to note a baby's stupidity), and other things too intriguing to publicize on a blog.
- Advising.
- Beginning work on the MLA paper.
- Thinking about the (I hope final) revision I've got to do on that collection essay.
- Cooking.
- Ruminating about what the hell my future will hold shall the job market be a bust.
I keep thinking that something will come up that will just inspire a real post, and yet, nothing comes up. Or, rather, things come up, but then I'm not quite sure how to translate them into Dr. Crazy Lingo. And I've avoided turning to you all for topics, because a) I felt like it would make me a copycat and b) I can't imagine what anybody would want me to answer that I've not posted about already at some point over the past three years. And yet, after sitting here for what seems like an age and trying to come up with something on my own... I'm caving. Ask away, folks. I'll do my very best to answer, or at the very least to avoid answering in ways that are fun to read :)
4 comments:
Hey, maybe you could write about whether employed people should go on the job market?! *grins*
Okay, how about this for a topic...What do you do with colleagues who don't seem to like students? They just want to spend all their time and energy on the best and brightest, the ones we don't have to teach because they critically engage the books and come to class already knowing more than we might teach them. As for those students who don't look right or act right or speak or write correctly, they basically ignore them or castigate them. They spend the rest of their time bemoaning "falling standards." What do you do besides wait for them to retire??
Another question on my mind: How do you delicately tell a student you can't give them a recommendation to grad school?
I'm going to deviate from the academic questions 'cause I'm trying to overwhelm myself with those thoughts just now. So, something a bit more basic: if you were making the soundtrack to your life, what would the major acts be and what one song would represent them?
Could you write something about coming from a working class background? If you feel like talking about academic stuff, I'd like to know what you say when you get asked what your family does.
I would have asked earlier but I was feeling too lame to post anything anywhere.
Here's a question: if you could choose what kind of University you wanted to work at, what would it look like and where would it ideally be?
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