tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post3873800428718659859..comments2024-01-28T03:35:51.182-05:00Comments on Reassigned Time: Colleagues and UniversitiesDr. Crazyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-58263625524365348842007-11-14T20:56:00.000-05:002007-11-14T20:56:00.000-05:00I know the kind of institution I would like to be ...I know the kind of institution I would like to be in is one with someone like Dr. Crazy on the faculty, since those ideas on the problem and a politically clever way to get some faculty to become more engaged match some of my concerns. <BR/><BR/>What bugs me sometimes is that there might be a person like Dr. Crazy on the other side of campus, but never found myself in a position to find out what that person really thinks. That might be true where you are, Crazy. Everyone nervously keeps their own counsel and fails to find like-minded souls at their own institution.Doctor Pionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-36401695313460820052007-11-14T19:23:00.000-05:002007-11-14T19:23:00.000-05:00wow. I just wanted to say I hear you; I think we ...wow. I just wanted to say I hear you; I think we are on the same page with regard to the way it ought to be, both in serving the lower third and what type of institution we'd like to be in.<BR/><BR/>I know that ideals aside, I have to settle for whatever job I get and work within that place to serve students the best I can.Field Noteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18372584643389870376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-81600868173013111702007-11-14T15:54:00.000-05:002007-11-14T15:54:00.000-05:00As a historian, I find this conversation very inte...As a historian, I find this conversation very interesting because even though it's not about comp/rhetoric, we have the same issues with surveys. When I interviewed and they told me I'd have to do World Civ, I thought and said 'sure!' because I'd have said yes to nearly anything to get a real job. Now, it is the most dreaded of my classes, and I teach a section every term. It's draining and I'm really burned out on it. And yeah, I've done things to counter the burn-out and they really haven't worked. So I keep trying. But I'd quit that class in an instant if I could.<BR/><BR/>And like Crazy, I'm not happy where I am geographically even though I like the SLAC, dept, and my home. I just don't want it to be in this state. Or, to be honest, in this country.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10849272391043604637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-2177954892681180052007-11-14T08:35:00.000-05:002007-11-14T08:35:00.000-05:00oh yes...I mean, my advisor has a 2-2 and one grad...oh yes...I mean, my advisor has a 2-2 and one graduate student. she has, comparatively speaking, nothing but time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-88002138411545388502007-11-13T22:22:00.000-05:002007-11-13T22:22:00.000-05:00Exactly! It's an issue oft discussed in comp/rhet...Exactly! It's an issue oft discussed in comp/rhet land. For all of the chatter about students' alleged inability to write, it is damn hard to convince people that students in writing courses should be taught by experts in the field. It is so hard to convince some (not you!) that the fact that a person writes well does not mean that s/he will be a good teacher of writing. Basically, I completely agree. <BR/><BR/>Oh, and I adore freshmen - especially in their first semester before they become jaded! Intermediate comp can be difficult because (at least where I am) it is very likely that students tested out of the first year writing course or have put off their sophomore-level writing req. until senior year. Students come in with a wide range of skills and many are so thoroughly invested in their major that gen ed reqs can seem like a hassle. I probably take a more radical approach than my peers here in that rather than having a traditional course theme, one version of my course has the theme writing from research - students write in different genres throughout the semester based on research (primary and secondary) about the topic of their choice. It is a nice little combo of my training in rhetoric, my mls, and their interests and engagement. But, everyone I know finds it a challenging course to teach. <BR/><BR/>My earlier comment was, I think, related to the fact that so many people associate comp/rhet with FYC and think that it is all we do. I think a general ignorance of the field does lead to some of the institutional problems. And, we are the most feminized part of the field. Susan Miller's book Textual Carnivals is a nice source for that issue.k8https://www.blogger.com/profile/07547334819703279971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-28277398719597839592007-11-13T20:58:00.000-05:002007-11-13T20:58:00.000-05:00Anastasia and Dr. Bad Ass: I just want to chime in...Anastasia and Dr. Bad Ass: I just want to chime in that I am in entire agreement with the passage that Anastasia quotes. I suppose what often frustrates me is that I am committed to providing that level of support, but the demands of my institution make it very difficult to keep that level of support as high as it should be. In other words, I do understand why people burn out here and why they stop, however they justify stopping to themselves. At the same time, I don't know how to love my job and to do that. And so there we are :)<BR/><BR/>K8 - I totally take your point that comp people don't just want to teach freshmen comp! Just as I wouldn't want four sections of intro to lit! (Actually, at my institution I've also taught an intermediate comp class that also fills a gen ed requirement, so I'm not really complaining about the "freshmen" aspect of my comp teaching, which in fact I enjoy much more than the intermediate class.)<BR/><BR/>See, that's the thing: if we really believe that composition is important, why do we tend to have non-specialists, adjunct labor, and grad students teaching the majority of courses in it? Would we do that for Shakespeare? (Um, no, we wouldn't.) Comp thus becomes a ghetto where very few people teaching it are committed to doing so and are energized by doing so, so students benefit less, and instructors *still* end up teaching writing in whatever their specializations (or disciplines).<BR/><BR/>If that's the case, then what is the *point* of composition? If we really care about composition, then we should acknowledge that it's really its own field and stop assuming that people trained in literary studies are "good enough"? If we don't think it matters, enough to fund a true composition program and faculty, then why require it of students at all?Dr. Crazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-83228869638225051722007-11-13T20:42:00.000-05:002007-11-13T20:42:00.000-05:00I really like your institution 'wants.' And, I th...I really like your institution 'wants.' And, I think it is safe to say that comp/rhet phd's want to teach more than freshman comp. [I know you didn't specify freshman comp, but that is what most assume the word composition to mean so I'm going with it] I love freshman comp classes, but I also like to teach intermediate and advanced composition, and my area of research specialization is literacy studies and print culture(s). <BR/><BR/>But anyway, I agree that people shouldn't have to teach in areas so far away from their specialization - these really are two very different parts of English studies. And the grad school/teaching composition exploitation, in my experience, leads to a lot of resentment towards gen. ed. students and composition in generally. And that, I think, doesn't help the situation from the first question/prompt - professors who resent their students. <BR/><BR/>And yes, it is very very important to have high expectations. I always had more respect for teachers/professors who expected more from me. I'll stop now - I could rant about that issue for a while.k8https://www.blogger.com/profile/07547334819703279971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-62511382415082006862007-11-13T20:39:00.000-05:002007-11-13T20:39:00.000-05:00"along with high expectations for your students, y..."along with high expectations for your students, you must also provide high levels of support to help them meet those expectations. Anything else (lower expectations, less support, etc.) is doing both your students and your self a disservice."<BR/><BR/>wow...yes. I so agree with that and it makes me all teary eyed about my advisor, who is all sorts of awesome for just this reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20099192.post-23036232457667354022007-11-13T19:48:00.000-05:002007-11-13T19:48:00.000-05:00I find your wish list for an institution interesti...I find your wish list for an institution interesting, as I sometimes think about applying for positions elsewhere. One of the things that keeps me from doing it is the idea of moving -- moving my books, my spouse, my cats -- buying a new house, etc. I can't do it again. For a while at least.<BR/><BR/>As to those bottom third of students that you describe, one thing that I repeat to my students (all secondary English education majors about to head out for their student teaching semester) is this mantra: Along with high expectations for your students, you must also provide high levels of support to help them meet those expectations. Anything else (lower expectations, less support, etc.) is doing both your students and your self a disservice.<BR/><BR/>So I'm with you on the importance of not dismissing those students and not coddling them.Dr. Bad Asshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13694462361265180016noreply@blogger.com