Okay, I'm not trying to get all Meta or anything, but I've just got to vent a bit about this blog itself. 'Cause I was a big fan of RYS, and am a fan of this page, yet if you met me you wouldn't know it. I'm a big hippy-dippy prof, and you'd probably think I was one of those gumdrop unicorns. And the truth is, I love this job with quite a lot of enthusiasm. I love going to work. I love teaching. I -- grade. I do that. But the rest of it, I pretty much love. Hell, I kind of like committee work. Seriously.But this is the weirdest, oddest, most unnatural career on earth, and it's also incredibly difficult and stress-enducing and the whole time you have to pretend that it's not. I get the dude who got naked. Some days, it's all I can do not to howl on the quad. Because professing is a strange gig indeed. And it's fun to vent about it, to share those weird frustrations with people who understand. It's also sometimes helpful to come here and go "oh, yeah, students will do that. That's in their nature. It's annoying, but I'm not alone in facing it."
So the smack downs are repetitive and the venting is old and a few posters are weird enough to make me wonder if security should be on speed dial at the compound. But that's the point: sharing this repetitive set of frustrations and being as weird as we gotta be.
Hiram has it right: he's baffled. I'm baffled. We're all baffled (except the trolls, who got the Truth). I'm glad you are too. And that's why I read this blog: to confirm that we're all pretty much baffled, and that's okay too.
I'm less baffled than annoyed, but the repetition or the "I can't believe this happened" doesn't bother me. I get it: we need a support system. And those who don't want to participate don't have to. There's no extra credit here (no credit at all, in fact).
ReplyDeleteThanks, PC!
My gig is cushier than most, so I hardly have REAL cause to complain, like most of the rest of you do. But even I get something out of vigorously nodding in recognition sometimes, apparently. So. Yeah.
ReplyDeleteI truly like this blog. Since I was made aware of RMS this past summer and migrated over here, I have enjoyed reading about the trials and travails of professors everywhere. I have tightened my syllabus to where a gnat's ass wouldn't have wiggle-room. I have learned questions/demands that students make/made and now have a ready answer/retort-especially the one about having a gym membership not guaranteeing flat abs. (I LOVE this one!)
ReplyDeleteMy students this semester have also tried several of the antics mentioned here previously on this blog, and being forewarned, I had a rather-well-thought-out-thanks-to-y'all retaliatory action. I'm not a real hard-ass, but I can stand my ground much more confidently, and the admins in my department stand behind me!
I have taught for several years now, but I can now "hone my craft" via this blog. For this I am very thankful.
Y'all rock!
I feel much the same way... as CrayonEater.
DeleteThese days I am approaching burnout, tired of trying to cajole students into doing work, or following up on research sources I suggest, or much of anything to be honest. And some of that goes for my colleagues too. These days I'm doing some real soul searching about what path my future might take, and here... I can let loose a little and not worry about repercussions should I care to curse like a sailor.
I'm thankful too.
The repetition is the nature of the beast. Same shit, different semester. I found this blog a few years ago and it was like finding water in the desert. It took me a long time to get the courage to comment, let alone to post because the people here are smart and funny and edgy. I share my office with a gum drop unicorn. We have nothing in common. I hate hir. I love this place.
ReplyDeleteI have watched so many beloved teachers and good friends retire early after stunning teaching careers because they cannot deal with all this dysfunction alone. Had I realized their situation earlier, I would have shown them our blog. But their retirements tell me that small released in the form of CM is very important to sustaining a long career. A career full of disappointments, plagiarists, sleepy students, annoying grad flakes, and all else.
ReplyDeleteI too love this blog.
Well said everyone! I'm posting some misery tomorrow. I'm all in.
ReplyDelete+1
ReplyDeleteMost of my colleagues are decent and most of my students work hard and don't whine that much. Then there are the others... which is why I read CM regularly.
Well said, Chiltepin.
ReplyDeleteI'm here because it's hard to find people who really understand this job. So many people can only meet it halfway -- including many who actually do the job. CMers just get it. That's really comforting at the end of a long day of lectures and snowflakery.
Amen.
ReplyDeleteMy feeling has been, if you don't like it, don't read it. If you don't understand it, you're probably not a proffie/student services person/anyone even remotely affiliated with academia, and this blog is not for you.
I come here for the same reasons everyone else does--so that I feel less alone as I struggle with the fuckwittery to which this profession is heir.
Another amen. I don't deal well with situations in which people are pretending things are more okay than they actually are (in part a matter of innate personality, and probably also the legacy of a childhood with a seriously-ill parent, and a certain amount of family denial of the seriousness of the situation). But I need to keep my job, at least until/unless I find something else that offers at least as much security, and at least as good a fit with my talents. Yes, I'm keeping my eyes open, but so far the possibilities that seem appealing (e.g. freelance writing) are even less secure and/or remunerative.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, as I was walking to my car late last night, I think I heard someone howling on the quad. Was that you, Chiltepin? Or is it just rush week?