Is There Something Going On That We Don't Know About? An Academic Rapture?
Terry P., the Tweetie-Domo writes: "I could post one of these every hour. This latest batch doesn't even mention cancelled classes, just proffies 'not showing up.' It's an epidemic. I'm such a sap; I've been in class all week."
I fully understand that my reputation is as a blowhard and a crank, but goddammit, son, I do my work. I don't have the kind of lab I do without a ton of goddamn work, and the TAs who work for me learn that work ethic as well because they're with me 24 months and I place those mothers in good positions both in and out of the institution.
But this cancelling class shit makes me crazy.
I may blast Foghat in my car too much, and shoot a few too many rounds at the range, and drink a bit too much on the weekends, but dammit, man, I'm in my fucking classes when they meet.
And I'd need to have an aneurysm to keep me from doing the fucking job. I may hate the way this fine fucking institution is run by the puny brains, but I'm in my class or my lab when I'm supposed to be.
This Twitter shit pisses me off. Why do proffies have a bad rep? It's because of shit like this. Of course the kids disrespect these assholes who blow off early semester classes. Of course they think we're weak.
And of course it takes the rest of us some real fucking time to get them back in shape for our own classes that have deadlines and meetings and requirements.
I may play a crazzy fucker on the blog, but I'm 100% behind kicking the asses of any professor who simply doesn't show for a class. This is some kind of bullshit.
Cal, put some Molly Hatchet in the tape deck and come and pick me up. I'll be at Icenhauer's on Rainey Street after class today. We'll spend a couple of days tracking down some of these douchebags and we'll kick a little ass. (Oh, wait, you're not GOLFING, are you? Well, if you can't do it, Leslie K and I will do it ourselves.)
Is anyone else thinking that the problem might not be the professors, but rather that these annoying twit-bags all showed up to "class" on the wrong day? I mean, it is statistically more likely to be the case.
I've had students email me from the wrong classroom asking why class isn't meeting there, but enough profs didn't show up that it was this obvious? Did they perhaps email the students the syllabus and tell them to read that instead of coming to class?
I, too, have been thinking that this phenomenon is probably fed at least in part by snowflake cluelessness and/or administrative snafus, but that doesn't explain the "proffie canceled class" tweets. And, like Walter, I am *not* down with that. If the canceling professors are tenure-track (or even full-time), how dare they, when others would kill for their jobs? And if they're adjuncts, yes, the job sucks, but if you take it, you do it. If you don't want to do it, then find another job. Sadly, it's not that hard to find one with equal or better pay.
The Division-III state university where I teach is located in Upper Midwest, and nearly every one at this university is from around here. So everyone has seen winter before.
Two years ago, in late March, after we'd all thought spring was here to stay, we got 4 inches of snow dumped on us in the morning. And all that morning I had half a dozen students, of varying class standing and program, asking me if I was going to cancel class because all their other professors had. This was the first of many clues I have since received that this a Pretend University which only exists to provide workfare for locals who stayed home for college.
Well, if you later recover the class... Many of my students are parents for whom it's impossible to attend class when the School District closes down the schools and send the children home.
Do we know if any CMers have been raptured? I guess I'm not surprised that I'm still here.
ReplyDeleteI fully understand that my reputation is as a blowhard and a crank, but goddammit, son, I do my work. I don't have the kind of lab I do without a ton of goddamn work, and the TAs who work for me learn that work ethic as well because they're with me 24 months and I place those mothers in good positions both in and out of the institution.
ReplyDeleteBut this cancelling class shit makes me crazy.
I may blast Foghat in my car too much, and shoot a few too many rounds at the range, and drink a bit too much on the weekends, but dammit, man, I'm in my fucking classes when they meet.
And I'd need to have an aneurysm to keep me from doing the fucking job. I may hate the way this fine fucking institution is run by the puny brains, but I'm in my class or my lab when I'm supposed to be.
This Twitter shit pisses me off. Why do proffies have a bad rep? It's because of shit like this. Of course the kids disrespect these assholes who blow off early semester classes. Of course they think we're weak.
And of course it takes the rest of us some real fucking time to get them back in shape for our own classes that have deadlines and meetings and requirements.
I may play a crazzy fucker on the blog, but I'm 100% behind kicking the asses of any professor who simply doesn't show for a class. This is some kind of bullshit.
Cal, put some Molly Hatchet in the tape deck and come and pick me up. I'll be at Icenhauer's on Rainey Street after class today. We'll spend a couple of days tracking down some of these douchebags and we'll kick a little ass. (Oh, wait, you're not GOLFING, are you? Well, if you can't do it, Leslie K and I will do it ourselves.)
Saddle up!
ALL THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteIs anyone else thinking that the problem might not be the professors, but rather that these annoying twit-bags all showed up to "class" on the wrong day? I mean, it is statistically more likely to be the case.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that too... or if it's a case of the prof being a few minutes late (still bad, but not as bad) and the flake left before the prof arrived.
DeleteI've had students email me from the wrong classroom asking why class isn't meeting there, but enough profs didn't show up that it was this obvious? Did they perhaps email the students the syllabus and tell them to read that instead of coming to class?
ReplyDeleteI, too, have been thinking that this phenomenon is probably fed at least in part by snowflake cluelessness and/or administrative snafus, but that doesn't explain the "proffie canceled class" tweets. And, like Walter, I am *not* down with that. If the canceling professors are tenure-track (or even full-time), how dare they, when others would kill for their jobs? And if they're adjuncts, yes, the job sucks, but if you take it, you do it. If you don't want to do it, then find another job. Sadly, it's not that hard to find one with equal or better pay.
ReplyDeleteThe Division-III state university where I teach is located in Upper Midwest, and nearly every one at this university is from around here. So everyone has seen winter before.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, in late March, after we'd all thought spring was here to stay, we got 4 inches of snow dumped on us in the morning. And all that morning I had half a dozen students, of varying class standing and program, asking me if I was going to cancel class because all their other professors had. This was the first of many clues I have since received that this a Pretend University which only exists to provide workfare for locals who stayed home for college.
Well, if you later recover the class... Many of my students are parents for whom it's impossible to attend class when the School District closes down the schools and send the children home.
Delete