tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post5383325379202727240..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: sick, but not ill... (and a tacked on big thirsty!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-37553083777702865782010-10-30T19:53:39.317-04:002010-10-30T19:53:39.317-04:00Uh, Tim (Not Jim), have you seen the job lists in ...Uh, Tim (Not Jim), have you seen the job lists in the Humanities? They're unbelievably bad. Getting a good job isn't a matter of merit anymore.Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-41031736785930964072010-10-29T20:04:51.121-04:002010-10-29T20:04:51.121-04:00I find that it's way easier for me to make it ...I find that it's way easier for me to make it through the "bad days" if I have a collegial office environment. At several of my past schools, I have no problem hanging out in my office and getting stuff done. (I'm a lowly adjunct who happens to teach a full load, why would anyone talk to me?) But, at other schools? Yech. Just being at the place makes me sad.cmthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814447289455034068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-18110244516892278452010-10-29T17:31:03.084-04:002010-10-29T17:31:03.084-04:00If you're teaching 5/5 or 4/4, why not skip an...If you're teaching 5/5 or 4/4, why not skip another class, work on the vita, and get a decent job. I'm not being rude or dismissive. I'm just saying. If you have to flake out after one class, maybe you have problems too big for some tea and sobby music to help you heal.<br /><br />Seriously, publish something, put it on a vita, apply somewhere where you teach a reasonable amount.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-66982937140074549082010-10-29T17:11:56.458-04:002010-10-29T17:11:56.458-04:00MCM: I did NOT mean to give the impression that my...MCM: I did NOT mean to give the impression that my college doesn't micromanage us!!! On the contrary. I have paperwork like you can't believe that I'll have to fill out for going AWOL, and I'll have to lie about all of it to avoid "getting in trouble." My escape from campus broke all kinds of written and unwritten rules, and like ELS says above, my paycheck gets docked Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-53434686413830027602010-10-29T16:42:56.653-04:002010-10-29T16:42:56.653-04:00At my school, tenured and tenure-track faculty tea...At my school, tenured and tenure-track faculty teach 4-4 loads. Some semesters, I teach all 4 of my classes MWF because the department doesn't offer composition courses in the longer TR blocks. I have been SO tempted to go home before class #4 on way too many occasions.<br /><br />But I don't, and here's why. My school is the kind of place where I'm expected to be on campus 8-4Motor City Mitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02247660118316174690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-23931037995023808522010-10-29T10:37:27.818-04:002010-10-29T10:37:27.818-04:00Marcia makes a good point. My schedule has been 5-...Marcia makes a good point. My schedule has been 5-5-2 for quite a few years now, and I'm on campus, from 8-3 on MWF and 7:30-4:30 on TTh. (The 2 summer courses I choose to teach, one each session; the 5/5 is normal load here.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-83535634597690132362010-10-29T09:36:10.409-04:002010-10-29T09:36:10.409-04:00Wow, you know, I'm going to sound like a weeni...Wow, you know, I'm going to sound like a weenie, but I've never canceled class for any reason but conference travel. I think this is because I have never taught more than a 2-2 load unless I wanted to, so I feel pretty obligated to be there. There aren't too many jobs where you can work from home 2-5 days of the week (depends on the quarter; we have a research quarter). So I'm, Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-81367685403224791782010-10-28T23:49:51.464-04:002010-10-28T23:49:51.464-04:00The coach/business class experience that Elsa ment...The coach/business class experience that Elsa mentions reminds me of a coleague who was promoted from faculty to administration. It was unsettleing to see how the red carpet was rolled out for him as she moved into his new office. Luckily, he is a friend so I won't hold it against him, so long as he puts in a good word for me when I move "up" in the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-40277760460257604102010-10-28T22:51:42.210-04:002010-10-28T22:51:42.210-04:00I've done it before (including as a student), ...I've done it before (including as a student), but I must admit, it's better when I don't. If I do decide to take a "personal day," then I go back to school/work thinking how wonderous it was to be home and how painless it was to make up the missed work, and I'm tempted to do it again. <br /><br />It's kind of like getting to fly business class one time - you don'Elsa Martinezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03038133077768613833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48109393072015208362010-10-28T18:55:41.232-04:002010-10-28T18:55:41.232-04:00Of course I've never done anything like this. ...Of course I've never done anything like this. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you...as HAL said to Dave, in 2001. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-11234175747398899412010-10-28T18:36:40.288-04:002010-10-28T18:36:40.288-04:00Remember my messed up plumbing? Yeah, I got "...Remember my messed up plumbing? Yeah, I got "crypto" from that, which means I spent the first two days of this week getting the kind of rehydration support I associate more with folks suffering from amoebic dysentery. I am generally quite physically healthy, which means I do my damndest to get through classes unless I am really having a horrid, horrid mental health day.<br /><br />I cmthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814447289455034068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-85752732123038159692010-10-28T16:47:47.375-04:002010-10-28T16:47:47.375-04:00We can do an alternative thing on Blackboard (&quo...We can do an alternative thing on Blackboard ("instructional continuity") and all is ok. Since all of my classes could be done hybrid anyway, it works out. <br /><br />I give myself permission for 3 "sick" days a term (when I'm in only T/Th), but normally only take 1, sometimes 2. I'm an adjunct, and the schools I've worked at have been ok with that. My orderAprilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13148960495470609787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-32107304999237209092010-10-28T15:00:56.967-04:002010-10-28T15:00:56.967-04:00At my quite respectable college, I have a certain ...At my quite respectable college, I have a certain amount of leave time for things like illness, professional meetings, and personal time. It's not a HUGE amount, by the way, and if I go over that time and miss a class, it costs me...it comes right out of my check. And I have to account for any missed time on a website.<br /><br />If I remember correctly, a few years ago I missed a 50 minute W.T. Pfefferlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07522687306482305195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-899799414884161242010-10-28T14:48:46.307-04:002010-10-28T14:48:46.307-04:00In any other sector of the economy, absenteeism ra...In any other sector of the economy, absenteeism ramps up when employee morale goes down. Why the hell should the education sector be any different? Sure, it is damn hard to find a replacement to do your job, so class usually gets cancelled as a result, but proffies are still human beings. Why the hell should we beat ourselves up over this type of behaviour? (with the caveat that it is not a Prof Poopieheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997969128824319914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-10112694558049618422010-10-28T14:40:48.763-04:002010-10-28T14:40:48.763-04:00I'm a student/staffer, but people at my univer...I'm a student/staffer, but people at my university flake out all the time. People are constantly going home early because they 'feel a cold coming on' and many of my coworkers seem to be sick all the time. I don't mean pretend-sick; they really get sick like once a month. I do not know why, since they are always swilling echinacea and getting flu shots, while I don't do any ofProgramming Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838328277067778125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-59402108725555541792010-10-28T14:12:51.488-04:002010-10-28T14:12:51.488-04:00I have never skipped a class unless I was sick. I...I have never skipped a class unless I was sick. I regularly have nightmares, before the beginning of term, that I was supposed to be meeting 3 classes but only remembered 2 classes and now it's the 3rd week of term and I've just realised I'm supposed to be meeting a third class and presumably they've been gathering in the classroom 3 times a week for the last 3 weeks at the Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-29666977194542427972010-10-28T13:57:57.828-04:002010-10-28T13:57:57.828-04:00I'd have to answer yes and no. Yes, I called ...I'd have to answer yes and no. Yes, I called in sick when I could have gone in. No, because I really was sick when I called in, just not falling-down sick.<br /><br />When I called in sick because I'd been ill and fighting through it (and continuing to work, and doing crappy work, and getting more run down), the sick day absolutely was motivated by mental health: I just couldn't Great Lakes Gretahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101613060478193833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-73755325970808348412010-10-28T13:21:21.753-04:002010-10-28T13:21:21.753-04:00Darla, you're awesome. I'd love to do the...Darla, you're awesome. I'd love to do the same thing - skip class and show up at your doorstep for some tea, a nap and a sloppy yoga session.<br /><br />I see more profs skipping class because they are too busy doing research (their "real work"). That aggrivates the hell out of me, a prof who has and will teach 8 am classes for my entire career, all while doing my own research.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-17662117086853250662010-10-28T13:07:03.201-04:002010-10-28T13:07:03.201-04:00I hear you, Darla...but I've never done what y...I hear you, Darla...but I've never done what you've done. I remember being annoyed when teachers or proffies didn't show, and unless I'm actually unable to motorvate to campus, I get there no matter what, cough syrup, Ipecac, whatever it takes...<br /><br />But I will admit you're a TINY bit of a hero to me today because I'm in my office now thinking, "How many more Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-68177042379140835642010-10-28T13:01:29.197-04:002010-10-28T13:01:29.197-04:00I've never done this, but judging by the numbe...I've never done this, but judging by the number of "no class today" signs taped in the halls, I know you are not alone. The whole "Wah! give me points for nothing but being a pain" is draining, even if that's a minority pulling that. So rather than walking away mid-day, for particularly immature sections, I prep less, show films, let them out early on occasion, make Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219783419070219171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48500947350127354262010-10-28T12:57:11.915-04:002010-10-28T12:57:11.915-04:00I did that after having a shoe thrown at me and fi...I did that after having a shoe thrown at me and finding out the endowment whore (the assistant principal) wouldn't give the kid who did it detention (too connected). I quit a few weeks later. <br /><br />Be careful. It gets easier and easier. If the job is shitty enough, it doesn't matter because you shouldn't be there and you should quit instead. But it doesn't sound like Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-16916660489889920032010-10-28T12:43:09.913-04:002010-10-28T12:43:09.913-04:00I have not done that, but I have to admit I've...I have not done that, but I have to admit I've thought about it. I know one class missed is not going to damage any student, but of course there'd have to be a limit to how many "mental health" days we should take.<br /><br />Darla, I'm eager to see what kind of responses you get. I know some colleagues who come to class when they're legitimately too sick to be there, W.T. Pfefferlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07522687306482305195noreply@blogger.com