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Patience: Reminder

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It’s that lovely point in the term at my campus. Reading Break was last week and the vast majority of the students did not use the week off from classes to catch up or even get ahead. And, they’ve hit the ground running with paper due dates around the corner and final exams looming in the distance. Due to this, the students have a real sense of urgency and even panic. This is when they start to get ill, their attendance gets worse, and for many of them–they stop keeping up with the reading. They are in full–sink or swim mode.

What I have to remember–is patience. Yes, the syllabus is our contract and I do expect them to review it. However, the best tactic I’ve found for this last month is simple patience. I need to remind, validate, help, and occasionally chastise. The last month is really about coaching them. This seems to hold true for so many of the students. Even though I might want to hit my head against the desk–the best thing I can do for them is to take a breath, smile, and answer the question. The answer might be–review the syllabus. But, it does me (and my students) no good to get exasperated. Patience.

Learning and Writing vs. Writing for the Instructor

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There are always a few students in a class who are more concerned with writing for the instructor, than with writing something that they are keenly interested in or perhaps even believe. I feel a slight sense of frustration when I hear that they “just want a good grade.” This is a common lament among educators, so what do we do? Since the majority of the courses that I teach focus on gender, the students know that I am a feminist and hold feminist issues near and dear to my heart. Due to this, some of them sense that this bias is somehow more insidious than my Marxist’s colleagues beliefs.

What do I do? I tend to play devil’s advocate lots during lecture and try to push the students. Sometimes, gasp, I’ll even say things that I don’t necessarily believe, but I might want to instigate some discussion among the students. I hope that they leave the class with a better understanding of the concepts, yes. But, more so, I want them to leave better critical thinkers. And, this means that they don’t have to agree with me. Hopefully, some of the students working on their papers will read this and augment their papers accordingly. Don’t write for me. Write the for the argument–write the paper.

Big, Old, Bad Feminism

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What is it going to take to get more people to realize that feminism isn’t this monster out to brainwash your daughters and sons? I asked my Feminist Political Thought seminar class to ask people what they thought about feminism as part of a homework assignment. My word the responses have been funny to downright sad. I know that this means that the mainstream assumptions about feminism are just as strong as they were a generation ago. I joke with my students that this just means that I have job security. Actually, it would be great if I didn’t spend the first week of each “gender” class demonstrating why the class is necessary or how feminist political scientists have fought against the mainstream in order to pursue research related to gender.

What do we do? Well, I for one, will continue to teach the materials. Continue to talk to students in my office hours, when they are digesting the material or something that happened in another class, at work, or in their personal lives. You see, feminisms are personal and political (apologies to Carole Hanisch). I know that the material that we discuss in class causes interesting discussions for my students. This is why I suggested that the students in seminar have casual conversations with those around them. Some spoke to strangers and others struck up conversations with family members. These students are brave. They don’t all identify as feminists–and I don’t expect them to do so. Most probably identify as advocates of feminism or as social justice activists.

We just finished reading Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks. We have spent class time talking about the differences between identifying as a feminist and identifying as an advocate of feminism. The class didn’t seem to lean one way. There were positive and negatives with each type of label. The students, though, have added thoughtful points and responses to this classic book from hooks. And, lucky me, I get paid to have these sorts of discussions in my class or office hours. The points that hooks makes in the book are for the most part timeless. We are still working for equality and we are still working to get people to understand what social justice means.

We do have our work cut out, though.

Work Attitudes

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For most of my academic career I was part of the contingent faculty. I am approaching my second year as regular, full-time faculty at my institution. When I was a part-time faculty member I took my job very seriously and felt a sense of obligation to the students more so than the university, my employer. Has this changed? Yes, it has. I have a stronger sense of loyalty to my employer, but this is compounded with an even stronger sense of loyalty or obligation to the students.

I have noted previously that I am content with my job and feel quite lucky to be part of the students’ higher education experience. But, I also have a sense of making this experience as seamless and supportive for them. At times I do occasionally feel like I am hitting my head against the wall. Yes, I am going to momentarily complain about the bureaucracy. There are rules about the major and overall degree program and I am here to help the students with the Political Science portion of their degree. My department has the least prerequisites of any department that I have worked for previously. This is good for the students; however sometimes the students will make a mistake and not take the proper courses and will find out about this later and in some classes, too late to graduate on time.

What I have been surprised to see–the unhelpful attitude from bureaucrats in the university. Sure, the student miscounted or misread the course list, but surely when a student is about to graduate we can make substitutions, right? No. Occasionally, it feels like Dr. Evil is the Bureaucrat–no, no, no, no. And, I think is a damn shame. Playing Devil’s Advocate, I suppose the university can (and does) say that the student should have known–should have checked, should have double checked. In the meantime, I will continue to balance my advocacy for students and the university.

Community Engagement

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I am on the list of speakers or experts on the UVic Speaker’s Bureau brochure for this year. I have already given numerous talks to different organizations or schools around the greater Victoria area. I have to say that these talks have been a real blessing. It’s fun to get out in the community and chat about my areas of interest to people who are generally interested in hearing about them. Not having to lecture based on a evaluating the audience (students) is liberating. Had I realized how much fun this would be, I would have signed up earlier!

I really want to encourage my friends and colleagues to seriously think about joining the Speaker’s Bureau or getting more involved in their specific neighborhood groups and talking to schools, civic organizations, seniors or others who are interested in their topic. Academics by nature are a smart group and we live in our little academic silos away from one another. I’ve found the increased community engagement a positive reminder of how important it is for me to give back to the community. And, if this means an hour talk discussing: 2019 Mid-Term Elections, Obamamania, the connections between politics and YA Lit, or Twilight, then sign me up.

Letting Go: Teaching Assistants

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This term I did something that I haven’t done before, I am trusting the Teaching Assistants as a group to run workshops and formulate possible mid-term questions. At first it gave me pause, but now it feels quite liberating to offer them this opportunity. I haven’t heard any negative feedback from the first workshop, so I assume that it went well.

And, the students barely had access to the working mid-term questions, so we’ll see what they think of the exam. My philosophy (still) with the TA’s is that they are an apprentice role. This letting go might really be based on the fact that four of my 6 TAs have worked with me before and that I feel comfortable with their work ethic and their knowledge of the material. I’m not sure. But, I do realize that part of our working relationship is to mentor them. What better way, than offering them some more autonomy.

Sure, I’ll still provide grading keys and answer any questions as needed in the hallway, my office, via email as this is part of the deal. But, I will also look to more chances for them to take a leadership role with the students’ learning. I want these TAs to share my excitement with working with students. It’s such an important part of our work and we cannot privilege research–here is their chance to decide if this entire academic “thing” is for them.

I just hope that the next batch of TAs are as good as this current one. Fingers crossed.

Gender and Service

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I’ve been thinking about my face time with students. I know that I am a pretty good undergraduate advisor. The long line out my door attests to this, as well as the comments. But, when data was recently published about the gendered differences and increased service burden that women faculty face, I was not surprised, angry or frustrated. The reality is that students and departments do have different gendered expectations for the faculty and staff on campus. Frankly, they have them off campus when they are in store, business office, government offices, etc.

While I think it’s unfair that women carry more than a fair burden to advise and conduct service, I will continue to be the best undergraduate advisor that I can be. But, I will continue to try to offer a polite “no thanks” when other service heavy opportunities come my way. I try to be strategic with my yes and no responses. And, I will confer with my trusted “posse” of mentors and peers when these opportunities arise.

My advice to new instructors is to be savvy. Say yes when the service position is one that will open doors for you and where you can learn lots. Saying yes to high profile events can also serve a purpose–being seen is a positive. Remember that you represent your faculty or department, so do so with pride and integrity. But, by all means stay focused on keeping your job. If you do not get rewarded for service, then be more careful.

Some Career Advice~ From the Undergrad Advisor

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You’re in your last year of university and getting nervous as the school year starts, hits the half way point or is ending. But, for the sake of ease, let’s pretend it’s mid-way through your last year of university. I’m going to make some suggestions for you. And, these are my opinions alone and not endorsed by my employer. This advice comes from my own university experience, 14 years of teaching, and years of advising unofficially and officially.
1. Get yourself to the Career Center or the Career offices. Your campus should have an office with extremely competent staff who are there to help you. But, understand that they aren’t there to help you get a job, rather they are there to give you the skills so that you get yourself that job. They will empower you, but it’s all about your own skills and your own file.

2. Speak with your departments Undergraduate Advisor. Believe it or not, s/he might have some good advice to give you. The advisor might know of additional job boards in your area of interest.

3. Speak to trusted peers who are in your situation or who have recently graduated. Your peers are a useful resource, too.

4. Confer with other faculty or mentors that you have in the campus community or community at large. Now is not the time to feel shy. You have to reach out and make some effort.

5. If it works for your field (and which fields does it not work for?) get on social media. Yes, join Linked in and establish your profile there and meet others on the platform. Ask people questions—especially those in the industry that you’re interested in.

6. Are you blogging or on Twitter? Will these platforms be useful for you? If so, then do it. But, always be very careful with your digital footprint. Google yourself and see what is out there. That photo of you in residence engaging in naked beer sliding—might need to be deleted! OK, you really don’t have compromising photos, but do take a look and see what photos and status updates you’ve had so that you won’t have a future employer “creep” and find something that they don’t like.

Particular to Victoria, I suggest to students that they not only look at the local job boards (BC Public Service, municipality job boards, and UVIC’s U-Hire, but also VIATEC’s. You never know what you might find in many of these. I also explain to students that they most likely won’t get hired right out of their undergrad as a senior policy analyst. The truth is that you’re going to have to work your way up and this might mean that you’re working in a position that requires data entry, filing, and “gofer” work. You have to cut your teeth in a job and be prepared for this.

If you’re interested in working in Victoria, I suggest that you keep abreast of when there are Chamber of Commerce events (Victoria or Westshore) and attend some of the events to network and meet local members. Note that members of this organization aren’t only local business owners, but government types, elected officials, and just regular people who are interested in the community. Also, attend other local events and get to know the community. This might mean registering with Meet Up and looking for events that will allow you to meet other like minded people. The thought of doing this might make you feel uncomfortable, but you need to get out and meet more people and realize that the limited discomfort can pay off with a mentor, community building, contacts, and possibly a job connection.

I have seen students take 4-8 months to find work after they graduate and this is pretty common. The students who are willing to take risks or start at the entry level position are the ones who have been the most successful. What are you doing to do?

Students’ Study Habits

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How do you study? This might seem like a ridiculous question, but I have found that so many of the first year students think that the way that they studied in high school will work perfectly in university. For some students this will work well; however, for so many this is not the case. Some students are used to regurgitating information. I work in a writing intensive department and regurgitation will not get the student far in our first year courses—let alone the upper division courses.

It is important to reflect on your study habits. Are you focusing on one course at a time? Do you have few distractions, as you read dense material? Do you discuss the material with classmates? Do you participate in tutorial discussions?

One of the things that I like to share with my students: when I need to grade, I can do this virtually in any place or at any time. However, when I want to do my writing, I need as little distractions as possible. I can engage in research amidst my children fighting, but cannot think about verb tense and proofreading my writing with any distractions—short of some music.

So, I ask you to think about how you are studying and to think about how effective your current strategies are. Do they work?

Dexter

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This season’s Dexter has been really hard to watch. The major theme is something out of a Stieg Larssen book. More than one dozen women have been raped, mutilated, and murdered.

Dexter is meting out his vigilante justice and has a companion helping him out–Lumen. She was one of the last victims, but survived. This season has disturbed me more than previous ones.