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.

Power

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I was lucky enough to give two off campus lectures this week. One was at a local middle school in town and focused on “Teen Lit and Politics.” Talking to teens is an exercise in patience. Some are interested, bored, phoning it in or really focused on making googly eyes with the person sitting behind or beside them! So, you just have to wing it and be prepared for interruptions, giggling, and some good energy!

The second talk I gave was at UBC in Vancouver and this talk was given to a Public Policy class. I was invited by my friend and colleague, Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega. The entire experience was fabulous. The students were engaged and asked all sorts of questions, and offered provocative points. On the ferry ride home, I was thinking about the trip and had to remind myself about the power that professors have when they walk into the classroom. Some students will be very careful about what they say, since they don’t want to be judged by the professor.

It’s amazing to me that students asking me what I thought about “Lipstick” feminists and other topics germane or tangentially related to my talk made me have this epiphany. I’ve had this moment before, but I must say it’s great to be reminded. I think it’s humbling and makes me as a professor walk back into the classroom with more compassion and patience. It’s good for my feminist politics.

I do think that those of us teaching material connected to social justice issues face this more. Students want to appear like a good social justice activist. I assume that students who self-select to take a class with gender or feminist in the title are probably already progressive leaning. But, this reminder this week was instructive. I walked back into my classroom and we chatted about this.

I explained that there is a big tent for feminists and we had a good conversation about feminists and people (women and men) who advocate feminism. I am hopeful that my students got that feminism is more than button wearing, but can also include having so-called guilty pleasure watching TV. Feminists and feminist advocates are human, too!

I know that my feminist politics are fluid and have evolved over the last twenty years and I’m glad to interact with students who are hard-core feminists, dabbling in feminism, or social justice activists. I hope that the class materials and discussions informs their politics and offers them some ground for more critical thinking. I joked with my students and noted that I don’t judge their feminism or their politics, but instead evaluate their critical thinking skills and their writing with the assignments. I hope that they understand this. I would prefer that they be honest in class and not worry about what I think or if I’m judging them. In the meantime, though, I will try to keep the learning environment safe for them to want to talk, to want to interject their assessment of readings or respond to me or another’s comment. Bring it on.

Students and Attendance

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I have been chatting with colleagues about students and attendance in courses. What do we do to get students in the classroom? Better yet–wanting to come to class and ready to participate might actually offer the correct comment or want by faculty. I have incorporated attendance and participation into the way that I evaluate the students, but I have also not assessed their attendance and participation.

What have I found? It’s a pain to take roll, yes, but I find that I learn the students’ names faster, when I take roll. Students can come to class and not really be there-not want to be there and might be doing their math homework for all I know. I find that for early morning courses, I really have to peppy and be prepared to perform more. I have to wake them up and I have to make the class “worth” it for them to wake up early and come to campus. I also find that when participation is used to evaluate them, they are more apt to come to class.

There is no easy way to answer this question. Why? Some terms this is not a point of concern, as the stars will align and you don’t even have to worry about it. I find that attendance also varies between the type of class–large lecture, small lecture, seminar and the year of the student. Then, add to this the type of student: keener, good, enthusiastic, year of the student, major, minor, etc. There are so many factors outside of an instructor’s control.

Thinking of my undergraduate career, I know that I attended class all the time. I was a keener and would always make sure that my work schedule never conflicted with my school schedule. I also looked at my attendance at university as a privilege (first generation college student). I would look around the room at all these “new” people during the mid-term and wondered why they never came to class. Before anyone comments that students today are working–been there, done that. I was often working two jobs and volunteering at the radio station, paper, or student club(s).

When I am wearing my professorial hat, I also know that there is a correlation between good attendance and good marks. But, I can talk about this until I am red in the face and only some students will listen to this point or “get” it. I do feel bad for the students who are phoning it in and really don’t seem like they want to be in class or at university. But, that is probably another blog post!

Word Camp Victoria 2011 #WCV11

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This post is about #WCV11 and offering some opinions about the event. There was lots of positive energy at the opening event and Paul Holmes was energetic.

Right now I am at a blogging panel and it’s great to hear seasoned bloggers talking about their experiences blogging. Glad to know that some schedule and others just blog when they get a chance.

I try to blog when I feel like I have something to say, but there are definitely other times when I will schedule blogs. For me, it’s a matter of organization and those epiphany moments. Then, there is also responding to politics, news, popular culture, or even something that might have taken place at work.

I also blog when I feel inspired about something and need to share it or perhaps just write about it. Learning lots from the three speakers–Lorraine Murphy, Mike Vardy, and Rebeca Bolwitt. I follow Murphy on Twitter and love her posts that combine commentary about Social Media and culture.

I appreciate the flow of the panel–definitely geared to discussion with the attendees. Smart to have a microphone for questions. That said, why does everyone seem to want to make money from blogging? Does it have to be monetized?

In response to the question about making money from blogging Lorraine Murphy explains, “Long form more thoughtful essays” are on the upswing.  I am not looking to make money from blogging, but rather make connections with people in academe, in my community, and in politics. To clarify, when I say community, I actually mean the multiple communities that I have: on campus, women, Latinas/os, Americans, feminists, etc. Lots of different communities.

Mike Vardy is speaking to the importance of making more connections–guest posting can be useful, as well as Tweeting in order to hit different groups and sites. Good point. Overall, enjoying Word Camp and like that there are three different streams to the conference: Beginner, Advanced, and Mixed Tape, which offer attendees different tracks.

I will make some suggestions, though, the panel sessions needed short abstracts to explain the presentation. I loved the coffee, rooms, overall location, free parking, and it’s been great to meet more people face to face, too. Without even asking, got offered notes from a great Nerds On Site employee! She took notes at a panel that I didn’t go to and immediately emailed me notes. How cool is that?!

There are still more panels to go, but wanted to share these preliminary comments about the event.

Power of Words: Part I

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I wonder what Mark Twain would think about the recent change in his beloved Huckleberry Finn? Would he be up in arms? Canada recently joined the censorship debates via Dire Strait’s song “Money for Nothing” being censored due to derogatory word in the lyrics.

These points were discussed last night in my Feminist Political Thought, when we were thinking about words and their power. Now, we did chat about how some argue that words don’t have power unless we give them that power. I disagree with this. I think there are loaded words, if you will, that have such a heavy history.

But, what do we then owe to one another? In today’s local paper (the Times Colonist) several people wrote in to continue this discussion about censorship. And, one of the things that I was left with–is that it’s so easy to cast easy uncomplicated opinions when you are from a place of privilege. When you might not be the “out” group who experience racism or heterosexism, for instance.

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?

Positive Thinking

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Given my profession as a college professor, I am surrounded my young people, by students. And, this year if I could wish them anything it would be more positive thinking. I know that some will scoff and say, “They are so self-indulgent and have a sense of self-entitlement.” Well, that really is a small percentage in my opinion. There is a larger contingent who are really trying to figure things out—who they are in the world and what they want to do.

My wish to students is for more positive thinking. Remember that there are people who believe in you and your success. This does not mean that I am going to give you A’s. No, I do not give grades, students earn them. If you get a grade you do not like, this does not mean that I do not like you or that somehow the rubric was unfair. Instead, take a step back, inhale and exhale and own your performance. Then, think about how much research, time, and writing you put into the assignment. Go into your classes and assignments with a positive attitude. The attitude and interest in your classes can carry you a long way.

As I have previously said on this blog and on www.equality101.net is that so much of what I do is validating students. Yes, you are on the right track. Yes, that paper topic sounds promising. However, you ultimately have to do the work. Your first step is being honest and optimistic.