Adjunct Riot

Gays Bisexuals Lesbians Transgenders Prostitutes, male or female Strippers Single mothers Single fathers Unmarried parents Teen parents Gay parents Married parents Divorced men or women Stay-at-home moms or dads Working moms or dads Polygamists Women who have had abortions Rape victims, male or female Convicts Prisoners Alcoholics Drug addicts Hindus Buddhists Jews Muslims Catholics Mormons Wiccans Christians, all denominations Druids Atheists Agnostics Scientists Evolutionary biologists Astrophysicists Psychiatrists Psychologists Immigrants, legal or illegal Educators Liberal arts students Academics Liberals Conservatives Moderates Democrats Republicans Libertarians Environmentalists The rich The middle class The poor Soldiers Orphans People with physical disabilities People with mental disabilities People who do not agree with me I made a list, a special list. A Love List. These are people who I'm going to love, no matter...

It's that part of the semester when my students get to choose and argue for a theme song for The Alchemist! We're doing something different this term--they're giving presentations about their choice and playing one to two minute clips for the class. Here's part one of their song selections... "Son of Man," Phil Collins, Tarzan "Eye of the Tiger," Survivor "The Passager," Iggy Pop "All Summer Long," Kid Rock "Fate," Our Last Night "My Wish," Rascal Flatts

I am Odysseus, but on this journey through midterms, I think I may have failed to slay the Cyclopes.  I assigned a poetry project to my lower writing class. They had to choose a poem from the Poetry 180 site and write a paraphrase and explication of it. Pretty simple, once they accepted the idea that they would have to actually think about the poem. I read some really thoughtful projects! And then there was The Project From Hell. Not only was this project about a patriotic poem (patriotism makes me wanna hurl), but the poor thing was one misadventure after another. The first explication that was submitted? A short story about the flight of eagles above the purple mountains majesty. A do-over was in order. A do-over which I heard about from a coworker in the Writing Lab. The student had brought in her rough draft for him to read. The draft actually had a discussion question to answer...but the question was, "How do we know eagles exist?" ("Because there are pi...

Sometimes, an adjunct can't help but resort to a little guerilla warfare. Unjustness never sleeps; one minute, a happily contented adjunct is doing his or her job , and the next his or her name is being brutally misspelled on his or her mailbox. It's the sort of outrage that calls for action. (And a slide into the second person. Yes, I'm speaking to you.) Step 1: Raise your dissident voice and confront the higher authority, who may be, depending on your situation, the main secretary. You know who you're dealing with; this particular secretary has recently "casually" crept up on you as you were using the faculty copier, presumably to ensure that you were not dicking around. You're just so young looking. Point out to her that, yes, you work here and, yes, she has spelled your name incorrectly on your shiny new mail label. Which can only mean that she, the secretary, was the one dicking around an...

Week Two and I have NOT changed my position about blogs, electronic grammar homework, or the non-acceptance of late work. I'd say I'm doing pretty good. Even though they are dragging their feet, my students are learning what I expect of them and why. I was pretty discouraged around the middle of last week (which is why I did not write the inaugural blog post then--speak life, ya'll) because both of my classes were mildly disrespectful and being, ahem, stubborn about the technology thing. But! My WR 95 class has virtually turned it all around, though I still have about a third of them who have not created their blogs yet. (They'll be persuaded once their two-week grade check comes through.) We just had a lecture about recognizing complete sentences and they're participation in class was great, and they all jumped into my Mad Spelling Experiment with what could be mistaken as enthusiasm. And they seem to secretly like Bless Me, Ultima. Which is FABULOUS goo...

Time to face the strange changes, as the song goes. I'm getting ready to start Winter term. And honestly? The changes are going to be drastic. To quote another classic, my course has got "a new attitude," which contrasts nicely as I have an old student (one who failed my class because he "did the homework" but never turned anything in) who will be rejoining the party. Change 1: Wardrobe. It may sound silly, but I definitely learned my lesson in this department. I am starting the term off in structured jackets and high heels. I will look imposing, and there will be zero reason for them to not take me seriously. Change 2: Technology After spending an entire term lugging around a huge messenger bag crammed full of papers (for just one class!), I am more than ready to embrace online assignments. Other advantages include extremely firm deadlines, easily accessible grades, and more student accountability. No longer is it my responsibility to have handouts from t...