I Fought the Mediocrity and the Mediocrity Won...For Now

Oh what a week and thank God it's Friday!

Monday I had my meeting with the head of the assessment committee. Let's just say that the meeting SUCKED!!!! I clearly had done my homework and was prepared to have an HONEST exploration of the best way to assess student performance. I came to the meeting with copies of sample questions based on a heck of a lot of work that ensured the validity of those questions and she didn't even look at my work. It was clear that she had her agenda and the point of the meeting was to tell me what to do, even though her "what to do" SUCKS. Her way of assessing is lazy and even worse meaningless, but it fits a particular cookie-cutter formula and is guaranteed to produce the mediocrity that surely comes with any beaurocratic endeavor. So, like the excellent government worker that I am, I did the only thing that I could do...I delegated the work to someone else and designed said delegation in such a way that I get credit for all the work. Sounds good to me. Oh my, I do believe that I feel the slow creep of mediocrity up my leg.

The good news in all this is that I'm still a free agent and I can still create a valid assessment for my research data and so when all is said and done and I submit my research for publication consideration, I can hold my head up high and know that the mediocrity that slowly is creeping up my leg can be beaten back with hard work, integrity, and pride in a job well done.

It Really Feels Like Spring

Today signals the end of spring break. I just had five glorious days free from the usual work concerns. Don't get me wrong, I did plenty of work, but not having to meet the usual schedule is truly lovely. My only complaint is how quickly the week went by. I was just beginning to settle in to the less demanding schedule and now it's time to return to the old hectic schedule.

The weather has been simply beautiful the past couple of days. The temperature actually reached the high 70's today. It really does feel like the first day of spring.

I had lunch today with my gal pal Mona. We hadn't seen each other for a couple of weeks and it is always so wonderful to reconnect. We may go up to their cabin tomorrow to spend a little more time together, but whether we go or not depends on my sister, Lynnie. We have an appointment to talk tomorrow regarding my research project and if the result of our talk means that I have to do a bunch of work before my Monday meeting regarding the assessment for my research, then I'll have to stay home and get the work done. Otherwise, Butte Meadows, here we come!

What a Nice Surprise!

As I mentioned in my previous post I was "requested" to come to an interview with the personnel committee. They sent me a copy of the three questions they planned on asking me. One of the questions was regarding the curriculum that I created for my Abnormal Psychology. As soon as I saw that question, I knew things were going to go very well.

You see this class is my baby. I created it, nurtured it, tweeked it, kicked it in the tires, and loved it. It has turned out to be quite a successful venture, one that I'm very proud of, so when asked to talk about it, the question on my lips is, "how long have you got?"

On Monday I had the interview with the personnel committee and after I was done answering their questions about the new curriculum, they then asked about what I've done regarding professional development. I basically answered them by pointing to the new curriculum. This was exactly the right thing to say, but what came next really surprised and delighted me. They suggested that I publish my new curriculum. I will need to gather some pre/post assessment data, but they felt that this new approach to teaching this material is innovative, valuable, and relevant. I walked out of that meeting floating on air and I plan doing exactly what they suggest. In fact, I already contacted one of the personnel committee members who is responsible for tracking pre/post assessment data and will be meeting with her in about 10 days to get the process started creating an assessment. I'm so excited and now I'm even thinking about writing a textbook based on this new approach.

The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away

I was so excited last week because I was given a teaching assistant to help me with my grading. He did all my grading last week and it was heaven. I was able to focus on other things, including relaxing and enjoying the extra down time. I received an email from my teaching assistant this morning stating that he is just too busy to do all my grading and would I be willing to have him grade only one of the three sections. Of course his timing absoluting stank. This week students turned in their first paper, so now I have all of the usual weekly assignments to grade in addition to the paper. If I had known I was going to be doing almost all of the grading I would have gotten started on Monday. So, now I have to grade almost everything and I'm already behind. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

I was also approached by the chair of the personnel committee and informed that as part of the review process they will now be conducting interviews. What???!!! I am now required every year to meet for 2 hours, yes 2 hours, and answer questions posed to me by the personnel committee. He assured me that the interview is nothing to feel threatened about, but I can't help feeling like it will be a bit of an inquisition.