education
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No Progression is Death
One of the fun things we as faculty get to do around the start of the new academic year is fill out our annual faculty report. The goal is to highlight your achievements, illustrating to the administration that you are doing… Continue reading
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When They Become A Punchline.
Comedian Lewis Black once had a bit in his comedy set about how certain words or names can elicit laughter just by mentioning them in conversation. Black uses Michael Jackson as an example of this phenomenon. He proceeds to tell… Continue reading
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A Disorienting Orientation
The first day on the job is just like the first day of school. You want to dress up all snazzy and wash behind your ears so that your first impression can really wow your new colleagues. But, when you… Continue reading
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Student Expectations or My Professor’s Expect Me to Do What?
Anybody who has ever taught at the college level generally hears the familiar refrain from their colleagues about allowing kids to come through our campus doors that are not ready for college-level academic rigor. As far as I know, this… Continue reading
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I Believe in Free Speech, But…
Somehow, it seems fitting that my most significant moments of brazen student absurdity would happen in public speaking classes. The incident in the following paragraphs takes place for fifteen minutes in one class. I dare say that the three incidents… Continue reading
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Extra Credit Workaround
When the end of the semester quickly approaches, one of the biggest certainties is bound to happen: the extra credit request. It never fails. I get requests from people I am pretty sure I never met in class before, or… Continue reading
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Can I Get Some Extra Credit?
This was a fun little bit I created after a couple of interesting conversations over the last few days. Enjoy. Continue reading
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Tales From the (Mental) Institution #2: Military Veterans are Scary People
During my first all-faculty meeting in the school auditorium, there was a presentation about a new program the university was introducing for returning veterans. All told, it meant that there was the possibility that an influx of nontraditional students with… Continue reading
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Tales From the (Mental) Institution #1: The English Bulldog
Dr. Elson Carpenter was a senior member of the English department. The reason is that she probably annoyed everybody else into finding work somewhere else. I never had any direct contact with Carpenter, but her presence in faculty meetings was… Continue reading
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Why Bother Knowing What Classes I Need to Take?
This article will sound like I am waving my cane at the clouds, but I am perplexed by how students seemingly don’t grasp the importance of registration. They come to my office and have no clue about what classes they… Continue reading
Failing Upwards 