Every year I am required to submit a laundry list of actions that are supposed to define me as a teacher. I would have thought that the most efficient way to do that would be to observe me in the classroom. That is my boss’s job, but in complete fairness to him, he is one human heading the largest department on campus. There is not enough time to do that. So we assess our own activities.
Here is the activity report.
And here is the rabbit hole appendix I appended to it via a wormhole to a dropbox document and embedded here via etherpad on Wikimedia. This is the one I am most interested in sharing.
How much activity is enough? How much more must I account for to prove that I am who I say I am–an instructor? So far it has proven enough as I have been re-hired from year-to-year. But what if, as I hurtle toward my 65th year, the year where one becomes unemployable, they decide this is not enough, that my classes are not ‘rigorous’ enough, that I am one of those who might be let go because my benefits cost the university too much. They don’t need ’cause’ to not hire me. Who would protest my non-rehiring? 88 folk beside me wanted this job in 2004 when I was hired here. More than 200 applied the last time someone was hired as an instructor, many even Ph.D’s.
Is your life equally uncountable? Do you have to justify your identity every year?
As usual, I let it ride, feed the sheep, and think about what is yet to be. Let’s lighten the mood with a YouTuberance of our rams eating cucumbers.
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I really wanted to see the rams eating cucumbers but the void was there instead of the vid.
I have had such frequent changes in bosses that the current one hasn’t even bothered with the yearly accountability stuff but we are going through restructure and feeling vulnerable.
I felt like doing some data vis on the numbers like how many discussion posts would for into a mile?
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Tried to re-embed the vid. Let me know if it does or doesn’t. Maybe an out of country issue? LOL, isn’t ‘accountability’ a hilarious word. Not just neutral meaning….actually no meaning. And don’t get me started on restructuring. As for discussion boards, I think the best question is this, “How much value do learners get from doing them?” Summer classes like these have lots of ‘strategic students’–athletes, ESL, teacher certification students. Sighz.
BTW, I still want to do the Nick Sousanis thing. I have just cleared a few hurdles for work and I have time to begin to collaborate. Let me know what you want to do. Maybe a video call with an agenda and a timeline. Yeah, I know that sounds a bit like work, but it’ll be fun work, aka play.
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This is truly very interesting, Terry. Wow.
We are held accountable on paper/contractually, but in actuality no one is really held accountable UNTIL THEY ARE, AND by then ITS TOO LATE. No ongoing conversations for formative feedback of substance.
Thanks for sharing.
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So nice to hear your kind voice and solidarity. Institutional tyranny is everywhere. Fuck the man.