Looking over my students’ theses for their first papers, and I almost didn’t do this step, because it’s a 400/500-level class, so surely they should all be able to construct a thesis by this point, but, um, apparently not. Almost all of them are going to need to take a second pass at this (and […]
Maybe It’s the Pandemic Read More »
My students start their fiction critiques today, and I had mentioned earlier in the semester that at Clarion, we had a stuffed Cthulhu that you could hug when it was your turn to be critiqued, and one of my students this semester asked if we could have something like that for our class, so I
The first week of the semester, I did one class in-person and one class by Zoom. I did that primarily to confirm that all the students knew how to handle Zoom and remote in case COVID cases spiked locally and we had to pivot to full remote; I think that’s a good idea for anyone
Quick College Teaching Update Re: Format Read More »
I’m honestly not feeling super-great today, not sure if it’s changing meds or what exactly (more on meds in next post), but I have a long teaching day to get through, with a school board commitment this evening in addition, so I think I just have to power through. Will try to take it easier
Putting myself to bed after a really long workday, pretty much 6:30 am to 10 pm working straight through….but my classes went well and my workshop really liked my novella, so it was all worth it. Might sleep in a bit tomorrow, though.
My student just now, at the start of class: “Why do you always look like the protagonist in a story?” Me: “Well, having to wear masks is sort of dreary, so I try to make them more fun, to amuse myself and hopefully you…” Another student: “She looks like that teacher from The Magic School
[Continuing from previous post…] I had enough fabric left to make a headband too. So I did, thinking would make for a cute summer outfit next year, when perhaps we are out of mask season. Fingers crossed. But then I thought, well, why shouldn’t I wear matching mask AND headband AND dress? Is it too
Too Much of a Good Thing? Read More »
Sometimes I forget that I actually have really great views from my office (19th floor of University Hall), because the Brutalist window slits might be good for archers fending off an invading horde, but not so great for actually enticing you to look at the view. But if I actually remember to walk up close
Back to in-person school has been pretty rough for the kids, in related but different ways. Both Anand and Kavi are starting at new schools — middle school for Anand (6th grade, age almost-12), high school for Kavi (9th grade, age 14). They’re doing better now, 2-3 weeks in, so I thought I’d take a
ADD / ADHD, Parenting, School Read More »
Once more unto the breach, dear friends… …pausing to note that I’m actually not worried since UIC has a mask and vaccine mandate that my students are all complying with.
Week 2 of In-person Teaching Read More »
