Ah, the joys of the service course
posted by bitchphd
I am in the shittiest mood today. I hate the world. (And yes, the sun is out, so it isn't that. But I WANT A CIGARETTE so bad.)
Anyway. Fine frame of mind to be in to discuss book orders for a service course that I got assigned to at the last minute, isn't it? Now. Before I begin bitching and moaning, let me say that I actually am perfectly okay with the idea of standardized courses, I like teaching intro-level stuff, I'm actually kind of conservative in the "students must be taught the basics" kind of way. I'm perfectly happy to teach with other people's syllabi and I don't have to feel absolute ownership of a course in order to do my best with it. I'm thrilled half to death to have been assigned the course late, so that I didn't have to attend the interminable meetings hashing out what the standards were going to be.
However. If, when you are telling me that *the* introductory-level course--the only prerequisite students are required to take, mind you--is, because of the way the curriculum is structured, supposed to teach not only the basic skills and knowledge that are required for the discipline, but *also* the history of the discipline, *and* the various factions within the discipline, *and* the different schools of thought and subdisciplines, *and* a set of fifty different "key" terms,--if, I say, you are asking me to do all that in one semester, and I say something along the lines of, "ok, so basically in those meetings I missed what happened is that it was decided that this course needed to be all things to all people," do NOT try to manage me and make me the happy camper on board and convince me that no, there were no compromises made, it's the perfect course and our curriculum is flawless and lalalala perfect world.
I'm willing to be a team player. I will do what needs to be done, but I do reserve the right to exercise my own judgment in thinking that this course is trying to do too much, that my own pedagocial skills are better suited to certain parts of it than others, that some of the decisions that are being made will inevitably result in rather shallow coverage of important issues, that maybe in a perfect world we might have two, not one, intro-level required course for our majors. It really is okay for me to say and think these things. I'm not going to start bitching and moaning and being the departmental malcontent, just because I have certain reservations.
God. I'm so fine with having to make compromises, and with things being less than perfect. It really is okay, I realize nothing is perfect. Please, for heaven's sake, just relax and realize that a little bit of dissent is not going to bring the whole structure crashing down around your ears.
And for fuck's sake, go ahead and tell me what to do, but don't try to boss how I feel about it. Thank you.
Anyway. Fine frame of mind to be in to discuss book orders for a service course that I got assigned to at the last minute, isn't it? Now. Before I begin bitching and moaning, let me say that I actually am perfectly okay with the idea of standardized courses, I like teaching intro-level stuff, I'm actually kind of conservative in the "students must be taught the basics" kind of way. I'm perfectly happy to teach with other people's syllabi and I don't have to feel absolute ownership of a course in order to do my best with it. I'm thrilled half to death to have been assigned the course late, so that I didn't have to attend the interminable meetings hashing out what the standards were going to be.
However. If, when you are telling me that *the* introductory-level course--the only prerequisite students are required to take, mind you--is, because of the way the curriculum is structured, supposed to teach not only the basic skills and knowledge that are required for the discipline, but *also* the history of the discipline, *and* the various factions within the discipline, *and* the different schools of thought and subdisciplines, *and* a set of fifty different "key" terms,--if, I say, you are asking me to do all that in one semester, and I say something along the lines of, "ok, so basically in those meetings I missed what happened is that it was decided that this course needed to be all things to all people," do NOT try to manage me and make me the happy camper on board and convince me that no, there were no compromises made, it's the perfect course and our curriculum is flawless and lalalala perfect world.
I'm willing to be a team player. I will do what needs to be done, but I do reserve the right to exercise my own judgment in thinking that this course is trying to do too much, that my own pedagocial skills are better suited to certain parts of it than others, that some of the decisions that are being made will inevitably result in rather shallow coverage of important issues, that maybe in a perfect world we might have two, not one, intro-level required course for our majors. It really is okay for me to say and think these things. I'm not going to start bitching and moaning and being the departmental malcontent, just because I have certain reservations.
God. I'm so fine with having to make compromises, and with things being less than perfect. It really is okay, I realize nothing is perfect. Please, for heaven's sake, just relax and realize that a little bit of dissent is not going to bring the whole structure crashing down around your ears.
And for fuck's sake, go ahead and tell me what to do, but don't try to boss how I feel about it. Thank you.
Posted at 11:09 AM
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