Finally, I'm coming to the end of my week. This is good, as I didn't sleep well last night and because my allergies are once more going nuts this morning as I attempt to wake myself enough to go into proverbial battle (read: teaching my last class of the week). My seasonal allergies seem to be much worse this year than they've been in a long time, and I don't know why. I just try to deal with them and push them aside as much as possible, and sometimes that's easier to do than others. This week, especially, it's been difficult.
This morning in my 102 class we're covering a chapter each out of both books, and I've got a handout packet for them on MLA citation and reliable research sources. This is because for their first assignment, the Article Review (which I collected on Tuesday, and graded that afternoon/yesterday), about half of them "get it" and the other half of them really, really didn't. This worries me, as the Article Review is really, really basic. It is what it says it is: an article review. They find a scholarly research article from the library databases, published in a journal or other reputable scholarly publication, and then review it. They pick apart the author's argument and describe its strengths, weaknesses, any bias present, the author's credibility, whether the author addresses the opposition, etc. And then they conclude the review by taking a stand on whether or not the article would be useful as a research source were they to write a research argument paper on that same subject. That's all. Their 102 workbook even lays out for them what they needs to do in each paragraph for the assignment -- it does everything but find the article and write it for them. About half the class did this wonderfully. They followed the assignment and reviewed an article really well. The other half of the class tried to make it into a research paper or make their own argument about the author's claims, and that's not what the assignment is. Some of them didn't even name the article, or name the author, in their papers. Some of them didn't use in-text citations or include a Works Cited page, which made me even more clueless as to what article they were reviewing or what information was theirs versus that of the author(s) of the article. Even more troubling is that some of the students who did these things are students I had last semester in 101, who know how to do these things already.
Upon discussing this dilemma with a few colleagues who also teach 102, I've found that I'm not alone -- a lot of students are having trouble wrapping their heads around this assignment for some reason.
"I don't get it," I said. "The workbook lays it out for them. It gives them an outline to follow and what to put in each and every body section of the paper, including the introduction and conclusion. There's no legitimate way they can screw it up if they just follow the template."
"None of them read the template, apparently," one of my colleagues told me. "We can tell them all we want that the assignment is laid out for them, but they won't read it."
"I know these kids aren't stupid, though," I replied. "I have some really good writers in my class. I know because I had them last semester, and I've already had one long-form take-home quiz...plus, about half the class 'gets it' and did the assignment near-flawlessly. So what is it?"
"They don't care," my colleague said. "Simply put, they don't care. They can't be bothered to read two pages in the workbook to tell them how to do the assignment. They can't be bothered to read anything that's not on their iPhones and not animated with bells and whistles."
She's probably right.
I call this "too long; didn't read" syndrome, or "tl;dr" for short. Many of you have probably seen that somewhere on the web before in discussion/comment threads or memes. They even make t-shirts with that on them now, as if there's some sort of pride in it:
Anyway, when I get back into class this morning, there's little else I can do but throw the proverbial (and in this case, actual) book at them. When half of the class gets a low C or below on the assignment, that's a problem, as that half of the class needs a serious wake-up call. Welcome to college, where you have to follow directions.
I will of course stress again that the other half of the class did really well on the assignment, and followed the directions perfectly. I had two perfect papers in that class. But, for the rest of them? That's why I have the MLA citation worksheet and the reliable research sources packet that I'll be giving out today.
Last night in my 210 class, I collected their PSA assignments and began coverage of the Resume/Cover Letter, which isn't in their books -- instead, I put together a packet of instructions, at least two or three examples/templates of how each part of the assignment should be formatted (to give them some ideas, stylistic or otherwise) and then a long list of do's-and-dont's of resume/cover letter writing. One of the tips? You guessed it -- don't make your resume or cover letter a long, ponderous block of text, or it'll also suffer from "tl;dr" syndrome.
Those students, however, get it. They're almost all older, non-traditional students, and know the ins and outs of business writing already; going through my class and the assignments in my class is simply rote for them. Again, 210 is quite possibly the easiest class I could ever teach, as the assignments are simple and straightforward, and the students in said class are usually in a business-related field, so they know what they're doing. Plus, and I'll stress this once more -- there are only eight of them.
Once I'm done today, I will return to Newton, stop at Walmart to do my weekly shopping for necessities and grocery items, and then will come home, eat, and go back to bed, more than likely. Again, I didn't sleep well last night, and I have the feeling that in about six hours (roughly, 1PM or so), I'll be really tired again.
I do have a decently long weekend full of busy-work ahead of me -- I have the 210 papers I collected last night to grade through, as well as rewrites and journals for my 011 class. I also have to do some big-time lesson planning, as next week is the last week before Spring Break (so I have to get my students' proverbial ducks in a row before I send them off for a week without classes). Plus, I really should do my taxes and get them taken care of, and I need to pay my electric and water bills. My new credit card bills should be rolling in within the next few days or so as well, and the sooner I can pay those down more, the better. Oh, and I need to email the HR insurance guy to tell him which plan I'm picking/using for my health insurance probably by tomorrow at the latest, as well, so that I can e-sign the paperwork and they can get the ball rolling.
As an aside, it'll be the first time I've had any sort of comprehensive health insurance for about ten years. Well, about ten years, anyway. I was covered on my parents' plan until I graduated college (I think), and I graduated in 2005. So, nine years. None of the jobs I've worked in the meantime have provided me with coverage. I had a very basic plan during my first year as a grad student, but they charged me so much for it (something like $400 a semester) and it covered so little/I never used it, so I dropped it when it expired. This new plan, whichever one I choose, is a big, comprehensive plan that covers almost everything to some extent under one umbrella. I don't know that I'll ever use it, of course, especially if I don't return to the university in the fall, but it's good to know that at least for a while, I'll have it -- even if that's a short while.
There's been no more news on that front either, sadly -- at this point, Daisy and I are slowly beginning to plan for the worst-case scenario, the one in which after our wedding, I'm basically unemployed until I can find something in Omaha, which may be easier said than done. I've been waiting on this same stuff at the university to come to fruition for at least two years now, roughly, and at every juncture it has stalled or fallen flat thus far. That's not the fault of the department or anyone in it, of course, it's just the way funding and scheduling is available or not available based on any given semester year.
"I really need to hear something soon," I told Daisy. "We're rapidly reaching that 'window of no return,' after which we have to make a living situation decision and start planning around it."
This is true; while Daisy has been searching for and applying for new jobs as of late, they've all been in Omaha; she has no reason to apply for any here if I find out that there's no sustainable way we can stay here. That information, right now, is solely in the hands of the university and the higher-ups in the department as a hammer waiting to drop one way or the other. Even if the program/position I've been waiting to hear about is going to be a no-go, I still need to know that ASAP so the two of us can start making definitive plans...and so that I can start applying for jobs, teaching or otherwise, in Nebraska. We have to be able to survive this summer, and we can't do that for very long when I get my last paycheck of the semester shortly before the wedding. So, yes, it's a tricky situation, and not one that I'm particularly a fan of. And there's only so much money I can save in the meantime when I have bills to pay, a wedding to help fund in any way I can (or may be necessary), and credit cards to pay off.
On that note, I must take my leave of you folks. It's really foggy this morning (interestingly enough) and I need to be able to take a little extra time to get to campus because of that. I shall update you folks on everything at some point this weekend, once I take care of my big tasks.
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