I'm Back

I know it has been a while since I have written. I find I have so much to say, but no energy to write some days.

I survived my stats class with an A. I was so worried about this course, but it was all theory, and no math what so ever. I can memorize theory with the best of them. It made for an interesting course. It was made easier that the only other person from my program in there is a former math teacher.

On a happy note, I am 1-3 on proposals. The paper that I co-authored was accepted to be presented at a round table at a conference in San Diego. I get to spend a week in San Diego just as the Midwest is coming out of winter. I am looking forward to presenting the paper, as well as traveling. I hope that I can get some reimbursement from the university, but I know that travel budgets were one place where the university had to make cuts, rather than less financial assistance for studying.

Spring semester is starting to fill up already with projects. I am putting the finishing touches on my syllabus and preparing to order the books for my last two courses on my program. I am very much looking forward to my course work this semester, though slightly apprehensive in that I have not written an academic paper since the spring semester. Time to get back on the horse!

The Less I Have to Do, The Less I Get Done

This semester is rolling along pretty quickly. The school I teach at hits midterm break this weekend, and the school I attend has midterms next week. Things are moving along fairly well. I am a little behind in my grading, which I hate, but I am getting back to being only a week behind rather than almost three! I don't like holding on to students' work very long. I think that those who actually read the feedback appreciate it. I was even told this by former students of mine via comments on Facebook.

I put in a proposal to teach a course on Women in American History and I am hoping that it gets excited. I mean I won't mind teaching my traditional spring courses, but it would be nice to develop my own course. It would also be nice to put that on my CV.

I know you are all worried about my stats class this semester. The class is very dry. The instructor is nice, but I am very easily distracted in that course. I think most of the distraction comes from my unwillingness to believe that this is relevant to my research. That and the textbook is very well written. I took the first test, 100% online, 25 multiple choice questions. I did alright, but I was annoyed with the typos on the exam. It just distracted me. I am waiting until our next class to talk with the professor to see what can be done to prevent this from happening. Again, she is very easy-going, and I don't think she was aware of the typos. I thought about sending her an email, but could not figure out a way to phrase the thing without sounding like a whiner.

One thing that I am having the most trouble with this semester is that I lack pressure to force me to get things done efficiently. I get my work done, but knowing that I have more time available scares me. Will this be how I work when I am cut free to write my DQEs or dissertation? Next semester I have a killer one that I am looking forward to and dreading all in one. I have my last two classes, both very writing intensive, on top of my typical teaching and work load. I hopefully will also have two more classes to develop online for the summer. I can do it, but after a semester that has been pretty lazy in comparison, I am in deperate need of a kick in the arse.

Slacker...

Well I have been back at the old grind for a little while now. I have been back at "work" for three weeks, teaching for two, and a student for one. And so far, I am just not sure how to call this semester. Work has been very busy, but that is to be expected at the beginning and end of each semester. Of the three courses I was hired to design, one was up and running at the start of the semester. The other two have been postponed due to faculty issues. One is back on track, and isn't going to be offered until next summer, the other is really up in the air, but is supposed to be up this spring. We'll see, I just hope it doesn't prevent me from taking on more development courses this fall, and definitely in the Spring.

The courses I am teaching are running alright, it is still a little bumpy. I dislike not having the entire semester ready to roll before I started the semester, but I am getting there. My students seem really interesting, and I hope the courses really develop great conversations.

My dreaded stats class has started, and I don't quite know what to make of it just yet. The textbook is really quite funny, the author has a similar sense of humor to myself, so at least that is a plus. I am a little annoyed that the professor kept us 20 minutes longer than the class time. We shall see how this plays out.

One interesting discussion that has come up in my class that I am teaching is why women change their last name when they get married. I found a number of interesting responses on Facebook, primarily related to tradition, wanted to start a new chapter in life, or for people like me, not wanting to change for professional and personal reasons. What do you think? Why did you or did you not change your name?

It's the Most Wonderful Time....

Well you get the picture. It is back to school time. I don't know if it just that I am too comfortable being a student or just good at it, but I miss the routine of being in school. I do feel sad that I do not get to purchase any school supplies. I really don't need them, but that is my idea of heaven.

In the last month a number of things have happened, but most of what didn't was getting any further on my DQE readings. I am just not interested in these books. My course this fall starts on the 31st, and I am going to try to read books off of my DQE list this fall since I only have that one course. The two writing courses I am teaching start on the 24th, and though I spent the month of July trying to revamp my syllabus, last week I got the revamped curriculum from my chair. 65% of the readings I normally used were dropped and two of the three units were dropped in favor of new ones. I have hurried this week to try and develop a new course, and so far so good, but I will have to develop the assignments as we go, and I hate that feeling. Maybe I can get a chunk done this weekend.

I am also trying to finish up the courses I am developing online for faculty members. One class goes live on the 31st, and hopefully, after our meeting tomorrow, will be near completion. The other two courses I was assigned are not going live until January, but need to be finished soon so I can be assigned some new ones that come down the pipe line. One is about 1/4 the way done on my part. The other class has yet to begin, and I have not heard from that faculty member. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can get two more assigned this fall. I really enjoy doing the development and I can't lie, the money is outstanding. I am a little concerned that this may dry up, due to a few moves going on at the university. Hopefully this just means that there will be more than enough courses to go around and they are getting serious about hiring a full-time instructional designer.

On that note, I had my first back to school meeting for the doc students in my program. I will finish my course work this year, and I have gotten very comfortable with my lifestyle as a student. I am a little nervous with how the next few years will pan out. I mean, I think I can maintain my status quo, but seeing the jobs opening up with the ID position, and a few others that I think I could do, I am afraid of being distracted from goals by these positions. I don't know why I am worried about the next school year, other than I am a planner and I worry about where the money is coming from and how to plan financially. If I took a full-time position, money and benefits like maternity leave would give me piece of mind, but leave less time for research and completing my dissertation on target. Staying put would give me the flexibility to continue to research and to not have to keep a child in day care 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but leave me no monetary security or benefits like maternity leave. It is one of the reasons why I have put off having children until I am done with my course work. I have very little time left on the agreement I have made with my husband.

Update

I know that you are all concerned about how I am doing with my work load with a little over two weeks left in the semester.  I have finished two of my assignments, the 250 word paper on childhood in the 1950s and a 500 word essay on the history of Play-Doh for my show and tell.  My show and tell got moved to next week, but those two papers are done.  The group presentation on HPV is done, now to hammer out the 1000 word essay on it.  Below is my list of my own work to take care of by the end of the semester.  It helps me to make lists of what needs to be done.

• 12-15 page historiography of Girls' Secondary Education
• 1000 word paper on HPV and a group presentation on it as well.
• 8-10 page paper on Title IX
  
• Six 1-page legal briefs
• Three page book review of Oakes' Keeping Track
• One final exam

I also have a pile of grading to take care of for the courses that I am teaching.  I was able to catch up on some of the work, but I just feel a little overwhelmed.  I know things will get done, but I felt the need to complain here. 

On the other hand, it has been 5 weeks since my surgery.  I have lost 17 pounds.  I feel back to normal, I just need to find the time to get back into a workout routine.  

For an update on the stats situation, I have enrolled in the stats class that will work for my program.  The faculty member believes that this class should work for me, as long as I am willing to read earlier portions of the book when I get lost.  I had to drop the other course that conflicts with the stats class.  I am waiting for Pablo to write me back and let me know what I can do.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they move the course to another night so I can have it all fall into place.  I am not too worried, I was the only student registered for the course.  I just like having this planned out a head of time.  It is one less thing for me to worry about.

I Hate Statistics, and You Should Too

If you have not noticed by now, I am not a scientist or a mathematician. I am a trained historian and an educator. The program that I am in requires all of its students to take a graduate level statistics class, and is very specific about which courses qualify. There are two courses in the entire university that qualify, as far as I know and have been told. I understand why they want their students to have a background in statistics, it doesn't mean that I have to like it. What happened is that I met with my advisor, Pablo, and it went very well. If the graduate school accepts one of my master's degree courses for credit, I have 12 credits left. Four classes, two each semester, and I am done with all the course work for my doctorate. It is a scary thought. One of these classes is the stats class that I have been putting off since I began this program in the Fall of 07. I have very little wiggle room for the four courses left. I have registered for one course this fall and I am trying to get into the one stats class that will let someone like me, who has not had stats since 1997, take the course. I have to get permission from the instructor who has never taught this particular class and is not completely sure if she will cover any introductory material. She is being really good about trying to help me determine if I want to attempt this course without a refresher. Here is the problem I am faced with now. The stats class is offered on the same day and roughly the same time as the only other class that I will be taking this fall. The two that I will take in Spring of 10 are not offered until Spring so there are not really any other options that I am aware of at the moment. Pablo told me to worry about the stats first and the other class will figure itself out. I have a great advisor!

On another front, I am working on hammering out my pile of grading. I think that I have let the students suffer enough agony waiting for their graded work to be returned. Today is a day of marathon grading. Then I will turn to getting my papers done. Here is the last few things I have to complete this semester:

• 12-15 page historiography of Girls' Secondary Education
• 1000 word paper on HPV and a group presentation on it as well.
• 250 word paper on childhood leisure activities in the 1950s
• 500 word paper on a toy and a show and tell presentation (I still need a toy)
• 8-10 page paper on Title IX
• Six 1-page legal briefs
• Three page book review of Oakes' Keeping Track
• One Final Exam

There is three weeks of classes left, so I have my work cut out for me. I will be very happy when I can start crossing these off my list.