Every so often, I get into my head that I need a Ph.D. Right now, I not only think that I need one, but that I actively want it as well. Not having a Ph.D. in this profession is like going to a Star Trek convention without a clearly outlined Kirk vs. Picard argument. It’s… Continue reading How Academic Sins of the Past Can Affect The Future
Tag: Teaching
Help Me Plan My English 102 Class
These past few weeks have been crazy. Things are finally settling back down, and I hope to be able to get back to a regular blogging schedule sometime soon. One of the last details that needs to be finalized within a few days are the reading lists on my syllabi. For the most part, they’re… Continue reading Help Me Plan My English 102 Class
When Students Will Not Read
Out of the three Comp II courses I taught this semester, I found a shocking statistic: no one read. No one. Okay, well maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not by much. Across these approximately 60 students, I found that when I assigned H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” only five people actually admitted to reading… Continue reading When Students Will Not Read
Say No to the Burrito, College Kids!
I teach a course at my college called First Year Experience 101. It’s an introduction to college life for–you guessed it–first year students. Whether they are traditional straight-out-of-high-school 18 year olds or worked-my-life-away babyboomers, new students at my school go through FYE to learn college-appropriate study skills, life lessons, and time management. Why Me? I… Continue reading Say No to the Burrito, College Kids!
Joss Whedon Inadvertently Became my Academic Specialty
I never really knew what my academic specialty would be. I originally thought about being a medievalist, but talking a single class on Chaucer where our entire text was in Middle English turned me off of that idea. I then had no idea really where my specialization would come from. Half of my indecision came… Continue reading Joss Whedon Inadvertently Became my Academic Specialty