Anti reply

Dear Ms. Rianmom

Once again, thank you for your feedback.

Regards,

Rianmom???

Really?

And that will be the end of it

Fall semester w00t!

His reply-

"Dear Rainmom-

Thank you for your feedback."

Ummm yeah. . . and then this;

Dear Rainmom-

This semester SOC 100 will be presented as each of the sociology instructors have created his/her own syllabus. Planning for the spring semester will include an opportunity for the sociology faculty to decide collective on the student learning outcomes and how those outcomes will be measured in the liberal arts core.

It is the intention for the SOC 100 courses to have the identical student learning outcomes and method(s) of measuring those outcomes based on the criteria in the liberal arts core. If you do not want to participate in this discussion that is fine. Nevertheless, a syllabus will be developed that is consistent across all sections of SOC 100 and one that is compatible with the student learning outcomes and assessment process."

And I said-

"First- as you should be able to tell from my signature on all the e mails you received from me thus far, my name is now Ms. Rainmom, please make a note of it, as I have legally changed it and have filed the proper documentation with HR. So, Ms. Rainmom it is. . .
Second- I never said I did not want to participate in such discussions, I only said that as adjuncts, we are not paid in the summer, so if you wanted us to work on this as a team, we should have been offered jobs for the summer. May is the end date for our spring contracts, there is no more compensation after spring semester ends without a new contract, so June, July and most of August would be unpaid time without a new contract. For you to say I did not want to be part of this process was quite off the mark and puzzles me greatly. I want to be paid for my work, period. I regret that is such a conflicted issue.
I respectfully disagree with your assessment of my position on this matter. I believe that adjuncts are paid such small stipends because their responsibilities are limited to teaching duties. This is a development issue, time consuming and would be in addition to the instruction time for my sections. I love teaching, and wish I could make a living at it at PNTS, get paid a living wage, with health insurance, which I do not have right now. I would welcome the chance to take on new responsibilities like this, but need to be paid for my work.
In conclusion, I respectfully request that you take note of my actual position on this matter, which is I am currently paid a small sum to teach, I would love to assist you in this development endeavor, however, because I am the single parent of 6, I need to be paid for my time in accordance with PNTS commitment to social justice and fair wages. In my mind, and hopefully yours, that commitment includes adjuncts like me.

Respectfully,
Rainmom"

Game ON!!!

My reply to the situation at hand. . .

"I am confused as well. In the 5 years I have been working for PNTS*, I have never collaborated on any aspect of my class with any of the other sociology faculty, especially since there have been changes in who is teaching what classes over the course of those years. I understand the need for a core curriculum, but in my time at PNTS*that was treated as a map for the goals of the class, not a blueprint for all instructors to follow. Each instructor led their students to those goals using their own personal strengths in their classrooms, and at the end of each semester, each class took a unique path to the same destination- the amazing race to knowledge as it were. I know that there have been changes at the campus level, transitions and such, and that there has been an increase in interest about this course as a Liberal Arts core class- however, there was never any discussion about collaboration, much less any meetings between us scheduled by the SBS department, so I am very confused as to why you felt such a collaboration existed.

In addition, the path toward the outcome that you are describing involves a great deal more than what an adjunct's compensation covers, with those meetings and discussions and a lot of intensive writing, and as an adjunct, it is beyond what I am currently paid, and I just do not have the financial reserves to do this much work for free. As you recall, in May I emailed you about possible work for the summer, due to the fact I lost funding for my research due to budget cuts, this would have been a fine opportunity for someone like me to have, especially since I plan on teaching after I earn my doctorate. I would have be more than willing to apply for it, and if given the job would have been happy to develop such a document as well as train new instructors in the process- much like I am helping with in my other job. As an adjunct, I am not paid over the summer, indeed I worked at McDonald's this summer to pay my bills, so I would have welcomed the chance to apply for this kind of job for the summer.

So, I admit to being as confused as you are about this issue. As I am supposed to be in class teaching this course at 9:05am in 2 days, I would appreciate an update on this situation as soon as you are able."

Stay tuned. . . .

*Peanuts;)

What do you have?

Bracing for the inevitable, hoping for the best, dreading the worst, and in the end, realize that there are so few moments in life that are absolute bliss- and savor them all as much as possible?

So, Friday, I sent my syllabus to the department, and the other adjunct did the same, the third one never responded. And I got the following e mail back from the department head-
"I am confused about the syllabus for SOC 100. I assume all the students enrolled in SOC 100 for fall 2010 have the same syllabus, same learning outcomes, same assignments, and same grading points. Is this the case? If not, it needs to be the case so the liberal arts assessment and the learning outcomes match from one section of SOC 100 to the next."

Assume- makes an ass out of u and me. . .
Spoke with the other adjuct and found out that she will use my syllabus, and I guess that is that. . .or is it?
You know me- probably not:) More on this later. . .

End of Summer Bliss

Off to our monthy Cheetos and Full moon Lake walk. . .:)

Water for Chocolate, security over fidelity, fear over happiness and other lousy trade offs

Always at the start of the Jewish New Year, I get these strange inspirations to write about topics that at first seem at odds-yet it is always about leaving behind the old year, and embracing the new possibilities, and my inability to let go of some of the more lasting effects of the past, that continue to wreck havoc on my present and cast doubt over my future.

That I am writing as I ponder love is quite new, as it has been a very long time since anything but maternal love has entered into my realm, and I have to be honest, for lack of a better term, it has been a most demanding of times. I have entered into a relationship that is up and down, high and low, amazing and frustrating. . .you get the point.

There is distance there is drama, and today, I just cried at how hard it is to do this love thing. It is easy to love my kids, even when they are at their worst, because at the end of the day, they are my kids, and well, I have that bond with them that supersedes any of the every day crap that would keep me from writing them off.

Romantic love is quite different, and I find myself almost clinical about the situation, though have refrained from plotting it out or running any regressions. . .controlling for variables is ONLY palatable in my romantic life. . .I know, weird!

To say I am happy with the situation, is for the most part true- however, recent events make me wonder how much longer a long distance relationship can last when you want to see someone every day and you can't, and when your work schedules make it impossible to be together, and you start to look at other couples, and there is something very much like the feeling you used to get when someone got the one thing you wanted and they were your BFF- you are at the core happy for them and their bliss- yet bitterness can also show up, brought on by the fact that you are lonely, and alone, and when you can't be together it is hard not to wonder if things will ever be better. I cannot fathom life without him, but I cannot stand the situation as it is. . .bitter sweet, love at a distance, water for the miracle that is chocolate- these are the harshest of trade offs:)

Other Odds and Ends. . .Oh the places you will go!

So- As I reach the credit limit on my credit card, I am looking forward to to hopefully having health insurance again thank to my wonderful advisor and her efforts. . .cannot ever thank her enough for all the hard work she puts in for all her jobs, and yet finds time to help me as much as she does- Props to her!

Yes, you read that right, I have no insurance- but, sputter sputter. . .you are sick. . .yep I am. . .how can sick people NOT have insurance. . .wellllll you can read my dissertation in a year and find out:) Yes, I said a year:) Aiming high. . .

So, how did we spend summer vacation- On the Beach, pretty much. . .I had 2 trips which I already told you about, well except the Atlanta trip, that was actually kind of funny and well, offers one of THOSE moments- here is what I mean.

I became a flier late in life- just never went on plane trips as a kid. . .so when I started flying, a new airline was just starting out- Midwest. I had my first several flights on this airline- and from what I know now, totally spoiled by their original service. Room, food, and WINE, which I need when flying, no I NEED it really- medicinal purposes

So, when AirTran wanted to buy Midwest, I was totally against it, because I believed the hype. . .that they would "ruin" Midwest. . .I know now that Midwest ruined it, and that what is left in the place of what used to Midwest is not even an empty shell- it is a totally different animal(yes I went there, the new company's claim to fame? Animals on the tails of the planes. . .as opposed to "the best care in the air, you can now be "treated like the animal you are")

So, flew AirTran round trip to Atlanta. . .and it. was. awesome.

Friendly, efficient and really a good basic airline, which included radio on board, so cool. I stand corrected on AirTran, and wonder if Midwest would still be some semblance of itself had AirTran won that fight. . .

Cheetos Full Moon coming up along with a trip to Great America. . .all with tons of pic I'm sure and of course I will have to keep you posted on the job, the plot thickens as we speak. . .