tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6529647435872563341.post3265680884041635068..comments2023-07-05T06:55:53.577-04:00Comments on College Ready Writing: What 2010 Taught MeLee Skallerup Bessette, PhDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12243750156552824701noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6529647435872563341.post-61456828250807776532010-12-30T22:12:59.584-05:002010-12-30T22:12:59.584-05:00Really great post. Sometimes the prospects for one...Really great post. Sometimes the prospects for one year can be so bleak and yet something positive emerges. Glad I found you and am looking forward to more in 2011!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6529647435872563341.post-20710728971566580502010-12-30T13:57:52.327-05:002010-12-30T13:57:52.327-05:00I hadn't seen that, thanks! It does reinforce ...I hadn't seen that, thanks! It does reinforce what I had said about evals as well. And it also does reinforce the idea that faculty members need some job security. We are not free to try and fail a lot of the times. <br /><br />I'm sort-of in between when it comes to casual labor. Because of where our school is located, there isn't an over-abundance of potential adjuncts/instructors. Half of the English faculty seems to be off the tenure-track, but all but a few who teach at the branch campuses are full-time instructors. And we seem to have pretty good "job security" if the length of time of my instructor colleagues are any indication. <br /><br />I think there is something to be said about investing in your institution. If I could have added a Number six, I would have added, I am tired of moving. I want to be around in four or five years when the Freshmen I taught this year cross the stage and get their degrees. So far, I haven't been anywhere where that could happen. And I want to be there for them to help them get there. <br /><br />Great, another blog post brewing. :-)Lee Skallerup Bessette, PhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12243750156552824701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6529647435872563341.post-51650758675975966402010-12-30T13:44:34.534-05:002010-12-30T13:44:34.534-05:00WOW, sounds like a great year. Those are wonderful...WOW, sounds like a great year. Those are wonderful shifts.<br /><br />I found the value of online community many years ago through knitting e-mail lists and blogs. The line between virtual and IRL friends is now really blurry for me. I think we can just feel sorry for the folks that think that virtual friends aren't real. They obviously aren't hanging out in the right places or something.<br /><br />And #5 is a great goal. Make it a long term goal and be proud of any baby steps you take. Local faculty association or union might be a good place to start even if it is rife with problems. <br /><br />And finding a way to talk to more securely employed people without triggering their guilt. Because some of them are putting up with the status quo not out of arrogance but out of a sense of powerlessness and guilt. Or some crazy combination of that.<br /><br />Did you see the post at In Socrates Wake about experienced teachers and how their results differed?<br /><br />http://insocrateswake.blogspot.com/2010/12/quality-teaching-just-add-seasoning.html<br /><br />Seems a powerful argument against casualization. The trick would be to convince people that there are other non-casual forms of employment than the current tenure model, perhaps in addition to... No idea but some food for thought definitely.JoVEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16680602039278597976noreply@blogger.com