the "things you wish you could say" thread

[wellfleet]

Sorry about that!

I am waiting for a contract to teach classes that start on, um, Tuesday. Will it happen tomorrow, before the three-day weekend? Who knows?

(this is an overtime gig for me, but one I really like, so I hope it comes through)

[mamselle]

Well, that is better news.

But I still wouldn't blame you for running in circles, screaming and tearing your hear out mid-run.

(Not that I'm advising that, mind. Just that I could understand it if that were to be your response of choice.)

Glad it looks like being resolved soon, and that the pluses outweigh the minuses.

M.

[cathwen]

Where I teach, contracts don't usually come out until close to the beginning of the semester.  In the past, the department chair or the coordinator of the sub-field in which I teach has asked me, near the end of the semester, if I would be willing to continue the following academic year.  This year, nothing—I only learned of my renewal when I saw my name on the fall course roster.  I suppose that is better than seeing someone else's name there!

[Harlow2]

Where I teach, contracts don't usually come out until close to the beginning of the semester.  In the past, the department chair or the coordinator of the sub-field in which I teach has asked me, near the end of the semester, if I would be willing to continue the following academic year.  This year, nothing—I only learned of my renewal when I saw my name on the fall course roster.  I suppose that is better than seeing someone else's name there!

This is customary at our place too. All sounds good and here's to a speedy resolution

[Langue_doc]

To the senator from Rhode Island--what were you thinking? Yes, you can do anything you want to during your days off, but must you post videos of your jiggly scantily-clad behind?

https://www.newsweek.com/tiara-mack-twerking-video-tiktok-rhode-island-1722084

[apl68]

I know that you are a Self-Published Author.  How can I tell?  Because that mailer you sent to our library touting your new novel bears the name of one of the most notorious self-publishing houses in the business.  They're well-known for publishing anything if the price is right.  They probably charged you more to print your book than the service was actually worth.  And I hate to think what it cost you to send out all those mailers.  If our little library is getting one, then you must have cast your net very wide.  Maybe I'll see an ad in the New York Times Book Review or somewhere too.  Hopefully they didn't talk you into spending that much money.

Anyway, I'm afraid it looks like you've been taken for a ride.  You're probably an older lady who has wanted desperately for many years to be a published author, but had no idea how to go about it.  Maybe your book actually has its merits, and would find readers here.  The publishing company you're keeping suggests otherwise.  I've got too many more promising and/or in-demand items to order to take a chance on ordering your work.  Sorry.

[downer]

So let me get this straight.

We are moving to Brightspace. You are saying that we have to have real time lectures for online classes. And the software we have to use is MS Teams through Office 365. And MS Teams will not be integrated within Brightspace, but has to be used separately from it.

This is a recipe for disaster. MS Teams is notoriously bad. Everyone hates it. Students always have a lot of difficulty using MS Office 365. When another faculty member posted her slides with audio in MS Powerpoint, half the students couldn't view the slides or hear the video.

So I will not be taking attendance in the class "meetings", and I won't be requiring students to do any work in the class meetings. I will be making all my lectures available to students to view before class. We will see how it goes.

[mamselle]

Sheesh!

What bright ID (Intentional Disaster) zombie thought that one up?

Glad you have a stealth work-around...

M.

[Langue_doc]

Car dealer (not mine) who

needs to buy back [my used car]

because

there is a massive shortage of pre-owned vehicles, and as such will buy back [my car] whether it is leased, financed, or owned outright

Please stop sending me these letters. Just look up my car on Carfax to see that it no longer qualifies as a lease because of its age. I am not, repeat, not, selling my car.

[Thursday's_Child]

So let me get this straight.

We are moving to Brightspace. You are saying that we have to have real time lectures for online classes. And the software we have to use is MS Teams through Office 365. And MS Teams will not be integrated within Brightspace, but has to be used separately from it.

This is a recipe for disaster. MS Teams is notoriously bad. Everyone hates it. Students always have a lot of difficulty using MS Office 365. When another faculty member posted her slides with audio in MS Powerpoint, half the students couldn't view the slides or hear the video.

So I will not be taking attendance in the class "meetings", and I won't be requiring students to do any work in the class meetings. I will be making all my lectures available to students to view before class. We will see how it goes.

My sincere sympathies!  I HATE Brightspace - all I think they did was add lots of blank (& Bright!) space to the previous edition.

Also, do they tell you how to make Teams auto-caption your lecture?  I deliberately haven't used it in nearly two years b/c I was told it didn't have the capability.

[wellfleet]

I am still not a Teams fan for teaching, but both auto-caption and the built-in whiteboard have improved a lot. If you haven't played with it in a while, it might be worth taking a look as there are a lot of new functions.

[hmaria1609]

What's been with the parade of trainee/new hire cleaning contractors this week?! We miss our regular cleaner!!

[sinenomine]

Stop touting the offshore, unaccredited "Ph.D." that you just earned bought. It's not impressing anyone.

[ergative]

Prospective PhD student, it's really not a good look to send a mass email to all the prospective PhD advisors you've applied to (using BCC with a generic salutation) asking them to hurry up their decision because your funder has you under a deadline. I get why you did it, but--if nothing else--when we spoke I said I'd help you develop a fellowship application for entry next year. If you're going to mass email your prospective PhD advisors, at least make sure you remember who said what, and don't include the ones who aren't considering you for entry this year.

If you've contacted so many prospective advisors that it's not feasible to send separate personalized emails to each of them because you can't keep track of the individual arrangements you've made with each, that's also a problem.

[ciao_yall]

Appreciate the advice.

Still, you aren't exactly a great role model...