Anyone Else Hit a Wall?

[EdnaMode]

...

I've been staying off of the wall lately, but have noticed that my brain has been working overtime dreaming at night.  Others at work say the same thing.  Has anybody else noticed this?

I've been having all sorts of stress/school/teaching-related dreams, the worst of which was a dream the other night where I failed Calculus back in undergrad and the prof just now noticed that he'd turned in the wrong grade (20+ years ago), so my BS was rescinded, and so were my MS and PhD.

[apl68]

...

I've been staying off of the wall lately, but have noticed that my brain has been working overtime dreaming at night.  Others at work say the same thing.  Has anybody else noticed this?

I've been having all sorts of stress/school/teaching-related dreams, the worst of which was a dream the other night where I failed Calculus back in undergrad and the prof just now noticed that he'd turned in the wrong grade (20+ years ago), so my BS was rescinded, and so were my MS and PhD.

I've noticed that variations of my dream of being hopelessly behind in class (About ten years now since I was last in any kind of school, and counting) have been occurring more often lately.

[secundem_artem]

...

I've been staying off of the wall lately, but have noticed that my brain has been working overtime dreaming at night.  Others at work say the same thing.  Has anybody else noticed this?

I've been having all sorts of stress/school/teaching-related dreams, the worst of which was a dream the other night where I failed Calculus back in undergrad and the prof just now noticed that he'd turned in the wrong grade (20+ years ago), so my BS was rescinded, and so were my MS and PhD.

I've noticed that variations of my dream of being hopelessly behind in class (About ten years now since I was last in any kind of school, and counting) have been occurring more often lately.

I thought I had gotten up and got dressed.  Then I woke up and realized I had dreamed that I got up and got dressed.  I don't even know what's reality anymore.

[OneMoreYear]

Today, I was in a [not Zoom] room annoyed that a student was 10 minutes late for their individual skill-based final, which are tightly scheduled so I can meet with all students this week.  I then realized I was in the wrong [not Zoom] meeting room. Student had been waiting for me for 10 minutes in the correct room. My brain is so fried.

[AmLitHist]

I was having bad (angry) dreams from around midterm on until a few weeks ago. Weird stuff:  a blend of seemingly innocuous everyday life (e.g., trying to get spouse and our very young kids--now around 30 IRL--ready to go somewhere, then mom, in-laws, past co-workers, celebrities/national figures interrupt while I'd get increasingly angry that no one was listening to me or doing the incredibly simply things needed for us to go).  These kinds of dreams would repeat almost every night, but with different situations and characters, but the given case of chaos, no one listening, etc. was the same.

I say I'm past caring about work-related things at this point, and the dreams have stopped, so maybe it's because that stress level actually has gone down.  Still, when it comes down to it, I do care about my students, but I feel like I'm slogging through the mud to get some of them to the finish line (and I'm eternally grateful to my self-motivated ones who are meeting me halfway or better).

[histchick]

...

I've been staying off of the wall lately, but have noticed that my brain has been working overtime dreaming at night.  Others at work say the same thing.  Has anybody else noticed this?

I've been having all sorts of stress/school/teaching-related dreams, the worst of which was a dream the other night where I failed Calculus back in undergrad and the prof just now noticed that he'd turned in the wrong grade (20+ years ago), so my BS was rescinded, and so were my MS and PhD.

I've noticed that variations of my dream of being hopelessly behind in class (About ten years now since I was last in any kind of school, and counting) have been occurring more often lately.

Once in a while now, but I had these dreams nightly in late spring / early summer.  That was, of course, assuming that I could sleep at all. 

[Langue_doc]

Resurrecting this thread.

I've hit the wall, with a vengeance. We don't have a spring break this semester, so there's no prospect of a break until the end of the semester.

[AvidReader]

I am pretty sure that I have been immobilized in carbonite and permanently trapped in the wall.

On the bright side, while checking the spelling of carbonite, I discovered that one can buy a full-size fridge wrap with the original Han Solo statue printed on it. Also seems to come in coffee tables.

AR.

[histchick]

Resurrecting this thread.

I've hit the wall, with a vengeance. We don't have a spring break this semester, so there's no prospect of a break until the end of the semester.

I've hit the wall in the past couple of weeks.  We don't have a break either, but we never have one in the Fall semester, so that part doesn't bother me so much.  It's just the constant stream of stupid.  Fall was a cakewalk compared to this. 

Just this week, our state announced expansion of vaccination for K-12 teachers and staff, but specifically excluded college/university faculty and staff.  This announcement was quickly followed by an e-mail from my dean telling us that if we were interested in going to the next state over to get vaccinated, we could go to her social media page to get details.  I have mixed feelings about all of it, and feel that I can't say anything to anyone other than my husband (who is not in the same reporting chain). 

Also, I have some crazy students this semester.  I mean, I know there's a pandemic and political tension and everything the hell else, but the course isn't that difficult. 

Anyway, I've hit the wall, and it's too tall for me to climb over.  I'm guessing the bulldozer is the best way to go through?   

[AmLitHist]

I stayed in bed nearly two full hours later than I do normally (even for a Sunday). A minor bit of snark from Kid #2  left me irrationally hurt and pissed off.  And I've spent the last hour randomly bursting into tears while doing laundry and other chores. So, yeah, count me in.

Spring break is in two more weeks, but even that's not much of a prospect for me.  I'm aggravated with the usual things most here are mentioning--admin BS, and an especially high percentage of clueless/can't be bothered students (of the "the instructions say do A, B, and C--so that means I should do X, Y, Z, right?  Or should I maybe do A, B, and C?  I'm so confused!" variety, and now they're asking the same things in multiple emails on every assignment*) have been coming out of the woodwork since last fall and only getting worse in recent weeks.  Still, it's not that, I don't think.

We keep getting chided to remember "these are tough times for students."  Yes, but what about faculty/adults/the rest of the population? Who's cutting us a break?  At least, it's not happening in my world.

I have a routine dr. appointment on Wednesday.  I might ask him for a stronger antidepressant than my current baby-aspirin version.
--
* I'm widely known for my nearly insultingly detailed and clear instructions, and in these courses of record, the instructions are similarly clear.  Things like, "Make sure you use a total of ONLY two articles taken ONLY from Chapter 1 in the textbook--don't do any other outside research," and "Make sure your paper is in correct MLA format--review the requirements in [3 clearly stated AND LINKED places] or ask me or the Writing Center if you have questions," are generating multiple emails and, in about 20% of submissions, papers with 6 website sources, 2 inch margins, single-spaced, and such.  This is happening in Comp II classes, and this is all stuff they had drummed into them in Comp I.

[histchick]

We keep getting chided to remember "these are tough times for students."  Yes, but what about faculty/adults/the rest of the population? Who's cutting us a break?  At least, it's not happening in my world.

--
* I'm widely known for my nearly insultingly detailed and clear instructions, and in these courses of record, the instructions are similarly clear.  Things like, "Make sure you use a total of ONLY two articles taken ONLY from Chapter 1 in the textbook--don't do any other outside research," and "Make sure your paper is in correct MLA format--review the requirements in [3 clearly stated AND LINKED places] or ask me or the Writing Center if you have questions," are generating multiple emails and, in about 20% of submissions, papers with 6 website sources, 2 inch margins, single-spaced, and such.  This is happening in Comp II classes, and this is all stuff they had drummed into them in Comp I.

Thank you for posting this.  It's comforting to know that others are experiencing the same / similar crazy. 

[Parasaurolophus]

* I'm widely known for my nearly insultingly detailed and clear instructions, and in these courses of record, the instructions are similarly clear.  Things like, "Make sure you use a total of ONLY two articles taken ONLY from Chapter 1 in the textbook--don't do any other outside research," and "Make sure your paper is in correct MLA format--review the requirements in [3 clearly stated AND LINKED places] or ask me or the Writing Center if you have questions," are generating multiple emails and, in about 20% of submissions, papers with 6 website sources, 2 inch margins, single-spaced, and such.  This is happening in Comp II classes, and this is all stuff they had drummed into them in Comp I.

If you weren't talking about Comp, I'd think you were me.


At the moment, I'm somewhat energized by the nearing end of the semester and my first full summer break in three years. I will probably feel differently once the baby is born (sometime very, very soon).

[Langue_doc]

I stayed in bed nearly two full hours later than I do normally (even for a Sunday). A minor bit of snark from Kid #2  left me irrationally hurt and pissed off.  And I've spent the last hour randomly bursting into tears while doing laundry and other chores. So, yeah, count me in.

Spring break is in two more weeks, but even that's not much of a prospect for me.  I'm aggravated with the usual things most here are mentioning--admin BS, and an especially high percentage of clueless/can't be bothered students (of the "the instructions say do A, B, and C--so that means I should do X, Y, Z, right?  Or should I maybe do A, B, and C?  I'm so confused!" variety, and now they're asking the same things in multiple emails on every assignment*) have been coming out of the woodwork since last fall and only getting worse in recent weeks.  Still, it's not that, I don't think.

We keep getting chided to remember "these are tough times for students."  Yes, but what about faculty/adults/the rest of the population? Who's cutting us a break?  At least, it's not happening in my world.

I have a routine dr. appointment on Wednesday.  I might ask him for a stronger antidepressant than my current baby-aspirin version.
--
* I'm widely known for my nearly insultingly detailed and clear instructions, and in these courses of record, the instructions are similarly clear.  Things like, "Make sure you use a total of ONLY two articles taken ONLY from Chapter 1 in the textbook--don't do any other outside research," and "Make sure your paper is in correct MLA format--review the requirements in [3 clearly stated AND LINKED places] or ask me or the Writing Center if you have questions," are generating multiple emails and, in about 20% of submissions, papers with 6 website sources, 2 inch margins, single-spaced, and such.  This is happening in Comp II classes, and this is all stuff they had drummed into them in Comp I.

Hang in there, ALH.

I think we have the same students--it's learned helplessness. I make it a point to upload formatted Word templates in at least three locations during the first week of class and still have students wanting to know where they are or even requesting that I email them the template. No, no, no! As for the assignments, I'm also known for breaking down the directions into steps. The first line says "This assignment consists of X steps". Then I list each numbered step along with the directions. There are still a few students who seem to forget that the weekly discussion board assignment requires three steps, the first one a response to the question assigned to the student, and then detailed responses to two classmates' posts.

As for the "these are tough times for students" bs, these are tougher times for faculty, especially those with children, a spouse with medical conditions or aging parents who need help. Admincritters who spout the "tough times for students" bs invariably stop working by 5 on Fridays and don't get back to work until Monday morning, but expect faculty to be on call during weekends.

At the end of the semester a year ago, it was suggested (it was more than a suggestion) to me that I help a student by allowing the student to mail me a printout of the final paper instead of uploading it on the LMS. No way was I going to email my address to the student. This is NYC!

Hang in there, everybody else. This too shall pass.

[Cheerful]

Just this week, our state announced expansion of vaccination for K-12 teachers and staff, but specifically excluded college/university faculty and staff.  This announcement was quickly followed by an e-mail from my dean telling us that if we were interested in going to the next state over to get vaccinated, we could go to her social media page to get details.

Please tell me this is satire rather than a true story.

[Dimple_Dumpling72]

We keep getting chided to remember "these are tough times for students."  Yes, but what about faculty/adults/the rest of the population? Who's cutting us a break?  At least, it's not happening in my world.

--
* I'm widely known for my nearly insultingly detailed and clear instructions, and in these courses of record, the instructions are similarly clear.  Things like, "Make sure you use a total of ONLY two articles taken ONLY from Chapter 1 in the textbook--don't do any other outside research," and "Make sure your paper is in correct MLA format--review the requirements in [3 clearly stated AND LINKED places] or ask me or the Writing Center if you have questions," are generating multiple emails and, in about 20% of submissions, papers with 6 website sources, 2 inch margins, single-spaced, and such.  This is happening in Comp II classes, and this is all stuff they had drummed into them in Comp I.

Thank you for posting this.  It's comforting to know that others are experiencing the same / similar crazy.

+1