The Venting Thread

[OneMoreYear]

Minor vent.

Is it possible to be burned out before the semester even starts?

Yes. I'm there with you. I'm not sure it's been this bad before.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this... Can I just hide in my cave?

That sounds like a totally workable plan to me. Where's that validation thread?

[RatGuy]

I get that

• these three classes are underenrolled
• without them a few students won't graduate in the spring

But saying that "these three different classes add up to the enrollment of one regular class, so all three together count as one class towards your FTE" is kinda garbage. Especially since you want me to take on extra classes "to balance out my FTE" a week before the new term begins.

And when I say "just cancel the low enrollment classes and give me the fully enrolled class," telling me that I'm "not being very collegial" sounds like a threat. It sounds like you want me to teach 6 classes, two of which I've never taught before, or else.

[Parasaurolophus]

I get that

• these three classes are underenrolled
• without them a few students won't graduate in the spring

But saying that "these three different classes add up to the enrollment of one regular class, so all three together count as one class towards your FTE" is kinda garbage. Especially since you want me to take on extra classes "to balance out my FTE" a week before the new term begins.

And when I say "just cancel the low enrollment classes and give me the fully enrolled class," telling me that I'm "not being very collegial" sounds like a threat. It sounds like you want me to teach 6 classes, two of which I've never taught before, or else.

0_o

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Minor vent.

Is it possible to be burned out before the semester even starts? I'm not sure I'm ready for this... Can I just hide in my cave?

Move over, EPW.  I'm comin' in.

Lol. I guess I'm not alone in this (though it feels that way sometimes).

[AmLitHist]

I get that

• these three classes are underenrolled
• without them a few students won't graduate in the spring

But saying that "these three different classes add up to the enrollment of one regular class, so all three together count as one class towards your FTE" is kinda garbage. Especially since you want me to take on extra classes "to balance out my FTE" a week before the new term begins.

And when I say "just cancel the low enrollment classes and give me the fully enrolled class," telling me that I'm "not being very collegial" sounds like a threat. It sounds like you want me to teach 6 classes, two of which I've never taught before, or else.

When I was chair, we used to pull that crap on our ESL and Spanish language classes every semester--so I'd have my Spanish prof with a TR 9 a.m. "class" made up of 4 who needed SPN II, 3 for SPN III, 4 for SPN IV, and pay her as if it were one class.  Same with our ESL classes--I had an adjunct teach 23 students in one section (for one section's pay) but cover the skills of 4 separate classes.  Complete BS.

(I use "we" loosely:  I always went to bat for my faculty, but the dean would make the final determination, after being leaned on by the VCAA.  We finally lost our ESL program by the end of my term as chair, and we should have:  there just wasn't the demand at our campus to keep it running.)

And RuralGuy, where's seniority here? You should get the pick of the class offerings/be able to say "shut down the low enrollments," right?  Then again, I'm uncollegial like you.  ;-)

[the_geneticist]

Minor vent.

Is it possible to be burned out before the semester even starts?

Yes. I'm there with you. I'm not sure it's been this bad before.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this... Can I just hide in my cave?

That sounds like a totally workable plan to me. Where's that validation thread?

Budge up, I'm joining you.   We are one week in and I'm just done.

[Thursday's_Child]

Minor vent.

Is it possible to be burned out before the semester even starts?

Yes. I'm there with you. I'm not sure it's been this bad before.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this... Can I just hide in my cave?

That sounds like a totally workable plan to me. Where's that validation thread?

Budge up, I'm joining you.   We are one week in and I'm just done.

Me, too.  Tomorrow will arrive way too soon.

[mythbuster]

My Christmas break sucked. It was plague ridden. I feel the need to whine to someone at least once about how bad it was.
We travelled across the country even though we didn't want to. There was a lot of family guilt tripping involved. The day we arrived my SIL tested positive for Corvid with mild symptoms. Eventually, my brothers entire family tested positive so we never saw them the entire trip. SIL was the only one with so much as sniffle.
   However, I came down with a whopper of cold (not-COVID) on Christmas Eve. My mother kept trying to offer her used inhaler as treatment (ew!!). After travelling back home it progressed into a bacterial sinus infection. Mr. Buster then came down with the same cold on New Years Eve. We both got antibiotics and 6 days in I break out in a whole body rash. However, since this is not full blown anaphylaxis, my doctor will not flag me as allergic. I'm too tired right now to argue with him over the possible complications of a Type 2 hypersensitive response. Since I teach Immunology for a living, I have a feeling I would win that argument.

And classes start back tomorrow in a state with no mandates for anything. Oh and I forgot to mention that I lost my voice during the cold and now sound like bad chain smoker.  So the first day will be lots of fun. Maybe my voice will scare a few into wearing a mask.

I feel better now having vented.

[mamselle]

My Christmas break sucked. It was plague ridden. I feel the need to whine to someone at least once about how bad it was.
We travelled across the country even though we didn't want to. There was a lot of family guilt tripping involved. The day we arrived my SIL tested positive for Corvid with mild symptoms. Eventually, my brothers entire family tested positive so we never saw them the entire trip. SIL was the only one with so much as sniffle.
   However, I came down with a whopper of cold (not-COVID) on Christmas Eve. My mother kept trying to offer her used inhaler as treatment (ew!!). After travelling back home it progressed into a bacterial sinus infection. Mr. Buster then came down with the same cold on New Years Eve. We both got antibiotics and 6 days in I break out in a whole body rash. However, since this is not full blown anaphylaxis, my doctor will not flag me as allergic. I'm too tired right now to argue with him over the possible complications of a Type 2 hypersensitive response. Since I teach Immunology for a living, I have a feeling I would win that argument.

And classes start back tomorrow in a state with no mandates for anything. Oh and I forgot to mention that I lost my voice during the cold and now sound like bad chain smoker.  So the first day will be lots of fun. Maybe my voice will scare a few into wearing a mask.

I feel better now having vented.

Yee-ow!!!

I'd say they're lucky you're willing to go back to teaching after all that.

(And that your SIL is lucky you're still speaking to her....if you are...).

Someone just quoted a cartoon apparently making the rounds now, of a person drilling a hole in the bottom of a boat.

   "What do you think you're doing???," everyone else asks, fumbling for their life vests.

   "Why is it any business of yours? I'm only drilling under my seat!" the clueless one replies.

M.

[mythbuster]

Mamselle thanks. MY SIL is actually pretty blameless here. She lost her dad this year and has really been very quiet/ down this year as a result. I wish I could have seen here to give her a hug. I actually really like her. 
     The guilt tripping was really from my mother, my uncle, and my brother in a very passive aggressive way. Since he has kids and we don't, we have to travel to them if we want to see them. Since we don't have kids- we are expected to travel so see everyone! It's exhausting and has gotten to the point where I don't enjoy the holidays anymore. Once everyone is healthy again I might try and communicate that. Not sure it will go over well though. There is a lot of family resentment that I "moved away".

[fishbrains]

Dude, if you are going to put tattoos on your face (again, kind of a dumb idea, but whatever), people are going to try to read/discern them. It's really, really weird for you to "express yourself" with tattoos and then get bent out of shape when people look at them.

[mamselle]

Mamselle thanks. MY SIL is actually pretty blameless here. She lost her dad this year and has really been very quiet/ down this year as a result. I wish I could have seen here to give her a hug. I actually really like her. 
     The guilt tripping was really from my mother, my uncle, and my brother in a very passive aggressive way. Since he has kids and we don't, we have to travel to them if we want to see them. Since we don't have kids- we are expected to travel so see everyone! It's exhausting and has gotten to the point where I don't enjoy the holidays anymore. Once everyone is healthy again I might try and communicate that. Not sure it will go over well though. There is a lot of family resentment that I "moved away".

Ah, OK, sorry for the misunderstanding.

I do know about the "moved away" thing, I've lived where I am (c. 900 miles from where I grew up) for just over 40 years now, and the question still comes up, "When do you think you might be moving back?"

Um....why, exactly, would I do that??

M.

[AmLitHist]

Sending good wishes, mythbuster. And take it easy for the first week or two--remember, students aren't going to know if you're taking it slow. Lots of rest and fluids--sinus infections and their aftermath are the worst.

My puny vent: I'm still wearing this aggravating knee-high boot/brace. The podiatrist said to wear it for 4 weeks, but my foot still hurts without (and with) it on. Meh.

[mamselle]

When going without, you might get some support/comfort from wrapping it with an Ace bandage, or using a plantar support sock.

I recall that feeling, often at night when I was in my in-between phase, with a walking cast by day that I was supposed to take off at night (sometimes, I 'forgot,' too...)

If the muscles/ligaments/tendons/nerves/blood vessels are still all re-adjusting themselves, an intermediary form of support could be helpful while they negotiate things out among themselves.

M.

[mamselle]

Sorry for the delayed double...

Don't wanna.

Not gonna.

Hafta....phooey.

Driver's license renewals are due, and doing battle with online 'paperwork' does not constitute 'fun' in my book.

I'd much rather sort out a tangled liturgical direction in scrambled Batard....

M.