This is a writing class!

College Life: The Beginning

I'm so happy to announce that my students from Nashville State Community College have published their own book on their college experiences called College Life: The Beginning.

These students were in my remedial writing class in Fall 2011. I was honored to help them publish their own book!

Examples from "Formula for Making a Thesis Statement"

In an earlier post I gave a formula for making a thesis statement. This formula helps you make a thesis statement that contains your position, a qualifier, and why you are correct despite the qualifier. I have my students practice this a few times with silly thesis positions. When each student has constructed two statements, I then put them in groups to construct a Super Thesis from the work they've already done.

Here are a few examples of the results from the class activity Formula For Making A Thesis Statement:

A.J.
Position: Behemoth is the best metal band.
Thesis statement:
Although many people like listening to mainstream garbage artists who have less talent than a baby getting it's diaper changed, Behemoth stamps on the faces of all the famous frauds who call themselves musicians; and therefore, Behemoth is the best metal band.

Josh
Position: Ms. Whiddon is evil
Thesis statement:
Ms. Whiddon says she wants to help us, but she only gave us 10 minutes to write two thesis statements and therefore, Ms. Whiddon is evil.

Caitlin
Position: The Internet should be monitored by the CIA.
Thesis statement:
Even though the Internet is a great way to express yourself, there are those who abuse it for their selfish reasons and could harm others which is why the Internet should be monitored by the CIA.

Devon
Position: SpongeBob invented the stapler.
Thesis statement:
Even though SpongeBob's world seems modern, Sandy's world seems old-fashioned, making it plausible that SpongeBob invented the stapler.

Levi
Position: Zombies smell like cheddar cheese.
Thesis statement:
Although Zombies are made of rotten flesh, everyone including Zombies, loves cheddar cheese and the lack of flesh exposes previously consumed cheese making Zombies smell like cheddar cheese.

Connor
Position: Teddy Bears make great murder weapons.
Thesis:
Although guns are efficient killing machines, teddy bears kill more people annually, therefore teddy bears make great murder weapons.

Group Thesis statements:

Group 1
Combination of the following positions:
1. Lady Gaga is evil.
2. Zombies smell like burning poo.
3. Zombies smell like cheddar cheese.
4. Hipsters are evil.
5. Justin Bieber is a robot.
6. Behemoth is the best metal band.

Thesis:
Against the popular belief that Lindsey Lohan was the first Zombie celebrity, we have specific evidence that during the Zombie apocalypse, Lady Gaga was the first to turn into a zombie that smells like burning poo and cheddar cheese while the alien hipsters were listening to a robotic Justin Bieber
trying to impersonate Behemoth.



Group 2
Combination of the following positions:
1. Ms. Whiddon is evil.
2. Teddy Bears make great murder weapons.
3. Ice cubes cause cancer.

Thesis:
Although Ms. Whiddon appears to be an outstanding citizen in society, as she has founded the Teddy Bear foundation; Ms. Whiddon is actually a master villain who puts cancerous ice cubes in fish tanks and sells teddy bears that explode and kill people.


I have the groups compete against each other at the end for prizes. This is a fun classroom experience for me and the students. Here is the ORIGINAL POST on how to construct thesis statements.

The OED Assignment

Few freshmen have used their college library databases enough to appreciate the joys of the online Oxford English Dictionary. Every semester I assign a fun homework project in which each student has to pick one difficult word that they don't already know the definition for and look that up through the school's portal for the OED. The students share these words (with their definitions and year they were first seen in print) with the class. We write these words on the board and then try to construct one sentence using all of them.


It's a fun and quick class time activity that encourages the use of the library's databases, appreciation for English words and their history, group work, and sentence construction.


Here are the two sentences we constructed this semester. (The first class is much smaller than the second, so that sentence is shorter.)





After a mumpsimus absquatulated with my skinking selcouth phone, I pandiculated into a juxtaposition of taxonomy.





My Quixotic fere, through enlightened self-interest, maligned an insidious plethora of ostentatiousness requiring dastardly bacteriotherapy and a magirical unguent that prorepted into an interbation of lifelong jejunes which made him trepidatious of effrontery. 

Skype - Student/Teacher Conferences of the “Future”!

At the beginning of the fall semester, 2011, I was dealing with a scheduling conflict that was going to require that I drive 45 minutes (each way) one extra day of class just to hold office hours where my students may or may not have actually visited me. As an adjunct, my office would have been a cramped room with other adjuncts present (not an ideal place for a student to voice serious concerns).  I had considered making the long, gas burning journey on an extra day every week just to sit in the coffee shop in the library and spend even more of my meager salary sipping overpriced coffee while wishing that my students cared as much about their college careers as I did.

It just didn’t make sense.  Why waste so much time, money, and gasoline while actually helping no one?

I needed to re-think my responsibilities as their teacher. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that although the “Office Hours” requirement is very much needed, the way we conduct our office hours needs to change. I needed to find a better way to interact one-on-one with my students.

Although students SHOULD prefer human interaction, it’s not our job to change what technological evolution is causing. Our job is to teach the material, to follow guidelines, and to mentor students into their next classes.

Here is a video explaining what happened when I skyped with my students:

Flipping the Classroom

I've been working on a project that will become a presentation I am giving at the MTSU curriculum meeting this coming February. The video presentation will be based on the research I am doing on creativity in the classroom and transversal learning. (Thanks, Bryan Reynolds.)

I was inspired today by this amazing video presentation by Gabe Zincherman : How Games Make Kids Smarter. I've been talking with my students who are also avid gamers and what I have found is that learning preferences of gamers tend to be the same as non-gamers. It's the way in which young people think that we are disconnected from. Education expectations have changed - and are changing - very quickly. This video explains that quite well.

The Future Adjunct Spring?

I’m no protestor. My idea of civil disobedience is usually a pithy comment on a news story I’ve seen posted on Facebook. But I surprised myself (and my family) last Thursday when I stood with a few hundred other people on the side of West End Boulevard in Nashville as part of the “Occupy Wall Street” protests. What brought me there was not, as the media claims, a secret liberal agenda, or a need to be a part of something I could not or was unable to explain. I knew exactly why I needed to stand with the rest of the 99%.

I’m an adjunct. I teach two part-time jobs at schools 45 minutes apart. But I’m not complaining. I know how lucky I am to be working.  For six months I was unemployed, living off the generosity of my boyfriend, and scared as hell. These two jobs this fall have saved my life and my self-esteem.  But even though I’m getting a check, I know I’m not out of the woods. I’m still afraid that more cuts will come and I will lose my job to an economy that keeps falling apart and pulling its most capable down with it. And I’m not the only one.

Adjunct teachers are increasing on college campuses as more full-time, tenured teachers are phased out. And since colleges save money hiring part-time teachers who do not qualify for any benefits, the trend will only increase as economic outlooks decrease. Since adjuncts don’t have offices, they often use rolling carts as their own portable offices, filled with student writing journals, water bottles, and lunch bags.  Adjuncts drive older cars sporting several different school parking tags and bumper stickers.  These educational nomads are often seen sitting in their cars eating their lunches – no way can an adjunct afford to buy lunch on campus. And since grading is sometimes done while eating lunch in the car, students’ papers occasionally sport stains along with well thought out comments.

We adjuncts are grateful to work where we can – when we can. We are committed to our students as much as any full-time professor; we just have to do our work on the run to keep up.  If we’re lucky, we’re splitting our time at two or three different schools - that means we teach more classes each semester than most professors.  We have more papers to grade, more names to learn. Each school has different rules, deadlines, goals, etc., so we have to learn those as well.  There are different offices to find, different email and online databases to check, and different expectations to live up to.

Adjuncts are certainly part of the 99%.  I don’t know the number of us considered poor, but I can only imagine that the available part-time jobs compared to the number of applicants with Master’s Degrees would show that we are not only underemployed, most of us live well under the survival line.  There’s a critical mass coming. Colleges are employing adjuncts to save money, yes, but some of the unintended consequences of that are making this large, non-represented and marginalized group rethink its rights.

  Will there be an Adjunct Spring? Probably not.  We’re too tired from all that driving to organize and protest and start our own union. But that doesn’t mean that colleges shouldn’t pay attention to what is coming. In fact, there are things that colleges can do to before its adjuncts outnumber its full-time faculty, creating a critical mass of underemployed and pissed off academics. Before colleges are caught off guard, there are several things they could do to pacify the growing majority of adjuncts –at little or no cost to the institutions. In fact, considering how much schools are getting for so little investment, I would think the following list would be a welcome shift in how colleges think of adjuncts and how they choose to treat them.

•         Adjuncts should have first choice of class schedules. Of course, administration must take many things into consideration, but adjunct schedules should always be at the top of the list.
•         Adjuncts should get special parking. The list of parking priority should go like this: Handicapped, Dean, Adjuncts, and then the rest (Full Timers, Maintenance, and Students).
•         Adjuncts should have special ID cards that give discounts on everything on campus. This card will also grant special access to the new adjunct office/lounge. (But more on that later.)
•         Adjuncts should make up a new voting group that has a say in department issues. This means that there should also be a “Head Adjunct” or “Special Adjunct Coordinator.” Whatever the title, this person heads up a powerful lobby of adjunct teachers at the school.
•         Golf cart rides – anywhere, anytime. Remember those damn rolling carts?

•         Special Adjunct teaching awards and named adjunctships.

•         The Adjunct offices must change from corner closets with shared old desks and computers to workspaces akin to Google, or Ebay headquarters. And of course, there must be free printing. This office must also have an Adjunct Secretary! How can the University pay for this? – Hire more adjuncts!

<!--[if !supportLists]-->

Of course, this is just a start. The main thing that colleges and universities should keep in mind is that they can do something to pacify the growing number of adjuncts they hire. Treating adjuncts like rock stars is the first step, because if you can’t give money, special privileges go a long way. Sure, what I really want is a full-time job with benefits; but I will certainly take help and appreciation when it’s offered.  I want to be recognized as part of this dedicated work force – and not just by a “thank you” email.

Schools should be rushing to do this, not just to avoid blame when the underemployed also claim to be exploited. Schools should do this to slow the inevitability of all of us being outsourced to another country like India.  For those of you who have used Skype and video conferencing, you know this is very possible.  Because once schools see that video outsourcing is a viable way to replace all of their employees with qualified people who will work cheaper in countries where benefits are not required, the only employees left on campus will be IT staff and security.

What an Honor to Teach

I just had a wonderful Facebook chat with a former student who wanted to check in with me. I'm so proud of her - she's really living life and succeeding in her chosen field.  She was a bright student and I always remembered her through the years.

What she said to me tonight brought tears to my eyes - that I was the teacher that influenced her the most.

I'm just so thankful that I have been able to teach and that I have been able to touch someone like that. It truly is an honor.