A decidedly frustrated rant
One of my classes meets on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 4-5:30, or however late after that we are willing to stick around without getting too fidgety. It's actually scheduled to end at 5:18, but we were all told on day one that the plan was for 5:30. Usually, on Fridays when the music library closes at 5:30, we are forcibly kicked out. It's one of those classes.
Anyhow, the class is also ostensibly "team-taught" This has roughly translated into it being 10 individual one-week classes. Each Friday, we get our syllabus for the next week. This is generally a few hundred pages of reading, split between the Wednesday and Friday sessions for discussion. A lot to read, and it's sort of a pain to not be able to work ahead, but not out of line.
As time has gone on, the actual availability of the readings has taken quite a hit. For example, last week we had no Friday class (cancelled because so many folks were going to be out at the SEM conference). The schedule of the time since Wednesday's class has gone as follows:
- Wednesday, during class - we are reminded that the overall topic for this week is going to be "making music" and who the instructor for the week (really the day, thanks to Thanksgiving) will be. We are told we will be receiving our actual syllabi and reading assignments "soon."
- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - bupkus.
- Sunday night, 9:54pm - we receive an email with the reading list for the week, on the topic of "identity and difference." Note the topic change. The topics for weeks 10 and 11 have been swapped. Although we all have the reading list now, none of the readings are actually available yet on the course website. One of the books was on reserve at the Main Library, but will be moving to the Music Library. All of this will be happening "sometime Monday."
- Monday, 3:24pm - no readings yet posted to the website.
Now granted, at around 80-some pages, this is a relatively light week for reading, but the fact that, 48.5 hours before class, none of the readings have been made available - that's just wrong (especially given that they are unlikely to materialize overnight).
The logistical nightmare of this class has totally soured me on taking any more like it.
garden progress: Finally got that last mowing done, just before a really hard frost.
house progress: Repainted the dining room ceiling with KILLZ, to cover the water stains. I also primed the front door, and Joe primed the stairway. We are both still a little loopy from the fumes.
what's for dinner? Not sure, but we do get to pick up our turkey tonight!
posted by Alison @ 3:10 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
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At 8:46 PM,
TeacherRefPoet held forth...
- That's yucky. Plus, you'll be in a class where nobody's done the reading, but will be trying to sound intelligent anyway. I hate those.
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At 9:36 PM,
Alison held forth...
- Update - still nothing as of 9:30, although I was able to find one of the optional journal articles on JStor.
The good thing about this class is that people have gotten fairly bold about saying "y'know, this didn't make it to the website until late last night." It'll still make for a LOOOOONG hour and a half... -
At 8:11 AM,
tommyspoon held forth...
- Memories...
%-) -
At 1:22 PM,
lemming held forth...
- lovelovelovelovelove JSTOR. Has saved me I don't know how many times.