Here's the Thing

It's nearing end of term. For all intents and purposes, from here on out for me, I have only to sit back and let the students prove they've learned something. Almost all grading is done the minute class is over, it is simply a matter of recording the grades and letting the software do its thing.

Such are the advantages of admitting that I can't do everything, and focusing instead on what I can do that I (and others) judge is important. I fully expect to get called on it someday, and then I'll do it differently, but for the moment (and the past x semesters) I have very little end-of-term grading to do. The students continue to tell me they learn more in my classes because they are forced to be active learners every class meeting. They also assure me that classes that make them write papers or take tests have not changed they way they approach the discipline or the content; but that our approach has by pushing them to synthesize what they've learned before with what they're getting now - and that is every class meeting. So even students who hate history (the traditional approach of names, dates, wars, etc that they got in high school) love my classes and demonstrate that they've learned.

The down side is that I'm feeling... lazy. There have been times in my life when I've multi-tasked the crap out of things. I was offered a job once because they'd watched me do 5 things at once and not consider it a big deal. I always found that exhilarating, and energizing even as it was exhausting. I felt like I was really using my talents and abilities and expanding them at the same time.

But now I've noticed that when I'm only having to do one or two things at a time, I feel like I'm not doing enough. Yet I resist doing more - particularly when I see people around me feeling put-upon for having to do one thing, or even two things. At the moment I'm holding off sending in a review because while I had it done within three days of receiving the article, I didn't want to appear to be rushing to judgement on it. I wanted to appear thoughtful and serious (thus credible). I am working on a rewrite of a Major Policy, and am somewhat embarrassed when my committee colleagues profess themselves too swamped to do their part and praise me lavishly for doing what took me maybe... twenty minutes. And that twenty minutes was interrupted by students needing hand-holding, departmental schedules needing review for immediate submission to the dean, end-of-term evaluations being divided up between (resisting) faculty colleagues and the other stuff that emerges when one's door is left open.

Here's the thing: I feel boredom bearing down on me. I'm complacent; and that is not good. I've lost my oomph for research. And I want it back!

Update

In the previous post, I shared the awfulness of some student work. Today, I shared it with the whole class as anon example of how to blow off 50% of the grade, and the choices students make.

Three students were horrified by the mis-history. The rest squirmed (interesting...). This afternoon, I got an email apology from the major offender, begging for tolerance and a chance at passing the class. Most interesting?

S/he accepted full responsibility for hir actions.

Early Morning Guilt

That's what got me out of bed: guilt about not getting graded papers back to students. So I went to campus, and graded and crunched for 4 hours. Guilt assuaged. At least for now. It was pretty enlightening. In my class of seven, four are headed for D/F, one for doing every single assignment wrong. The others simply haven't done them, so s/he is really earning that D/F. In my big classes (by our standards, not yours... our 'big' sections are 25+) some of the kids I thought were doing okay/well are doing miserably in their online homework.

Did you know that all the men in the US went off to fight WWII? While they were gone, women filled their positions, moving into the workforce for the first time. And when the men got back, all the women went home and started the feminist movement. Which means, I guess, that the Baby Boom never happened. I guess those we were happy to have slaves around the old homestead, eh? Did you know that the Civil Rights Act of 1965 outlawed slavery? Crap, I thought it was 100 years earlier, but what do I know?

Now you see why I left after four hours.

Did I mention the student who, when analyzing a reliquary, noted that there was a cruxification on it?

Lovely Winter Soup

I do believe this is the first time I've ever posted a recipe. It is, however, too wonderful not to share. I invented it when my holiday starches weren't done when the turkey was. It is savory with a hint of sweetness and another of heat. (Note: this is almost what it looks like, but I really did invent the recipe... and mine is a bit more brownish...)

1 Butternut squash

1 Sweet potato

1 Idaho baking potato

1 cup Turkey gravy (I'm sure canned would work, as I just used the gravy packet that came with the bird)

Peel and chunk the squash and potatoes. In one baking dish, combine 1/2 of the squash and the sweet potato, drizzle with olive oil and 3 tsp brown sugar. In the other baking dish, combine the white and the rest of the sweet potato; drizzle those with olive oil, salt & pepper, Italian herbs. Roast everything slow and low (I did about 300 for about 2 hours, but they still weren't done.) The roasting added a nice crunchiness/crust to the squash and potatoes that I think are worth adding to the overall taste.

I then tossed 'em all (especially drippings from the two pans) into the crock pot/slow cooker, poured the turkey gravy in, added 1 chicken bullion cube, 1/2 c chopped onion, cumin, ginger, paprika, garlic, 2 T green chili (I open one can, freeze them in a plastic freezer bag and use as I want 'em), 1 quart water, Italian herbs, fresh ground black pepper. I spooned in some of the turkey drippings, maybe 1/4 cup. Cook on low overnight. (It filled the house with the loveliest smells!)

Let cool, then put about 2 cups at a time in the blender; blend on low. Watch the consistency; mine was about as thick as tomato paste; I added water to simplify blending. Taste; add 1 T cinnamon, 1 t nutmeg, pinch of clove to taste. If you want savory-ier, add more cumin, chile powder, curry. Add heat with crushed red pepper or cayenne (before the blending, probably in the slow-cooker) or a couple of drops of tabasco.

My end result is thick, thick, thick. I got about 2 quarts of concentrated soup. I measured 1/2 c into a bowl, stirred in 1/4 c water and zapped it in the microwave. Filling & yummy, a main course soup. Creamy without dairy. High in fiber and anti-oxidants, low in calories.

I may have it for breakfast...

It Feels So Good!

Two months ago, my jeans were uncomfortably tight. I wore them only when I went somewhere I couldn't/wouldn't be sitting for any long period of time.

Wednesday I put my hands in my pocket... and pushed 'em right off my hips. They went all the way to the floor.

My jeans are too big! My jeans are too big! My jeans are too big!

;-D

Thankful

* Safety. So many people - and more animals - aren't.
* Warmth. My thermostat is set at 63F, but that's so much warmer than so many people are. And I have blankets and sweats.
* Chess, Tucker, Amelia, Polly, Grace: My animals. They are my children, best friends, bringers-of-joy and the greatest roomies on the planet.
* My job, which I do love. I'm employed!
* My mom, who made it all possible. She believed in me even when I didn't.
* Friends, scattered around the globe: my chosen family, who like (even love) and accept me for what I am and what I'm not.
* Freedom: under threat, tenuous, but still mine. Cherished, fragile, fiercely protected.
* Little things: trees, frogs, whales in the distant seas, birds soaring, the music of life.

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday, even when I spend it alone. Maybe even more when I'm alone.

So Happy Day to you!

C'est Moi

Colleagues. Har-rumph.