*crossing fingers*
Jan. 8th, 2004 11:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wordinistaOkay, so it's a thing at the college where I work -- if a class has fewer than X number of people, the class will be cancelled. I think it's probably common at any college/university.
I was warned, when I started begging to teach a Brit Lit survey course (the Romantics to the 20th Century) that classes like that typically don't do well at a (*cough*backwater*cough*) two-year college. In fact, the first, oh, fifty times I asked/begged to teach this course, I was turned down. And then a former student of mine went to the department chair's office, complaining that our campus had gotten rid of our theatre department (moving it to another campus 45 minutes north of us), and that she "absolutely, positively NEEDED" another literature course offered, since she'd already taken the American Lit survey course. (Yeah, you heard me. One literature course offered last semester. American Lit. It so happens to be taught by the department chair, and just so happens to be offered every effing semester.)
So, in the course of one day, I'd received an email from my boss saying that, "No, we can't offer a Brit Lit course this semester," then I went to work. And then, when I got home, there was another email from him: "So, are you still interested in teaching a Brit Lit class?" He really hurts my head sometimes. Really.
Anyway. Registration started in... November, I think. I was recruiting students, my mentor (a Humanities prof) was recruiting students, and the student who had ASKED for the class in the first place was recruiting students. I had twelve. Twelve isn't bad.
And then two students were dropped for non-payment. *sigh* Putting me down to ten. The general policy is that a class has to have at least double digits.
So, we met yesterday for the first time, and I swear -- this group is like a dream come true. They're excited, interested, and some of them NEED the class for transfer credit to UCF. Eleven students showed up. Now, my dept chair asked me for a "head count" in the class, which he could then give to the campus president when he called to plead the case for keeping the class open. During the course of the class, my students had suggested perhaps I count myself in the head count, since he obviously didn't say "a count of students in the class."
So now I'm waiting on pins and needles, waiting for him to get back to me as to whether my class is cancelled or not. I really hope not, because -- first of all, I LOVE this group of students. Love them. If I could have packed them all up in my pocket and taken them home, I would have. Secondly, I get paid by the credit hour. If I lose a class, I make less money. And, really, if anyone knew how crappy the pay was for adjunct instructors, the idea that I could make LESS money would be staggering.
I think -- THINK that the class will stay intact. God, I hope so. I was in such a good mood yesterday when I got home from work. Normally I teach Composition I and II, and those classes are required, so the kids don't really WANT to be there. And trying to make a dull subject interesting for a roomful of 22 bored twenty-somethings will kill anyone's enthusiasm for education.
But now I'm starting to worry, because... well, because the college has a bad habit of screwing me over. In fact, last semester was the worst. I pride myself on my work, and I take my job seriously, and try always to give 100%. I get consistently good student evaluations -- and what did I get last semester? The cruddiest schedule known to man. Four of the SAME class. Four Intro to Composition classes. Imagine, for a moment, teaching the same material over and over and over and, yes, over again. Actually, it was last semester that really drove me to decide to apply for PhD programs. Otherwise I'll never get a chance to teach at a proper university -- no room at all for advancement.
I did NOT get this far in student loan debt -- I did NOT bust my hump to get an MA in literature from the George Washington University to end up teaching composition at a two-year college.
*sigh* I really hope they don't cancel my class. I don't THINK they will. And the dept chair doesn't think they will -- but I've been burned too many times by these jerks.
I was warned, when I started begging to teach a Brit Lit survey course (the Romantics to the 20th Century) that classes like that typically don't do well at a (*cough*backwater*cough*) two-year college. In fact, the first, oh, fifty times I asked/begged to teach this course, I was turned down. And then a former student of mine went to the department chair's office, complaining that our campus had gotten rid of our theatre department (moving it to another campus 45 minutes north of us), and that she "absolutely, positively NEEDED" another literature course offered, since she'd already taken the American Lit survey course. (Yeah, you heard me. One literature course offered last semester. American Lit. It so happens to be taught by the department chair, and just so happens to be offered every effing semester.)
So, in the course of one day, I'd received an email from my boss saying that, "No, we can't offer a Brit Lit course this semester," then I went to work. And then, when I got home, there was another email from him: "So, are you still interested in teaching a Brit Lit class?" He really hurts my head sometimes. Really.
Anyway. Registration started in... November, I think. I was recruiting students, my mentor (a Humanities prof) was recruiting students, and the student who had ASKED for the class in the first place was recruiting students. I had twelve. Twelve isn't bad.
And then two students were dropped for non-payment. *sigh* Putting me down to ten. The general policy is that a class has to have at least double digits.
So, we met yesterday for the first time, and I swear -- this group is like a dream come true. They're excited, interested, and some of them NEED the class for transfer credit to UCF. Eleven students showed up. Now, my dept chair asked me for a "head count" in the class, which he could then give to the campus president when he called to plead the case for keeping the class open. During the course of the class, my students had suggested perhaps I count myself in the head count, since he obviously didn't say "a count of students in the class."
So now I'm waiting on pins and needles, waiting for him to get back to me as to whether my class is cancelled or not. I really hope not, because -- first of all, I LOVE this group of students. Love them. If I could have packed them all up in my pocket and taken them home, I would have. Secondly, I get paid by the credit hour. If I lose a class, I make less money. And, really, if anyone knew how crappy the pay was for adjunct instructors, the idea that I could make LESS money would be staggering.
I think -- THINK that the class will stay intact. God, I hope so. I was in such a good mood yesterday when I got home from work. Normally I teach Composition I and II, and those classes are required, so the kids don't really WANT to be there. And trying to make a dull subject interesting for a roomful of 22 bored twenty-somethings will kill anyone's enthusiasm for education.
But now I'm starting to worry, because... well, because the college has a bad habit of screwing me over. In fact, last semester was the worst. I pride myself on my work, and I take my job seriously, and try always to give 100%. I get consistently good student evaluations -- and what did I get last semester? The cruddiest schedule known to man. Four of the SAME class. Four Intro to Composition classes. Imagine, for a moment, teaching the same material over and over and over and, yes, over again. Actually, it was last semester that really drove me to decide to apply for PhD programs. Otherwise I'll never get a chance to teach at a proper university -- no room at all for advancement.
I did NOT get this far in student loan debt -- I did NOT bust my hump to get an MA in literature from the George Washington University to end up teaching composition at a two-year college.
*sigh* I really hope they don't cancel my class. I don't THINK they will. And the dept chair doesn't think they will -- but I've been burned too many times by these jerks.
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 05:33 pm (UTC)the occasional suckage that is my job
From:no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 07:02 pm (UTC)As for your class... it sounds WONDERFUL. I'll keep my fingers crossed, because everyone deserves one really good thing, at LEAST. And if they've been screwing you over forever, then this needs to be your really good thing. If these students really need the class, though, then hopefully they'll keep it. That's the way things SHOULD work, anyway. O.o;
*waves*
From:no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 09:19 pm (UTC)If so many of your students need it, hopefully it'll stay.