Teaching Evaluations

When professors think that they are safe because the semester is over, the writing is getting done, and preparation for new classes is starting, the teaching evaluations arrive. It is just part of the mania of being in this profession.

These being my first and only from L&C, I must recognize that they are unimportant for my tenure, but valuable for guidance. Having said that, it is difficult to not be discouraged. I think that I did a reasonable job given what I knew, but obviously it was not enough to become super stellar prof-guy. What can I say, it was my first real gig outside of graduate school, and after 4 years of not having been in front of a classroom. Now I feel better.

I think that I know what went wrong. First, I tried to teach thematically rather than substantively. I have come to understand that students would rather have the details, than a method of putting it all together into a coherent way to view the world. Second, I taught at the worst times of the day. I had class at 9 am, 9:45 am, and one from 7-10 pm. Third, I underestimated the willingness of students to tell me how they are doing and what they would like to have changed in the class. I used to do it, so why wouldn't they? Fourth, I was a first semester prof at a unique school. As much as I loved being there, the school has different expectations that are higher than state schools and bordering on graduate school. How could I have known? Fifth, there were a variety of odd situations that simply created a disaster. I taught intro an intro class full of juniors and seniors and they nailed me for not being challenging enough. (The same class full of freshmen and sophomores gave me reasonable evals.) I taught a methods class to people who were graduating the same semester. (They should have taken it as juniors.) And in summary, it was my first time. It can only get better, right?

Do you have any suggestions / stories about what makes a great professor? What did you like the best? What does not work? Help me out. Please.

[I just took a short break to read comments about teachers I know well on ratemyprofessors.com Now I feel a little better. CSUF will not be the same as L&C, but still please leave some advice]

Hurray for Bank X

To the shareholders of Bank __X__,
Thank you for allowing me to buy your house for our offering price. I know that you could have made $2k more by going with a riskier buyer, but you lost a few more dollars and went with the sure bet. Obviously you have already lost a lot of money following risky deals, so maybe $2k wasn't all that much to lose on the last leg. It all started when you gave a loan to a significantly underqualified buyer. My guess was that it was a subprime loan with a 6-month ARM. Maybe there were multiple families who occupied the house and they pooled their W-2s to qualify. With the increasing prices in the area, I am sure that $450k for a 1480 sqft, 4 bed, 2 bath house seemed like a good buy. They were trustworthy buyers, so they could make the payments when the rate reset. Oh, wait, they couldn't.

Fast forward to June 2008. There is a glut of houses on the market. Potential buyers are having a difficult time qualifying for loans. Housing prices in some markets have dropped 25%. But you bought a house that was super inflated in value. You lose over 60% of value. What is another $2k when you already lost $250k.

Gratefully yours,
One happy Bowtie Professor

College Night

Last night I went to visit a BCL friend, JRN. He and I share similar hairstyles, among other things. He is also a displaced Midwesterner with a sensibility about life. He loves mines and reclamation, and I have lost all interest. In the absence of an involved owner, we ran a successful business, walked a lot of miles, and shared 2 great seasons of fieldwork.

We and a couple of friends went to Sonic and then to Denny's. I was out until past midnight. It felt like I was an undergrad again. We talked smack and watched the only un-committed person in the group hit on all of the waitresses. Only a few things would have made it more of an undergrad night... eating wings, walking home, getting lost, eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's, and watching some horrible tv show like Beavis and Butthead.

Having said all of that, I can't believe that I turned out to be a bowtie prof.

Pins and Needles

We are waiting for a response from the bank on whether or not they will sell us their house. We submitted an offer a week and a half ago. We had hoped that we could get into it and remodel before I started work. At this rate, we won't. Our realtor said that the bank is courting another contract that will provide a whopping profit of $2K more than they would make on us. And the prospective buyers need down payment assistance. After a year of financial devastation, the bank is pinching us out of our house for $2k. Shareholders of __X__ bank should be proud!

In Memorium

Today I sent my boat off to my brother. I will miss the fun, but not the trouble. Joe and I had many a great ride in Kansas, and I will never forget how much fun it was growing up in Ohio. The times it worked were great. The times it didn't were simply embarassing. I can't count the number of times that I paddled or swam it in to the docks. I also can't count the number of times that I never thought it would be able to run as well as it did that day. Unfortunately because of my body's super efficient fat-storage system, even on the good days it will no longer allow me to ski behind it in the manner of my choosing. My brother got the thin genes, so he won't have that problem.

I had planned on taking the boat to Idaho in January when I left for Lewis & Clark, but due to snow on the roads, I chickened out. Looking at today, I am glad that I did. My in-laws volunteered to take it to Utah today where my brother will pick it up. They needed to take a few items to friends, and their truck is much more powerful than our old Jeep. A few hours into their trip, one of the tires on the trailer blew out. They didn't notice until it had eaten up part of the rim. The boat had a spare, but no tire iron. Luckily, they were only 15 miles outside of Moab, so my father-in-law unhooked the trailer and went into town while my brother-in-law and mother-in-law sat in the boat and ate dinner. They said it was like any other day on the lake except there was not water. Finally, they got a tire iron, put the spare on, and left for Salt Lake. A few hours later, in Price Utah, the spare tire gave out. Luckily, they are near a few tire stores and are not a schedule.

Maybe the boat is exacting its final revenge on me for not using it for the last two years. Rachel believes in the personification of inanimate objects, so this would not be a difficult thing to imagine for her. I envision the boat with a stern grimmace trying to figure out how to best inflict pain on me... "Rachel hates me, and her family is doing him a favor, so if I can make the trip hard, he will feel bad, and she will multiply the anguish by complaining about me and the ordeal. It is a perfect plan." It is also possible that a 10 year old tire and a 30 year old spare simply can't handle the pressure of making a final road trip.

I tend to think that it is the boat's final farewell. It's new owner will surely use it, for he is a professional fisherman. It was first purchased in Idaho, and to Idaho it returns. From a fisherman, to a recreationalist, back to a fisherman. I think that it will enjoy the cool river and lake water there.

May you live out your days is wet peace, dear boat.

Mental stimulation

I read two books on my trip to California... The Richest Man in Babylon and The Alchemist. The Richest Man in Babylon is an old financial advice book that can be boiled down to save at least 10% of what you make to pay yourself. Then take that money and use it to make more money. Simple right? It explains this concept in different variations through the telling of fictional tales of people from Babylon during its glory days. Where did it get Babylon? RICH... then destroyed. It gives the concept within the first few pages and then pounds you over the head with it again and again. Mostly I stuck with it because I found it on the bookshelf at my parents house with a note from my grandfather and grandmother to my parents in 1976. Now that I have read it, I think that I can honestly declare that none of my family has ever read the book or followed its theme.

Everyone has read The Alchemist so no need to repeat the theme. I was struck by one passage that bears repeating. It is shortly after the boy watches the hawks fight and thinks of it as an omen. It is on page 101 of my version... "He knew that any given thing on the face of the earth could reveal the history of all things. One could open a book to any page, or look at a person's hand; one could turn a card, or watch the flight of the birds... whatever the thing observed, one could find a connection with his experience of the moment. Actually, it wasn't that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of penetration to the Soul of the World." If I were to have written it, it would say something like... 'Actually, it wasn't that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of looking backward, seeing forward, and piecing together the story about to unfold before their eyes.'

While it is mentally stimulating to read, both books left me a little blah. Is it too much to ask for a new message? I guess that's what I get for reading old books.

Summer Broken

Summer break is great until about 4 weeks into the break, at which point begin to I long for a routine. This summer has been more difficult than most in that I returned home from a long absence, my wife is increasing her business stature, we made a rush trip to Ohio, and a house hunting venture to California. For the rest of my break I have to write some papers, prepare courses, pack the house, move, remodel a kitchen, start a new job, and be a supporting spouse.

Having said all of that, I have the best job in the world. This summer is just broken.