Another academic year just ended. This one was particularly eventful, with a lot of unexpected strangeness and craziness. I feel almost like when I finished the dissertation, was told I passed, and took off walking for 5 miles, not even with a destination in mind. So I thought I’d do a stream of consciousness and do 5 miles of writing this time.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually get outdoors and do some real life walking. My legs hurt right now from sitting at the computer for 2 days and figuring final grades. I always have my own grade book in excel, which is my own style, where I can view all grades at once and see easily what a student has missed in attendance AND assignments, all at once. I can follow the line across to the end — to MY end, the one I like, the one I create, not the one online that is someone else’s creation. Each has its own place. I oftentimes find mistakes in mine, and I work to the last tenth of a point, to make them both come out the same. Then I know I can enter those final grades.
This academic year, we had a President resign. A little disconcerting, to say the least. He happened to be someone I really liked and admired, someone I believed would take us to new heights as a college, lead us to the big outside global world. However, that was not to be. We actually had TWO Presidents resign this year, the 2nd one only for 2 days. Then he returned. We are still in limbo for leadership, as we do not yet have a new permanent president. A good friend of ours has a line in a song, “Strange days ahead”. Let’s hope these strange days are PAST!
This academic year I headed a committee. We always do amazing things, but this year the money ran out. We were told there were no more funds to bring in speakers, plays, or whatever else we might have managed to do. This was disconcerting as well. But we managed. It’s all about flexibility and adaption.
I taught an extra class, at yet another university, while my husband was unemployed for 9 months straight. He secured a job, has worked 3 weeks, and I’m about to have the summer off.
My students were AWESOME this year! One class had at least 4 graduating seniors and most of the rest juniors. Yet, there were still 22 in the class. This makes for an awesome class with a maturity level where you can actually discuss issues. I had 3-4 students ask to be my advisee and switch to sociology as a major. That was awesome as well. My class evaluations were high. Very much joy in that.
This semester, we nearly lost one student to alcohol poisoning. At the end of this semester, I had one student disappear for the last 2-3 weeks of class. Still don’t know what happened to him. Another student missed 2 exams and showed up one day looking very drugged. She decided not to finish the work of the semester. Last day of finals, another student borrowed my book for the exam, then took off with it and cashed it in for money. Strange days ahead?? I would say so. We had one student’s father pass away, another student’s grandmother/mother pass away, another student get mono, one got hit in the face with a baseball, another student have 10 million orthodontist appts., and the baseball players and golf team disappear for largely 1/2 of the Spring classes during April. This is life as it happens, but it seemed to go overboard this semester.
One week before classes ended, I rec’d chapter corrections for a publication due out this summer, and they looked like someone had spilled red ink all over the manuscript, with strange markings all over the pages, and “comments” with questions awaiting my updating and response. I had 5 days to make the corrections. I missed the deadline by a day, but they graciously accepted it, including a new photo which may be included in the final product.
This year I presented at the Southern Sociologist conference in New Orleans and got to visit that city again with my husband and son. We love going there. I also accompanied a group of students who presented their own research, driving 2 of them to and from the conference. Drove all over rural SC that day. It is always awesome to see students present their own work and proudly stand and explain their posters, when you know they’ve been up all night finishing them. One of ours got first place!
This semester, a Club I am advisor for participated in Relay 4 Life and turned in $200. we collected. Very awesome.
Tonight, I finished tabulating and entering 114 final grades. My thoughts are on all the ways I could have made class a little more fun, a little more academically accomplished, a little better. But now it is done. I have completed 4 years as an assistant professor.
I have no idea what to do with my time and it will take SOME TIME to get used to not preparing for another upcoming class. There were MANY NIGHTS this semester I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, preparing or grading. With my May class at 2 students currently, it may not make, which means after this weekend, I have 3 months off. Family history research is calling my name. Travel to grandkids and adult children is, as well.
This Saturday, I will see an unprecedented number of students graduate who I know personally, and not all are sociology majors. Some are Business majors, some Psychology, Political Science or Forensics, all of whom I had in class or served as advisor for their Club. It will be the biggest graduation yet!! I love graduations. I run around trying to get my picture with all those I know. It will be a big day this weekend. I cannot yet quite imagine life after classes.
Doctor Grandma 