Piping down

It's time for me to be quiet. Not here of course, I'll always be nice and loud here. However, lately, I think I've been too vocal around the department. Really. I've just been complaining (i.e. bitching) my little heart out.

What is happening in our department is nothing that hasn't happened before other places; and, frankly, until it happens somewhere that actually pays me a salary and allows me to vote on issues, I don't care.

There is, however, something interesting about what is happening to our department. Last year, when this particular search was conducted it was because a desperation point had been reached. There was a job to do, but no one wanted to do it anymore. So, in spite of the fact, that the people who interviewed for the job were in various ways probably not the best fit. At least one of them was willing to do the job.

The problem is that very few people really knew or understood what the job really was. The job was presented as administrative when really it was more about management. This in no way implies that there weren't necessary changes to be made, there were. But, the changes needed to be gradual and they also needed to reflect an understanding of the work already done. Obviously, that hasn't really been the case; but as I said I'm done complaining about that.

None of this sounds very interesting until you think about it historically and professionally. Much of the current problem stems from an historic inability of our department to explain what does/is/should go on in the writing classroom. It was assumed that everyone not only knew, but also agreed what should be happening in the writing classroom.

Here are two examples the first of what I was taught when I first got here and the second of what the current trend is looking like.

The writing classroom is a space in which we can use the study of rhetoric to teach students how to think critically. This approach allows students to develop their own strategies for use when they are asked to produce other forms of writing. (See my post about service course.) The problem with this idea of the purpose of a writing class is that it is not very testable. In other words, there is no way to give all the students some sort of test at the end of 15 weeks that says, "Yes! They've mastered this material."

The current trend is to quantify what goes on in the writing classroom. We may still not produce an End of Subject test, but we know we will only have x amount of reading, and y amount of writing; and we will define objectives and goals until all the courses look the same. This makes sure that everyone from fellow faculty to the university at large can look at our information and think they know what goes on in a writing classroom.

The problem with the first approach is that is difficult to explain to outsiders...really to anyone. Even more importantly it's difficult to pull off well. What that means is that when you have a course taught almost exculsively by graduate students is that sometimes the course will go badly wrong. But, usually the wrongness of it all is what we learn from...both the students and the graduate instructor. The other problem with this approach that is specific to our institution is that it became insular. The running of the Composition program went back and forth between two individuals who thought that everyone else understood what they were doing.

The problem with the second approach is that although the numbers will all look pretty, there is no real way to quantify what goes on in a Writing Class. The attempt to articulate what happens in the writing class through quantifiable evidence becomes problematic when the numbers don't add up to the need. In our situation, this is also a HUGE pendulum swing. People who didn't necessarily agree with the former methods are just as outraged by the rash of changes as those who did.

The really crappy part of it all is that since those of us most affected by the changes are graduate students we are simply seen as whining, not as offering an actual critique. People think that everything will settle down when the last of us trained in the old way leave. What they don't realize is that by then, if the pendulum hasn't swung back a little, it will be too late. The Composition Program here is moving from one that thrives and is growing, to one that will stagnate and die.

This probably really isn't very interesting to anyone else. I just think it's fascinating to see the arguments of the profession, arguments that seemed sorted out and decided, play out in front of me.

Motivating Accountability

How do you motivate yourself to get things done?

Me...I'm not so good at that, hence what I want to do gets done and what I don't gets put off until it cannot be put off anymore. Honestly, there isn't a time I can remember when I haven't functioned in this way, but clearly I need to develop a different work habit. Well, really it needs to be a different life habit, because my approach to scrubbing the kitchen floor is about the same as my approach to exercising and my approach to writing a dissertation. You get the idea. It usually doesn't help when I check Profgrrrrl's page and she's managed to accomplish almost everything she's set out to do...and then some. I marvel at (and aspire to) her determination and focus. I have no idea how she does it. Since I am too afraid to ask, it's fortunate that we have our own mistress of accomplishment in the department, Dr. Helpful.

Dr. Helpful is a great professor, an amazing administrator, and a tireless advocate for graduate students. She has accomplished more in the last two years as our DGS than anyone would have thought possible; and, this summer, instead of taking a much needed break from it all, she's been working closely with at least three students helping them prepare for their comprehensive exams. Yes, she is on their committees, but I'm pretty sure she is not the chair of any of them. The Cajun Princess has been working with her since January and they are still reading through her special topics list together. Dr. H showed CP one way she motivates herself to get things done. Well, motivates might not be the right word...maybe rewards. Dr. H has a sticker system.
The sticker system is pretty much how it sounds. When you do something during the day you get a sticker. Now, I know several people who have tried to create a list everyday and then give themselves a gold or silver star when they get the whole list done, but that isn't how this sticker system works. This system requires stickers for different kinds of activities. A gold star for writing a blog entry, a turtle sticker for getting outside (taking a walk, gardening, etc), a martini sticker for making time for friends, a heart sticker for crocheting, it can be anything. The point is that when you place your stickers on your calendar you see that you have done a variety of things throughout the day. More importantly, the sticker system incorporates rewards for the things you like to do. It makes the enjoyable things you do visible so when you look back at your calendar it's not just a list of exam readings or writings you were supposed to do (but probably didn't get all of them done), but a variety of things you really accomplished.

Yesterday, I bought stickers and made a little key in the back of my calendar (an idea stolen from CP). I put in my first sticker for administrative work. Looking at my calendar for today, I think that one sticker looks awfully lonely and I will do my best to make sure I get more than one sticker for today. I am notorious for starting these kinds of programs and lasting about three days with them. We'll see how long the sticker system can last.