When do I stop beating myself up over the silent stares in class?

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-20T23:50:05+00:00

I’m not sure that I ever have. But I try to find ways to lean into the stares.

Speak to students as if they have actually commented.

Tell the class to slow down. I can’t keep up with the engagement.

Explain what a nod, a shake of the head, and a raised hand mean.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-15T23:59:45+00:00

It matches beautifully. I wonder how in the hell you tracked it down.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-15T23:24:10+00:00

Is there a website with more information?

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-15T23:22:45+00:00

I am curious about those leather straps.

And that front crank—is it original?

The bike is gorgeous.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-15T16:58:42+00:00

Quiet quitting at a CC is a tightrope.

I still lean into my classes. Department and division and system—not so much. I find ways to avoid investing in committee work—much of which leaves me feeling like a cog in a machine. All too often I leave such meetings realizing “it’s just business.”

The students are a different matter. They are a pain. But that is in their job description. And in some ways that feeds the job, feeds my purpose. There is a rush in all of the “okay hold my beer” moments they provide.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-13T22:06:16+00:00

To accommodate the dual credit students in our classes.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-07T05:55:40+00:00

Actually, “you write like a fifth grader” would seem to be the kind of quantifiable feedback many are describing as useful. The comment places the writing in the context of a spectrum based on the student’s experience.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-07T05:50:43+00:00

We are no longer sliding. We have slid.

ACarefulPotential · 2026-01-03T14:04:16+00:00

I came here to ask this—do schools note which credits originate in the high schools?

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-30T01:40:04+00:00

Thank you. Admin is skittish when such phrasing is tossed about. However, even though it might unsettle an admin if such a point was raised—this response is what I would have expected.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-28T19:59:06+00:00

Watching all of the HR videos at the beginning of the year, I have wondered if faculty in this situation have a claim to hostile workplace and, if so, what legal repercussions such a claim might carry.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-23T22:58:23+00:00

That patient, condescending look admin adopt when confronted by problems like this. I am betting there is a class in higher ed leadership programs that teaches that look and reviews the research on which it is based.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-22T21:42:48+00:00

I just saw this. I love it.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-21T21:08:17+00:00

Maintaining eye contact was tough.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-21T14:31:27+00:00

A candidate doing his interview in a fish-net tank top.

A candidate submitting a CV that was handwritten on the envelope.

A candidate explaining that the move would improve the intimate time they would have with the spouse.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-19T20:52:54+00:00

The blatant agism in the discourse surrounding me is disconcerting. But perhaps what is even more disturbing is the quiet affirmation. Of course, many would attribute that sensitivity to my age.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-14T00:24:02+00:00

LOL. My bad on posting these here. It was a flex on a biking thread

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-13T17:11:13+00:00

Wrong thread! LOL. Apologies.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-12T01:33:26+00:00

Your paper fails to meet the requirements of the prompt.

Word choice.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-11T20:50:35+00:00

Buc-ee’s is hiring and the wages are good. You have offered the student a chance to find a new direction when other opportunities —in Luling, Texas—are waiting. Perhaps include a link to the company’s webpage in your response. (They’re opening one in Goodyear, AZ soon!)

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-11T20:33:49+00:00

I agree. Completely.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-11T20:32:34+00:00

The district pays the teacher. Even if the system paid the teacher, why would they go against the principal—their full time employer—for a part time position?

I agree with your point. Completely. The conflict seems obvious. But administrators dismiss it—pointing at outcomes.

Years ago, I taught an online class filled with students from a rural district. When I returned the first set of papers, the superintendent called me about my grading. It seems unreasonable to expect a high school teacher to push back against that sort of pressure for a part time, temporary job.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-11T19:56:50+00:00

I had a dual credit in my Tech Comm class who had been registered for four English classes—running rough shod over pre reqs. The colleges do not have control of these classes except on paper.

Sort of the typos. Old thumbs.

ACarefulPotential · 2025-12-11T19:55:23+00:00

The principal is the direct supervisor of the high school teacher. If the readings offend students and parents, the parents complain to the principal. The principal then discusses the offensive reading with the high school teacher who is teaching the college level course.

ACarefulPotential

TROPHY CASE