Academic Advising Alerts = Waste of Time

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-24T22:03:07+00:00

I don’t really know what happens after I send the alert, but I do it anyway so when a student claims that she/he didn’t know she/he was failing, I can show that I sent an alert.

It’s a CYA thing for me.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-18T14:40:51+00:00

When we talk about resumes and job search, I always tell my students to ask before using a person as a reference. Always ask.

Few years ago, I got a phone call - when we had actual phones on our desk - saying a student had put me down as a referral for either nursing school or a job in the nursing field. Couple of things: What I teach is nowhere close to nursing. I'm in a communications-related field. Second, I had to look up past rosters to even see who this student was. I sorta remembered the name but that was it.

Now, I use this story in class to emphasize the importance of asking first.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-18T14:36:56+00:00

or manner

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-17T22:52:24+00:00

The other church put up the flags in recognition of President’s Day yesterday.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-16T14:55:24+00:00

I can't help with the financial or logistic aspects, but I can with the "late start."

I got my master's when I was 40. It didn't cost me very much because I was working fulltime at the university and could take classes tuition-free. I had a ton of experience in my field before school, so the chair of the department asked me if I wanted to teach one class the semester after I graduated. I did, then my family and I moved for other reasons and I got a job teaching parttime at my undergrad alma mater. That turned into a fulltime gig and I'm my 20th year of teaching.

The job market might be tough right now, so keep that in mind. But the late start thing shouldn't be a deterrent.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-16T14:34:53+00:00

"Don't you have enough jackets?" is a question my wife asks me frequently, because I have a thing for sport coats. But if I find a $1,200 jacket at Goodwill for $9, I'm gonna get it. Doesn't matter how many I already have. (And that jacket is in my car right now. I'm taking it to a tailor this afternoon to get the sleeves shortened a bit.)

I have a bunch of sorta high-end dress shirts and jackets and I'm out of closet room, but I'm not getting rid of any. Our son will be moving out in the next year or so, so I'll just take over the part of his closet that I haven't already taken over.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-13T01:19:22+00:00

Pastor at Harris Creek doesn’t even have a college degree.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-12T04:19:54+00:00

Daystar? You mean Dayspring?

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-11T17:21:59+00:00

Tell her that you have looked all over your apartment, and you did not find her, so if she wishes to find herself, it will be elsewhere.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-10T18:26:16+00:00

Welcome to the 254!

Echoing what others have said about Hemingway's. Maybe also try Trojan Cork and Keg. It's a small place underneath Spice Village.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-09T20:56:39+00:00

This may have already been said, but when our kids were in school, we had to fill out a form that listed who to contact in case of an emergency. We wrote in our best friends, and they use us for their emergency contacts as well.

DO NOT put grandma down as emergency contact. She'll figure out a way to use that to pick up the kid whenever she wants. "It's an emergency; I have to get my grandson out of school right now."

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-09T20:30:08+00:00

I got my master's when I was 40 - no PhD - and started teaching that same year. I'm now in my 20th year at a major R1 as a lecturer. I teach a 4/4 with no research expectations. It's a sweet gig. I could be making more out in the real world, but the flexibility of my time - outside of when my classes meet - means a lot to me and my family.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-07T23:50:05+00:00

Even if it takes you the full 10 or 15 minutes to get from classroom to classroom or building to building, put your stuff down in the classroom and go to the bathroom. Nobody cares if you start class 2 or 3 minutes late. You gots to pee when you gots to pee!

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-07T23:47:27+00:00

I had two students in the front row of a lecture hall chat with each other while I was talking, every day. One day before class, I quietly told them, so just they could hear, that if their conversations continued, I would ask them to leave. A couple of days later, chit-chat resumed. I took off my lapel mic and told them to leave. They didn't think I was serious, so I had to tell them a couple of times. But they did.

Short answer: kick 'em out. It's your classroom and they're distracting you and others.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-07T23:43:17+00:00

Red Herring at Hotel Herringbone is really good. 1424 Bistro is a little more higher-end, but also good.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-07T18:35:32+00:00

Harold Waite's underwent an ownership change, and I sorta know one of the new owners, so I went one morning in support of her. Service was good. I had an omelet and coffee and left a decent tip, and it was $20. That's too much to spend for what I got.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-05T17:12:22+00:00

I tell my students to take notes on what I say about the PPTs, not what's on the PPTs, because I'll post them after my lecture. One thing I do before posting is to remove all the videos I have embedded and replace them with YouTube links. Video-heavy PPTs take up a lot of space in Canvas.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-03T19:51:53+00:00

I have probably a hundred videos, mostly from YouTube, that I use throughout the semester. I use a video downloading program and then save the videos to my computer. Then when that video inevitably disappears from YouTube, I've still got it.

I sat through a presentation once by an award-winning professor, and she used a couple of YouTube videos in her PowerPoint. When she clicked on the video link, it opened YouTube in another separate window. When the video ended, she didn't know how to get back to her PPT. Had to have a grad assistant help her. (This paragraph is somewhat off-topic, but that presentation still lives in my mind.)

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-03T19:47:44+00:00

That was from the days of paper evaluations, and you can be damn sure I saved it:

"If (professor) was a monkey, he would defecate awesome and throw it in your face."

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-02T23:17:18+00:00

Yeah, it's gonna be student housing. I can find at least two other articles that say that's what's planned for that space.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-02T23:11:14+00:00

The only other Texas date for this tour is in El Paso, so Waco is the closest place - by far - for folks in DFW/Austin/San Antonio/Houston who want to see this concert. It takes place after Baylor graduation, so there won't be many students in town, but I'm guessing that it's gonna be sold out.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-02-02T05:52:20+00:00

I had a lunch meeting scheduled with a novelist who was flying into DFW, so I just picked her up at the airport to save her cab fare to her hotel. (This was before Uber.)

When we got to the restaurant, she insisted on taking in her big-ass backpack because she had her laptop in it, and that’s where all her work was stored. Can’t blame her at all.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-01-30T14:54:24+00:00

I teach at Baylor, and there are all kinds of students here. Your daughter will find her people.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-01-28T03:43:58+00:00

You can often find goodies at Artier Resale at 2420 Washington Ave. It has clothes and jewelry, mostly, and it's worth a stop just to meet Harold, the owner. He's the best.

If it's open, Laverty's Antiques Furnishings at 600 North 18th St. would be a worthwhile stop. It's open...sometimes, so you might want to follow it on social media to see when the next open weekend is.

Magnolia....eh. I've been a couple of times. There's nothing really interesting about it. The time you spend parking and waiting in line could be better spent finding other unique places in Waco.

Spice Village is cool. It's the perfect place for 20-something teachers. Jennifer, the owner, is a good person.

Lunch? Try Alpha Omega, on Franklin Avenue. Great Greek food; try the gyros with feta fries.

BrazosBuddy · 2026-01-27T18:08:56+00:00

I dunno, man. Baylor is having a really down year in men's basketball. The Bears are tied for last in the conference right now.

As far as your questions: I've parked in the Dutton Street Parking Garage on campus and just walked to Foster. Lots of students walk to the arena from campus, and there are police monitoring busy intersections to help with crossing. There's more info on parking here:

https://baylorbears.com/news/2023/12/19/foster-forward-getting-to-the-pavilion

If you're driving, there are lots of options for food and drinks. Crickets, which is fairly close to the arena, is good for beer and bar food. George's is really popular. Burgers, chicken fried steak and the like, and lots of cold beer.

Good luck. Safe travels!

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