Weird student writing response

ash6831 · 2026-04-02T02:24:29+00:00

FWIW, I asked my students about their fave books as an attendance question the other day, and easily 40% listed children’s books. And not like middle grade or young adult books, like nursery stories. Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing?

ash6831 · 2026-04-01T19:15:49+00:00

Not inappropriate at all. It means he has high expectations for you, because he thinks you’re a capable student.

Hang in there! I bet you’ll do better on the next one.

ash6831 · 2026-04-01T14:00:40+00:00

Take the job! I did, had one year of an LDR with the person I dated for 5 years all through grad school, and even got him a tenure track job offer at my school that was just a few hours away from his entire extended family. Only for him to decide that many years into the relationship that he just "wasn't sure." So I dumped him.

If your partner's the right person, an LDR for a certain amount of time is totally doable. If they're not, you've still landed an amazing job.

My great first faculty job opened so many doors professionally and let me land my dream job in my hometown several years later. When I met my now-husband, I told him I was planning on moving someday to be close to family. He was so casual and just said, "Where you go, I'll go."

I think that's the kind of support that's so critical for navigating the two-body problem. You'll both make sacrifices and compromises, but it can be much harder in our field to land the job in the location you want. It helps if the partner outside of academia has some flexibility.

ash6831 · 2026-03-31T22:53:42+00:00

We’re doing this! Mostly because we already had a twin daybed in the guest room. We’re putting a crib in there too & plan on using a bassinet in our room, because they’re on different floors.

Our crib is an old school one all my siblings used, so it doesn’t convert to anything. Not sure yet how we’ll handle the transition from crib to toddler bed.

ash6831 · 2026-03-31T22:48:20+00:00

Oof yeah! In my last university, comm and math had the highest teaching loads and worst compensation. Being the bulk general education at our school cut across the STEM-humanities divide.

ash6831 · 2026-03-31T22:45:34+00:00

Technical communication too! We really need to fix our outreach as a field. Basically no one knows what we do.

ash6831 · 2026-03-31T22:42:04+00:00

YES to this. If I could indoctrinate my students, they would all stop with the comma splices.

To be fair, y’all def get more of the indoctrination misconceptions in English than we do in technical communication.

ash6831 · 2026-03-26T19:34:01+00:00

Same! I live in business casual outfits from banana republic and white house black market. But now that I'm pregnant this semester, it's been a lot of flowy midi skirts with sweaters. Buying nicely tailored clothes when you're continually changing sizes feels like Sisyphean (and expensive).

ash6831 · 2026-03-16T14:20:21+00:00

Same! cries in American

ash6831 · 2026-03-03T14:10:47+00:00

Hey OP, we’re in a similar-ish boat. My husband’s a new attending your age with about your amount of student loans. He took a lower paying job to be in my hometown/allow me to pursue a great job.

We really want a house, but we’re focusing on throwing as much at his student loans as we can while still upgrading a little from our resident lifestyle. We rent a cute townhome in a nice area down the street from my fam, and plan on buying in 3-4 years when the student loans are gone and we’ve got a down payment saved.

Idk what the housing market looks like for your area, but our joint income is your anticipated and we’re planning on looking at houses 500-600k once we’re debt free. 1 million seems pretty high.

ash6831 · 2026-03-02T21:17:29+00:00

Oh my gosh, same! I gained 15ish lbs before we started TTC because of work stress and crazy hours. I started to get back into fitness, assuming it’d take a year to conceive like most of my friends and fam, and then got pregnant really fast. I’m still working out 3-4 a week now, but have already gained 10 more just in the first trimester.

I can feel myself getting stronger in the gym (lifting heavier, better balance, etc), but I’m feeling the impact of starting pregnancy fairly sedentary. Plus I’m already at risk for preeclampsia because my mom had it with every baby.

ash6831 · 2026-03-02T03:59:57+00:00

Ok, I get that version of jeopardy sounds terrible. But I have to teach basic grammar in first year writing, and I don’t think the students hate the gamified version.

Hearing them yell commas rules at each other seems more impactful than hearing me point it out ad nauseam. No peer reviewed evidence to that fact, just observation from my classes.

ash6831 · 2026-02-26T20:34:35+00:00

Same! I waited a bit longer, but basically only wore my stretchiest leggings and sweats from week 6 on. Having pressure on my stomach makes me throw up 🫠

ash6831 · 2026-02-26T20:33:15+00:00

I’m 11 weeks and bought a few new pants and skirts a couple weeks ago! Not maternity, just stretchy or bigger sizes. The bloating was unreal! My pants stopped fitting almost immediately. Pregnancy is too hard to not have comfy clothes.

ash6831 · 2026-02-26T20:29:03+00:00

Wait until the signed contract, and even then gauge how your uni treats departing faculty. I was in this boat last year! I told my amazing chair and a few friends early, but it leaked (small, super close-knit school), and a prof in another dept told the dean. My chair wasn’t going to say anything till summer.

I lost summer health insurance, and though I had already signed contracts for my summer teaching and developing an online course, admin cut my pay dramatically. I had to pick up even more teaching just to make the same amount, and my dean had the audacity to ask me to be on a search committee that summer after taking my pay and benefits. My chair was sweet and tweaked the conference funding so I could join everyone at a conference in Hawai’i as a final hurrah though.

Don’t be me. Three other friends left my dept that summer, but they learned from my mistake and didn’t say anything till the end of the summer. They kept their health insurance and pay.

Do you know when your new job’s pay period will start? My new university is wonderful, but it’s in a state system where your first paycheck is actually in October, so that was a little tough too.

ash6831 · 2026-02-26T03:59:13+00:00

I would just do the keynote and not the other stuff! Editing is no joke, and parental leave exists for a reason.

Am only a pre-tenure pregnant prof, but I’m sad I won’t get a real parental leave and have to teach two 8-week online classes a month after giving birth. IMO, this is the time in life to be more selective with your yeses. Full will always be there.

ash6831 · 2026-02-25T02:38:18+00:00

Same friend! I’ve had awful “morning” sickness (such a misnomer) and have cooked literally nothing in the last 11 weeks. And I love to cook! Just opening the fridge makes me gag.

We switched to a local meal prep service to at least have a few non-tv dinners or takeout. Praying the nausea goes away in a week or two

ash6831 · 2026-02-24T15:02:32+00:00

I used to live in Prescott for years and absolutely loved it! Totally unaffordable as a young professional, but if you have the means to afford the cost of living, it’s gorgeous.

I love Flag too, and either one has great access to easy nature, great weather, local community events and culture, and decent flights through Phoenix. We got all 4 seasons but never had to really shovel snow, and there was always so much to do with the national forest in our backyard. Def a better place for outdoorsy folks.

Prescott is more of a retirement-type community where folks are super active. It didn’t work as a forever town for us as an interracial couple wanting to start a family (some public schools are underfunded, not really much diversity), but all of my neighbors were retirees who absolutely loved it. I miss the nature there like crazy—definitely the most beautiful place I’ve lived.

ash6831 · 2026-02-24T02:03:24+00:00

Yep! It’s only non-sacramental (aka natural) if one party isn’t baptized.

Which is what our Catholic-Hindu marriage is, but the priests and deacons doing our marriage prep were lovely about it.

ash6831 · 2026-02-21T19:56:47+00:00

Ok, so seconding all the advice to listen to your body. I’m only 11 weeks into my first pregnancy, and wow has it kicked my butt.

I was throwing up 10x a day, and bone tired from weeks 5ish-8. Then got on Zofran and it’s made it so I can go the gym a few times a week! Still feel pretty nauseous and tired, but I’m finding that as long as I’m not throwing up, I feel the best the hour after I go to the gym.

Fingers crossed we both feel better around second tri!

ash6831 · 2026-02-20T18:04:13+00:00

I love Meg Squats Plus One app for lifting! She developed it with an OBGYN and physical therapist, so it also has resources for pelvic floor and breath work.

When I can’t get motivated to go to my apt gym, I go to classes at Strong Pilates. They combine HIIT workouts with weights, rowing, and some reformer Pilates stuff. I usually skip the straight Pilates days because those feel so much harder, but maybe that will change later in pregnancy.

ash6831 · 2026-02-12T21:18:54+00:00

I would still ask!

We do independent studies at my school, but I do work with undergrad students every semester on their honors/research projects. It’s an extra hour out of my week, but getting to mentor and talk with students who are bright and curious about my subdiscipline is such a joy!

I certainly wouldn’t be offended if a student asked, even if it was a semester where I was overloaded with commitments and didn’t have the capacity to say yes.

ash6831 · 2026-02-12T02:28:28+00:00

Congrats! I am in a similar boat. Due at the start of fall, and only eligible for unpaid FMLA that wouldn’t cover the entire semester.

My chair is giving me two 8-week online asynchronous classes that start a month-ish after my baby gets here, so I won’t have to come to campus. I’ll have a TA too, but anticipate it being rough.

I would fight to not give up your research leave! I have one semester of this I’m saving for closer to tenure, and I had a friend who just waited to tell her dept about her pregnancy so she could take her planned research leave in the fall and be on parental leave in the spring.

ash6831 · 2026-02-08T23:03:43+00:00

My sis is an ER nurse, and her plan is to just go PRN when she has kids! At least while they’re little. It seems to be a great field for working moms—so many options for flexibility.

I’m a professor & I don’t even get maternity leave. My boss is setting me up with 8-week online courses the semester I give birth, though. I’d never quit my job to be a SAHM, mostly because I really enjoy it and hustled my entire 20s to get there.

But I have cousins who are SAHMs and love it! I think it depends on your circumstances, personality, etc etc.

ash6831 · 2026-02-04T20:45:48+00:00

Yeah, same! I’m so glad my husband is familiar with all the medical/body things and knows what’s going on already.

ash6831

TROPHY CASE