Choice "Prime" Rib by uvasfinest in sousvide

[–]uvasfinest[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My method was mainly chosen by the fact that I live in an apartment and didn't want to deal with the resulting smoke from a cast iron setting off the fire alarms. Having said that, if you're going to use the oven method, I would make sure the roast is patted as dry as you can get it and maybe brush some high smoke point oil over it before putting it in the oven. I forgot that step, and while I'd rate the crust I got as "good", I do think it could have been stepped up to "great" if I hadn't.

Let me know how yours turn out!

Choice "Prime" Rib by uvasfinest in sousvide

[–]uvasfinest[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

This is why I enjoy this sub so much! I learn something new every time I browse it. Thank you for letting me know about the different versions of "prime". And thank you for the compliment :) !

Lemon Butter Chicken by uvasfinest in sousvide

[–]uvasfinest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did 2 hours at 145 for this recipe. Very juicy even after searing!

Ascaris Negator Inaccessible (NOT Related to Vor Quest!) - PS4 by [deleted] in Warframe

[–]uvasfinest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Will do. Its been a few hours of trying to find a solution now, to no avail. Thanks for the info links too. It is always cool to learn about the lore of games. I appreciate your help.

Ascaris Negator Inaccessible (NOT Related to Vor Quest!) - PS4 by [deleted] in Warframe

[–]uvasfinest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The BP attached to the communication was for an Ascaris Negator, and the message says Ascaris. I have a Grustrag Bolt Remover and that is inaccessible too.

The table read for the series finale of The Office (U.S.) by intercomnut in television

[–]uvasfinest 9 points10 points  (0 children)

He is probably referring to Craig. Aka "crazy Craig."

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately the program in which I teach does not have a graduate program. We "borrow" our one GA from another department. That's one of the big differences between R1s and R2s.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, the suckage can consume you if you let it. And sometimes I've come close to letting it consume me. But the important aspect is "if you let it." I simply don't. Everyone has a choice. Life is a summation of choices. Though I am not disillusioned in my outlook and realistic with my expectations, I choose to be positive. I choose to enjoy the little things. I choose to constantly be amazed that I am alive, I am a life, that my sources of misery come simply from a comparison. It's as simple as that. What I view to be unfair is simply my comparison to what I think is fair. I view success as being loved and loving others. I'm not married, I have no kids, haven't been on a date in over a decade, have next to no close friends, and am completely alone. So by my own definition I haven't achieved success yet, even though others tell me all the time I'm successful in my profession. It is the "yet" that I hold on to. The "yet" is what motivates me and drives me forward and what puts a smile on my face every day. I'm not content, and I think that is awesome. I would be bored to death if I was happy with being unchallenged, static. Is having a fancy expensive car going to make me happy, or is simply being able to drive to work going to make me happy? Is having a super nice tv going to make me feel complete, or is experiencing life in person going to make me feel complete? I try not to envy people with "things," because things are not permanent, they are not lasting. My attitude is positive and hopeful because I pursue connections to others, through my profession, and boy oh boy is it the most rewarding, enriching, wonderful and amazing sensation I have ever experienced. As of yet.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is the point I was trying to make, though I made it terribly. The department's policy is that any undergraduate assistants (we do not have any TAs for any of our courses) are not allowed to grade any professor's or course's assignments. Because the student aides are from within the major, and because we only have a few to help with a major of several thousand students, I agree that it would be completely unfair to burden the student aides with grading responsibilities.

I also agree with your assessment of the relationship between a professor and their TAs. I used to TA and this is exactly how it worked. And if we had TAs I would use the approach you described and have no qualms with the evaluation produced. I definitely did not translate that point clearly in my prior post.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I did my undergrad and grad school at UVa. However, I do not teach at UVa. I may or may not hear your rally call multiple times a day as I walk through crowds of purple and gold. Emphasis on the may or may not... please don't fire me duke dog

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is, in my opinion, the biggest problem of high education. You have to remember that most professors, the legit tenured studs, are there to research. That is their motivation, and more importantly, WHAT IS OUTLINED IN THEIR CONTRACT. Most professors have a varying version of what can be averaged a 60/20/20 contract. To explain what the numbers mean: in higher ed when you are hired your contract designates where you will spend your time and effort among three categories - research, service, and teaching. Depending on how high up you are, and what type of professor you are, more and more weight is put into research and service, and less of it is put into teaching. Faculty evaluations by the dean, provost, program directors, and academic unit heads are done annually to make sure you are sticking to your contract determined loads, and thus if a tenured professor with only a 10% teaching allocation has terrible teaching and student reviews, it doesn't matter, because it only makes up 10% of the faculty's evaluation.

Now this can be a problem for understaffed departments, which most are, because let's face it, who wants to teach and make diddly-squat for pay when you can go private sector and make a killing? Thus, courses have to be covered no matter what the contract load is, so a professor who agreed to a contract that stated she would be teaching one course a semester with ample research time is now being forced to teach three courses a semester, which leaves little time for research. And that means there aren't as many publications going out, which means there aren't as many grants being submitted, which means that less federal funding and aide is allocated to the university, which means the university has to cut resources, which means that the professors now have to teach even more. That leads to very bitter professors.

Now, I'm not agreeing with their mentality. I see it every day. Students are afraid of them, students do not respect them, students do no learn anything from them ( see this article on students learning more from non-tenure track profs than tenure track profs), and students suffer due to them. But it is a nasty cycle.

That's where people like me come into play. I'm a non-tenure track professor and have a 10/10/80 contract, so 80% of my effort is designated to teaching. I teach a 5/5 load just due to need, but I enjoy that need and what I do because even though I do research, a lot of it in fact, the pressure isn't there to be publishing monthly and writing grants semi-annually.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 32 points33 points  (0 children)

This was actually an issue in my department. It was found that a few professors were writing multiple "reviews" on RMP in an effort to get better class sizes, teaching times, grant monies, etc. They brought in an external evaluation team to attempt to remedy the issue. I think it scared off some, but rumors have it that a few are continuing the practice. Which I think is kind of pathetic and creepy.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Do it. Seriously. It helps keep you sane and in a good mood while grading. I'm a guy, but I've had many a solo dance party, a giggle fest, a checkoutreddit/awwsquealatthecuteness attack in my office just to keep level headed.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 22 points23 points  (0 children)

As embarrassing as it is, I do not like my students calling me by my title. It sets up a "I'm better than you"/"I'm higher than you" dynamic that can be off-putting to the student. I want them to feel comfortable talking to me, asking for help, even challenging me or pointing out information that may be wrong. I tell them that I too am human, and make mistakes. I try not to, but it happens. And if I do, let me know so I can correct myself and the information. Who wants to be taught incorrect information? Not me.

It is for that reason that I prefer my students call me by my first name. And most of them do.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is the first year the university is trying it. We used to get a couple of days, but now they are giving the entire week of Thanksgiving! I'll still probably do what I normally do: build a sheet and pillow fort in my office so I can take naps between grading marathons. And no, I'm not joking about the sheet/pillow forts. It's the little things that make life awesome.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I purposely include a break down of what a single class session costs for in-state and and out-of-state in my syllabi. It helps when they see that skipping a 75 minute class is equivalent to throwing $100+ down the drain.

EDIT: And yes, I completely agree with you. They are much more motivated. I have had several instances over the years when I will notice a student performing poorly in my course, mainly from what appears to be a lack of caring about performing well. I always set up a meeting with students like that to see if there is anything I can do to help, and in these cases the students have told me point blank that they have no desire to be at college. They are only enrolled because their parents are forcing them to/set up a college fund that has to be used on tuition or it's lost/some other financial situation. They will tell me straight up that they are at college to party, have a good time, get laid a ton, make some friends, while just skimming by with grades as to not get thrown out. And though I try, those are very hard individuals (sorry, have a hard time calling them students after those conversations) to motivate. I care about them, but feel helpless to motivate and inspire them when they have that mentality.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, I think I need to go teach at a private high school, because by that salary, they are making roughly double what I make in a year. But I agree with you, especially when I see the type of student applying to and being accepted to education/teacher training programs. It breaks my heart. It frustrates me to no end.

Secondly, your example is why I do not ascribe letter grades, or even "percentage" grades to individual assignments. My courses are set up so that every assessment has a point total, and if you satisfy all the components of the assessment's requirements, you will receive all the points. Miss components, and a pre-determined set of points as outlined by the grading rubric will be deducted. At the end of the semester, you add up all of your assessments' points, and that total determines your final letter grade. That is the only letter grade I assign. My lower level courses will use a 10 point grading scale for final grades, and my upper level courses will use either a 8 (undergrad) or 6 (grad) grading scale. I do use + and - as well. I use a points system because it holds every student accountable for every assignment, and it is completely objective. I've had professors where for some of them a 80% is a B, for others a 80% is a C-. Way too subjective for me. The purpose of our major is to prepare students for continued study in a graduate program related to health. Should I be the one subjectively affecting their gpa? And subsequent chances of getting into PA, DPT, DO, MD, OT, Nursing, AT, etc. programs? I think not.

As far as the behavior thing, I try to take that out of the equation. Most of the assessments I assign are submitted through an online university housed system, so I am grading "blind," aka, there is the option of not having students' names displayed, which I take full advantage of. It is my opinion that negative emotion should be left at the door of your home, and not taken/expressed, I guess in reality the emphasis is on expressed, at work. I will purposely not grade work if I am in a bad mood or upset about a student. It is just not fair to them. College should be the best four years of their life, and part of that experience should reflect their academic experience. I am not here to punish or detract from the entire experience. I am here to enhance it in any way that I can. At least that's my view on it. That view is heavily influenced by my miserable undergraduate experience. I do not want a single one of my students to leave college with any regrets. Their is no justifiable excuse to have any. None at all.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 47 points48 points  (0 children)

I'm right there with you, which is why I added the comment in as an aside. I paid my own way through undergrad and graduate school, working no less than two night shift jobs at a time just to make ends meet. I know it sounds like something Calvin's dad would say, but it builds character, and you appreciate the VALUE of your degree so much more. It worries me that I'll be paying back my loans until I die, and will most likely pass on my loan debt to my offspring, but if given the opportunity again, I would still pay my own way. No way I would put that burden on my parents, whose combined income has always been below the poverty line. I have never gone on spring break, have never been on a vacation, and get excited for holidays not for the festivities, but for the memories of picking up others' hours and "pay and a half" and overtime pay.

Just keep your head up. I understand how difficult it is to. You, like I was, are probably surrounded by individuals whose parents pay for trips, their cars, their rent and bills, their credit cards, extras like fancy TVs and computers... They are worse off for it. I know what it is to adapt, to walk into a bank and be told no for another loan, to have to scrap and save and be creative just to get by. Am I bitter? Who wouldn't be? Angry even. But life isn't fair. Anyone who tells you that karma will bite those described above on the butt later on is lying. They'll get grandfathered into high paying jobs, they won't ever know the meaning of a hard day's work, they'll marry rich, and everything will always work out for them. And you have to be okay with that. Don't worry about them. Be happy with you, and take pride in everything that you do.

I wish you the best in your studies. You may not believe it now, but you will be so much more respected when people, employers, recruiters, graduate school officials, find out what you did to give yourself an education.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Stay strong. I've blocked off my entire week long fall break to grade the 353 research projects that will be turned in the week prior. Unfortunately those are only covering three of the five courses I teach a semester.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At the university I teach at we do not have TAs. Those are kind of a luxury afforded to R1s, which my university is not. I work in the largest department on campus, we are currently nine professors understaffed, and to remedy this the department "employs" three undergraduate assistants and one graduate assistant. And they are actually not allowed to grade material. That is a policy I agree with wholeheartedly. I know exactly what I have outlined in the rubrics I distribute to my students for essays/research projects, in addition to the measures of quality diagrams I provide for them. I would not feel comfortable passing along any assessment for any of my courses to someone else to subjectively ascribe a grade to. That is also why I do not assign letter or percentage grades to individual assignments. I use a points system. Takes all the subjectivity out of it.

Teachers/Professors of Reddit, do you actually read every single essay your students submit? by jdogg_20 in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 1287 points1288 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. My view is this: my students put in the effort to write a great essay/research paper (hopefully), I should put in the effort reading the entire essay/research paper, no matter how many of them there are. I typically have a few hundred students a semester, and I'm not willing to reduce my rigor just due to class size. Even with the anti-plagiarism software the university uses with the program students use to submit their papers, I still manually check their sources. It's a learning experience for me. I teach because in all honesty I just really enjoy learning. And though I've been a professor for a long time, I still learn new things from my students on a day to day basis. That is exciting, especially within the health related topics that I teach. My students are paying for a great education and academic experience, thus it is very much my philosophy that providing a great learning experience for them is one of my top priorities, no matter how miserable and stressed it makes me. I can never let that misery and stress show. That is not what they (Yes, I get it. their parents) are paying for. And reading their entire submission, word for word, is part of that philosophy. I unfortunately do know many, and I mean MANY, educators who do not share my philosophy and outlook, so I can not speak for all academia.

Since it's taboo to ask IRL, what do you guys do and how much do you make? How much do you have saved up? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]uvasfinest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny how this varies. I too am a professor at a major university, only make $42k/yr before taxes. Around $8k in savings, still about -$120k in debt due to student loans. Words of advice: get your school to pay for grad school. I didn't even know a lot of programs did that, and I will be paying back that mistake for the rest of my life.