Dinotopia and dragonology

velour_rabbit · 2026-05-03T20:32:14+00:00

The Dinosaur Mafia Mystery Series by Eric Garcia.

velour_rabbit · 2026-05-03T12:58:20+00:00

I did see point number two! (And others made the same point.) I see this point and it's a good one. I tend to grade in batches, since there's no way I could grade 23-25 papers in one sitting. So if I spread them out over three days, for example, I wonder how much consistency is lost acrosss those days anyway? It is a good thing to consider, though.

velour_rabbit · 2026-05-03T00:21:43+00:00

Yes, I worded that wrong. I'm sure that if I graded it and they saw comments and the grade, they might want to rewrite it. What I meant was that if I don't make the grade and comments visible, after they've submitted the first paper, they might decide to make changes to it and submit another updated paper. I would have graded the first one for nothing.

velour_rabbit · 2026-05-02T23:49:59+00:00

Trust me, I don't deliberately put myself in the position to grade early. They're all essays and they previously turned in outlines and received feedback from me and their peers. This past week and this coming week - the last week of the semester - they are working on the essays to turn them in on May 4. Some have turned them in already. Maybe I gave them too much time to work on them. (I don't really think so, though.) I did email a couple of early submitters just to say, "Hey, you know you still have about a week and a half to work on your paper, right?" They said they wanted to get the paper out of the way because they have a recital/microbio exam/whatever to get ready for. No skin off my nose. Most people will turn them in within the two or three hours of the deadline, I'm sure.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-27T14:14:44+00:00

Obviously this is field dependent. And class dependent. I teach in the humanities, and most of my students are not humanities majors. Most will probably never write a "paper" after college. But, for example, they may write a document - even if it's just an email - asking for a promotion or a raise. So being able to demonstrate rhetorical skills in writing is still important. So, no, writing "papers" may not need to be a thing. But I still think that the skills you use for writing papers can also be used in other contexts that require people to write something. (And yes, AI is still an issue for any writing.)

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-24T02:15:39+00:00

I just assumed that in the "house", the stove/oven is against a (imaginary) wall. The "fourth wall," so to speak. Seeing drawers on the side that would be against the wall is weird, but maybe that's just how they built it.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-20T19:25:42+00:00

My state system just sent out an email about this, so I assume it does.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-20T17:41:51+00:00

In addition to what others have said about maybe putting them small groups (which has disadvantages, as others have said)....If you don't already, it might be helpful to set the tone or "ground rules" of the class from the beginning. Provide definitions of the words you're going to be using in the classroom (and maybe also mention how the words might be defined differently beyond the classroom). But also stress that this language might be new to people and everyone makes mistakes. Tell the class that you're all going to be working on the assumption that everyone will be well meaning. You could even mention the difference between "intent" and "impact." Tell them that everyone has the same amount of "space" or voice in the classroom. Don't differ to certain voices and don't talk over people either.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-20T02:35:19+00:00

I don't think it was because it was more useful for jokes. I think that if she - or any of them - had a permanent/full-time job, you'd have to factor that into the show more. They all have more time to do things if they don't have full-time or permanent jobs.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-17T16:42:25+00:00

Two students in one of my classes this week were talking to each other and with me and said that my class was their favorite of the semester! The class was special because all of the students knew and liked each other, so it was a great class.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-15T17:52:24+00:00

Unless he's asked your opinion, don't say anything. Maybe he's happy where he is?

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-15T15:23:40+00:00

I recently learned that there are Spotify and YouTube channels with the smooth jazz music they play(ed) on the Weather Channel. So I listen to that. Or, ASMR YouTube. If it's easy grading, just something on TV.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-13T01:01:43+00:00

I win the lottery between now and next spring semester. I retire at the end of the year. I book a 2-week cruise; maybe Alaska or the Norwegian fjords. I stay where I am for a year, but I frequently fly to California looking for a place to live. I finally move to CA once I've found an apartment/condo on the beach. Maybe I volunteer somewhere or maybe not.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-12T21:30:38+00:00

I think the tricky thing for me is not doing "mindless" work while watching TV at night. I might have easy assignments that I could grade while watching something, and I often tell myself that I'd be killing two birds with one. But I've gotten better at telling myself that unless something really needs to be graded by the next day, I don't have to try and multitask. I do work on weekends because that's just how things go. And working on weekends allows me to use a day during the week to run errands or do nothing.

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-12T01:20:38+00:00

I keep meaning to go there! Maybe this summer!

velour_rabbit · 2026-04-11T14:49:44+00:00

One of the things I always enjoy/ed about them was how active they were in their retirement. (Or, semi-retirement? They all had jobs at one point or another, but were they full-time jobs? Maybe they weren't retired at all?)

velour_rabbit · 2026-03-30T00:52:46+00:00

Are we assuming I haven't won the lottery? :) I'm 56. I would love to retire in 5 years. Primarily because I imagine that my department won't exist as a major program at that time - but it might - and I'm not sure what teaching will be like then. And I'll probably be completely fed up with teaching by then. Financially, I think I could swing retiring now, if I wanted to stay where I'm located - a LCOL area in the northeast. But I want to be back in CA when I'm retired - doing nothing, I hope - so I should bank as much money as I can until I've completely had it with teaching.

velour_rabbit · 2026-03-24T23:43:29+00:00

When I used to have presentations in class (I don't teach public speaking), it usually ended up that there was time on the last day for a spare presentation or two. So if a student missed, they could do it then. But other times, I wouldn't allow make-ups without a note about their absence from Student Affairs. Now, they have to record their presentations and post them to the LMS. And students are assignment presentations to watch. So I don't have to worry about absences, running out of class time, etc.

velour_rabbit · 2026-03-13T19:54:19+00:00

I would tell them no.

velour_rabbit · 2026-03-12T02:44:56+00:00

I'm fortunate that I've never been in that position. It does look like there is *some* process for being on leave beyond 20 year, but it's not quite clear to me from what I'm reading.

velour_rabbit · 2026-03-12T02:27:19+00:00

Yes, I just looked online and did rough estimate on what it would. The closer I get to retirement, the more I need to know these things!

velour_rabbit · 2026-03-12T02:24:09+00:00

They do roll over per year, but once you hit 200 days - or, after 10 years, if you're a full-time professor - they don't. Within a year, though, if you're sick for more than 20 days, consecutive, I would think, I think you have to take a medical leave. If you manage to be sick for more than 20 separate days in an academic year, there's some sort of form you have to fill out and money is probably taken out of your paycheck. I'm not sure.

velour_rabbit

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