Thursday, February 25, 2010

Reinvention - Partial Success



I have, in past posts, whined about my desire to teach again. In addition to the college where I ran my program, there is another program not too far away.

School XYZ contacted me a few weeks ago. Seems they lost an instructor, and they were in desperate need of someone to take the class.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!
But yet some trepidation as well.

They run their courses in 5 week modules. Basically, it condenses a semester's worth of work into 5 weeks. That's how they advertise that you'll have your degree in such a short time. For this, they charge a sickening amount of money. And the credits don't transfer to a regular college. I have a little bit of a problem with that.

Then, every time I talked to them, another layer of annoyance was added:
  • Oh, and by the way, you have to come in for an interview - even though you have the job.
  • Oh, and by the way, you have to come in again for an interview with the dean - even though you have the job.
  • Oh, and did I mention that you also have to do a teaching demo - even though you have the job?
  • Oh, and I forgot to tell you that even though you will be paid on a contract for the class, you still have to punch in & out. (Excuse me, I am not a Wal-Mart flunky. I have never heard of faculty having to punch a clock.)
  • The class is all done & the whole thing is on Power Point (a somewhat overrated mechanism of course delivery, in my opinion). I am NOT to deviate from the slides. I am NOT encouraged to bring in any of my own materials (I have taught this stuff before). On the bright side, all the tests & quizzes are already written too. That was always my least favorite part of teaching. Makes me think I could be replaced by a trained monkey.
http://www.farshot.com/images/stories/Articles/monkey.jpg

So, yeah, while I am excited to get the chance to teach again, I am chafing at the constraints.

8 comments:

dle said...

...congrats ...I would be miffed at the constraints. But it is something you want to do, and if it turns out not your cup of tea, it is only 5 weeks! Good luck!

Rosie Hawthorne said...

So do I call you Professor now?

Anonymous said...

I'd turn it down.

Kathy said...

Thanks for the comments, guys. I have known the people who run this program for awhile. In my field, the educational component is a small world. They are good folks. It's not them, it's the institution they are housed in. Proprietary schools have their own rules, and I am used to dealing with the state system. It will just take some getting used to, that's all.

Rosie - yes ;-)

Anonymous - I already said yes, and I keep my word.

Sista G - I am rearranging my schedule at work to squeeze this in, along with my regular hours there. It will be a busy month. I need a drink just thinking about it. Unfortunately, there aren't many, many candidates for a thing like this. Educators in my field are few and far between. I've been in their shoes several times, and it's damn hard to find faculty, much less faculty with any experience. And I have boatloads of experience. So, I'd be a hot commodity if only there were more programs around.

Russ said...

Same college I want to work at? And, congrats.

Judy said...

Teaching is not easy to begin with (I have a teaching degree) and has so many time restraints -- it is not for the faint of heart. But when you love to teach(it's a gift, isn't it?), you put up with the bad to get to the good. Best of luck to you, and I have a feeling you'll come out just great.

Anonymous said...

Dang, I'm gone a couple of days, and you go off and do something radical. ;-) I have all sorts of things you should consider and lots of hard-earned wisdom to give you. But, since you've already decided, I'll hold my tongue (and you know how rare that is). You know we all wish you the best of luck!
RAD

Sista G said...

I take it back about the "many, many" comment - you're right about the specialty nature of your position. I hope that you survive the 5 weeks, with double the load and everything else that's going on.

Take care of you, and hang in there!!

Love ya'