There is a show on TV called Extreme Couponing. I have no idea what it is about (couponing, I suppose), but in the promo spots, the host looks blissfully happy as she tosses coupons up into the air.
How lovely would it be to be so happy about science purchases? Where are my coupons for buy one pipet box, get one free?
Of course, if I tossed Fisher catalogs around with such enthusiasm, not only would my students have final confirmation that I've lost it, but I'd likely end up with a concussion. Or two.
What would be your ideal coupon?
Friday, April 29, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Are you an above average professor?
...or do you at least THINK you are?
I recently heard on CNN that 96% of college professors think they are above average teachers.
Ha, I thought. I know I am above average.
But based on what? I have student evaluations and peer evaluations that say I am above average. But how do I *know* that I am above average if I don't get to see others' evaluations?
How do you know an above average prof from an average prof? Or (gulp!) a below average professor?
I recently heard on CNN that 96% of college professors think they are above average teachers.
Ha, I thought. I know I am above average.
But based on what? I have student evaluations and peer evaluations that say I am above average. But how do I *know* that I am above average if I don't get to see others' evaluations?
How do you know an above average prof from an average prof? Or (gulp!) a below average professor?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Making progress on resolutions
I'm only making a tiny amount of progress towards my science resolution, but I *am* happy to report that I am slowly making my way towards my life resolution for 2011 (read X books by NYE 2011).
Before I got my e-reader (I went with the nook, since I got it as swag at a conference), I read the following in print:
1. My Life in France by Julia Child (which I posted about earlier)
2. The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton. This was her last novel, and she did not finish it before she died. Here, Marion Mainwaring completed it. Surprisingly, it was the first quarter that was tedious, not the last. One of my favorite quotes, somewhat ironically, came from the first part (p 160, Penguin Books)
3. Vector by Robin Cook. I was at my parents', and I was desperate. Don't judge.
(but you CAN, however, feel free to judge the various chick lit offerings I pick up for plane flights....more below)
4. everyone worth knowing by Lauren Weisberger. Chick lit... very light chick lit. (same author as the devil wears prada, so it was actually written fairly well)
5. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner. Takes about three different women's birth stories and the paths they take after they have the little rugrats. (And contrary to the opinion of my family, NO, my ovaries did not twitch upon reading about all the babies. Bleah.) I would recommend this, although it is chick lit.
6. The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston. She wrote it in French and then translated it herself into English. It is set in Paris in the 50s, and everyone is still reeling from the war. A Parisian, a German, and a Hungarian are all....involved. (from pg 38, Vintage International)
7. a sort of homecoming by Robert Cremins. This is an Irish coming-of-age story. The main character was appallingly arrogant, and I almost didn't complete it. But I did.
8. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. NOT for kids. Another coming-of-age story.
So in 2011, to date I have read eight books in print. And on the nook? Several more, so far. I'll save those for another post.
How are your resolutions going? Any good book suggestions?
Before I got my e-reader (I went with the nook, since I got it as swag at a conference), I read the following in print:
1. My Life in France by Julia Child (which I posted about earlier)
2. The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton. This was her last novel, and she did not finish it before she died. Here, Marion Mainwaring completed it. Surprisingly, it was the first quarter that was tedious, not the last. One of my favorite quotes, somewhat ironically, came from the first part (p 160, Penguin Books)
Hector Robinson looked curiously at this girl, who might have been pretty in less goddess-like company, and who spoke with such precocious wisdom on subjects delicate to touch. "By Jove, she's make a good wife for an ambitious man," he thought. He did not mean himself....
3. Vector by Robin Cook. I was at my parents', and I was desperate. Don't judge.
(but you CAN, however, feel free to judge the various chick lit offerings I pick up for plane flights....more below)
4. everyone worth knowing by Lauren Weisberger. Chick lit... very light chick lit. (same author as the devil wears prada, so it was actually written fairly well)
5. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner. Takes about three different women's birth stories and the paths they take after they have the little rugrats. (And contrary to the opinion of my family, NO, my ovaries did not twitch upon reading about all the babies. Bleah.) I would recommend this, although it is chick lit.
6. The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston. She wrote it in French and then translated it herself into English. It is set in Paris in the 50s, and everyone is still reeling from the war. A Parisian, a German, and a Hungarian are all....involved. (from pg 38, Vintage International)
Whether he was acting impulsively or not, whether she had ulterior motives or not, the threads of their destinies are now irrevocably intertwined-- since, though neither knows it yet, the young German woman and her French husband are expecting a child. A new human being, the genetic mix of these two highly disparate individuals, is already underway....
7. a sort of homecoming by Robert Cremins. This is an Irish coming-of-age story. The main character was appallingly arrogant, and I almost didn't complete it. But I did.
8. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. NOT for kids. Another coming-of-age story.
So in 2011, to date I have read eight books in print. And on the nook? Several more, so far. I'll save those for another post.
How are your resolutions going? Any good book suggestions?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The assignment that will not die
This semester has been....ugh.
Grading has really gotten the best of me. I generally grade in the evenings, and, by steadily plodding through, I have generally taken a week to get exams and assignments back.
But there is this one assignment that is piled in a precarious stack on the edge of my desk.
I've had this assignment on my desk for five weeks. Five. Weeks.
Partly this is because this particular assignment is extremely tedious to grade. (And I *have* returned graded work in the meantime.)
My students seem okay with this. I think in part this is because are fairly understanding of the sheer amount of grading I have brought upon myself.
I have also heard that some other faculty only return an assignment after 8 weeks or not at all.
Jeez. At least I'm not that bad. [Yet.]
I *have* to get this assignment back to my students this week, at least for my own peace of mind. What is the longest you have taken to get graded work back to students? What is an acceptable return range?
Grading has really gotten the best of me. I generally grade in the evenings, and, by steadily plodding through, I have generally taken a week to get exams and assignments back.
But there is this one assignment that is piled in a precarious stack on the edge of my desk.
I've had this assignment on my desk for five weeks. Five. Weeks.
Partly this is because this particular assignment is extremely tedious to grade. (And I *have* returned graded work in the meantime.)
My students seem okay with this. I think in part this is because are fairly understanding of the sheer amount of grading I have brought upon myself.
I have also heard that some other faculty only return an assignment after 8 weeks or not at all.
Jeez. At least I'm not that bad. [Yet.]
I *have* to get this assignment back to my students this week, at least for my own peace of mind. What is the longest you have taken to get graded work back to students? What is an acceptable return range?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The machine or instrument that must DIE!
Over the years, I have had many an instrument or machine nemesis. My aging laptop, the ornery HPLC, the $^&*# fax machine..... the list can go on.
And now?
The photocopier must DIE.
What would YOU most like to take out to a field and beat with a baseball bat?
And now?
The photocopier must DIE.
What would YOU most like to take out to a field and beat with a baseball bat?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)