To review or not to review...

....is not really a question, at least for me.

I don't do review sessions.


I am thorough enough the *first* time I go over material, and I continuously review throughout lecture. I even take the first few minutes of the lecture period to review the material from the previous lecture.

So yeah. I don't do review sessions.

Many of my colleagues do, however, and several of them are quite vocal about my refusal to hold multi-hour review sessions the night before an exam.


What do I tell them?* That if they did it right the first time, they wouldn't need to give a review session. If you make it your mission to always help your students see the big picture and make connections between topics, then you don't need a review session to tie it all together.


*Obviously I don't say any of this out loud. But I do say it quite loudly in my head, particularly when they imply that *I* am the crappy professor for not spending my evenings reviewing for my students.

Taming the Talons

I'm pretty low maintenance. I rarely wear makeup. I usually teach in jeans, and I often wear t-shirts to lab.

I'm equally low key about my nails. I never get manicures (only once in my life!), and I never wear polish. I just buff them once a month, and I'm good to go. I let them grow until they click on the keyboard, and then I cut them pretty close to the pink part. Let me toot my own horn here: I have good nails. The beds are nice and pink, and the tips are very white. If I had yellow fingernails, perhaps I would put more time into them.

Some of my (female) colleagues spend quite a lot of time and upkeep on their manicures. I find painted fingernails distracting. I inwardly roll my eyes at bright red talons. Not sure why. But I do. Do I think that they are unnecessary? Absolutely. Is it unprofessional for a woman to paint her nails? It shouldn't be.


Students comment about professorial attire all the time. I wonder where they stand on decorated digits?

Say it ain't so!

Dear Undergrad,

You know how today you came up to me after lecture and informed me that you were never taking a class in Science again?

Yeah, I totally had to hold back the tears.

You mean I won't have another chance to teach you in a future Science class?



Woohoo! You just made my freaking semester!!



All the best,

Dr. Reaction

Good eats?

PermaU students complain All. The. Time. about the cafeteria food.

My college cafeteria had terrible food. Like, unrecognizable gruel-type food. So I'm not the most sympathetic when my students complain about PermaU's cafeteria fares.

But even my food experiences don't compare to that of Mrs. Q, blogger of all that is elementary/middle school lunch eats. Enjoy this except of one of her "favorite" entrees, pizza:

The cheese looks shellacked and shiny. And the "pepperoni" is in little squares.

"Shellacked" pizza? Me thinks my undergrads should stop complaining about their under-stocked salad bar or "only" six choices of soda pop.

Shoulda put a ring on it...?

"Where's your ring, Dr. Reaction?" Undergrad sounded startled.

I stammered out a response. Something about blood diamonds and not wanting to support the industry. (Seriously. It's the first thing that came to mind.)

Although N.A. and I are engaged in theory, I don't have a ring. No ring, no wedding date.


I don't have a problem with this...except when I have to explain it to prying students. I'm in no hurry to get married. N.A. and I own a dog and real estate together. Sure, we don't get the tax break for filing as married, but I also don't have to combine our cell phone plans.


Is marriage really all that it's cracked up to be?

It's not really urgent

I'm not sure there is anything more pretentious than marking an email as High Importance. I am not any more inclined to read a red-flagged email than one that isn't MARKED WITH EXCLAMATION POINTS.

Actually, there is something email-related that is more pretentious: requests for receipts of email. Does anyone else get these? One of the dean's secretaries ALWAYS put one of these on emails she sends out. After I open the email, Outlook pops open a request for permission to send back a receipt of reading. Ummm.... no. I always click no. If people are concerned that I read an email, why not request IN THE EMAIL that I acknowledge reading it?

The funny thing is that usually these requests are attached to emails that clearly aren't urgent. Things like regalia order requests. Or lab report questions. Or fall book orders.

What do I consider topics worthy of the red flag? Notifications of free food. Or booze. Or cancellations of classes. Yup, that's all I can think of right now.


(By all means feel free to explain to me why URGENT! is an important feature for emails.)

Instant human: Just add caffeine

You probably already know that I'm not a morning person.

In the morning, I'm on automatic pilot until I get my coffee. Which is at work. (Mostly because if I had coffee here, I wouldn't have much of a reason to go in, would I?)

I have a big problem. I live with a morning person. No, not N.A.


My dog.


My dog is more cheery than the secretary in Office Space. I have never seen a creature more excited about the morning. He bounds out of his crate, panting with excitement. I'm still trying to get my pupils calibrated against all the offensive light streaming in the windows. (Must invest in blackout curtains.)

Even though I've had the puppy for almost eight months, I'm still getting used to having something THAT excited to see me every morning.

If only I could transfer some of that enthusiasm for life from my dog to my students!