Monday, December 17, 2012

Wonderful.

Our distance learning courses have been handed over to a "Master" instructor for redesign.

My textbook?  Scrapped. 

My assignments?  Scrapped.

And the instructor they got to redesign the thing wasn't able/willing to work with the people in the distance learning department, so I'm betting the course won't function, either. 

My work as a teacher has been downgraded to teaching assistant/grader. 

I'll try it for one semester.  If it works the way I think it will, I may well be done teaching sooner than I thought I would be. 

Fuck.

6 comments:

  1. Was this an actual demotion? Can they cite a reason for it? Or is it, "You're adjunct, bend over and take it."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "We want to make the distance learning general education classes uniform, and we'll hire a real expert to do it"--the assumption being that none of us are doing anywhere near a good job.

      Delete
    2. May I suggest University of Phoenix? We have good gun laws here...

      Delete
    3. Tempt me not, you evil...tempter, you.

      Seriously, we can't. Maybe in a few years, but not now.

      Delete
  2. Wow. I realize that this is probably not possible for you, but I'd quit. On the spot. And probably burn a few bridges on the way. Being able to TEACH is the only thing that makes having to GRADE tolerable, and if I were demoted to a grader/hand-holder it wouldn't be worth it, they couldn't pay me enough.

    The whole "uniformity" thing is a new academic fad. We have been warned that those of us who teach Gen Ed may soon have to go to 'uniform exams' (That is: every section gives the SAME exam on the SAME day, which is a cheating student's wet dream). And that would mean we will all have to meet for HOURS before each exam to argue over and try to write a common exam.

    If that happens? I'm going to see if I can refuse to teach gen ed classes. (There are only 2 in the department I can teach, and the other classes I teach are all specialist major classes that "they" haven't tried to meddle with. Yet.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, it really isn't an option. I don't think going back to campus is, either, and that doesn't take the $400/semester paycut would entail. ($1800/class/semester for on campus; $2000/class/semester for distance learning classes).

      Maybe someday if my writing can replace my current income...

      Delete

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