So, I just spoke to my department head...
Simply put, I don't want to do this anymore. I do not want to teach someone else's class, especially not one that seems designed to fuck over students who work full-time while they try to get a degree. I don't want to deal with the blackboard pukes. I just... don't want to do it.
I'll stick out the semester with the classes I've been assigned, because that's just the right thing to do.
But I called my department head and told him that I want to come back on campus this coming fall, assuming Odysseus doesn't find a job that replaces my income. He told me that it was probably best--he just got off the phone discussing my attitude.
Apparently, Distance Learning got insulted that I didn't think the sun rose out of their rectum, and ran to one of the many vice presidents. Not to my department head, nor yet to the Dean of Arts and Sciences. They whined about how I was making them look bad to the students (news flash, dumbasses: I didn't do anything. You guys look bad to the students because you fucking suck). And the VP of Something or Other agreed, and tried to have me fired before Monday.
My department head, when this edict came down from On High, went to his boss, and the Dean of A&S agreed with him. Apparently, the Dean's daughter took my class several years ago, and used the papers to help her through one of the absolute roughest times I've ever seen. She got away from an abusive relationship, and went into rehab. Both of them credit my class with saving her life.
So, my job is safe, as long as I lie through my teeth about how well the class is designed, and keep my head down until I can get back to on-campus teaching.
Which, honestly, I prefer to do in the first place.
16 minutes ago
I hated using the BB system IN CLASS I can only imagine the suck for totally online.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I walked away 3 semesters ago. I have not looked back.
I'd gotten used to BB's ideosyncracies, so they didn't bother me so much anymore. Getting my class yanked, and then having to deal with "Are you sure you hit the submit button, you stupid person who isn't BB admin?" attitudes...that bothers me. So, fuck 'em. I'll go back on campus and actually be able to teach again.
DeleteFor the record, one of the reasons I like you is because you have a bad attitude. Do what you gotta do, but if you can hose them in the end, do so.
ReplyDeleteOh, believe me: I will be doing my best. And you'd better believe I can hold a grudge--when I can replace that income, I will be writing letters to the editor of both the local paper and the campus paper about this incident.
DeleteF'in A. I get reamed out if I try to jump "chain of command" even if it's a serious situation. But boy howdy, let a student get his ass a little chapped, and he's running to every Dean on campus for satisfaction. And the wimpy admin we have right now LISTEN to them, instead of saying, "You need to try to work this out with the faculty member rather than coming in and trying to get them in 'trouble' with me."
ReplyDeleteThat's the worst thing I think, on my campus. The fact that the faculty can be called on the carpet without even KNOWING anything was coming, because some student got their feewings huwurt and the admin doesn't even bother to consider if the student is being a crybaby or if other students in the class have a problem, too. (And as I said: they don't even suggest going to the prof in question first to see if it was a misunderstanding or something)
And BlackBoard sucks giant donkey balls. I use it solely as a place to deposit material (because if I set up a Google Docs page or somesuch, there would be Certain People who would whine about how they couldn't find the page. Because they couldn't find their butt with both hands and a map), but it's clunky and ugly and screwed up and they keep adding useless "functionalities" on to it that make it work even worse.
And I still am appalled that they essentially demoted you to a grading monkey, for no clear reason at all, and gave all the power in your class to one of those people who sounds like they couldn't find their butts with both hands and a map.
Best yet? They don't seem to understand that they have. They keep insisting that I am the instructor, because this is what all online instructors are doing.
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