Something Good Happened To Me AGAIN

Sparrow wrote:

grmblfjx wrote:

Congratulations! Where are you headed?

rae wrote:

Congrats! :D

Thanks! We went off to Orlando - did the theme parks. Back now, and hell, wish we'd had longer down there.

good job, good job. I can't remember what genders you are, but I'll send you my regards.

ViewSonic wrote:

Sparrow wrote:

grmblfjx wrote:

Congratulations! Where are you headed?

rae wrote:

Congrats! :D

Thanks! We went off to Orlando - did the theme parks. Back now, and hell, wish we'd had longer down there.

good job, good job. I can't remember what genders you are, but I'll send you my regards.

One is avian, the other is canine.

Upcoming LoL champion.....



I've been throwing my money at the computer all day but nothing's happening  

I passed my qualifying exams--I am now officially a doctoral candidate!

This was one of the shittiest experiences I've ever had. Start to finish, all it did was show me just how fucked up my department is. Owing to everything that was said today, I can honestly say that the only thing keeping this from the "something bad" page is the fact that I passed unanimously.

Fuck this place and a sizable number of the disinterested chickenshits in it. But I still get to be a doctoral candidate now. Ha. At the end of the day, it's still one in the win column for me.

You've been doing this for as long as I can remember you posting.

What in hell is the endgame?  

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

You've been doing this for as long as I can remember you posting.

What in hell is the endgame?  

It feels like that, honestly.  Five years for undergrad, three for the MA, and now I'm into year four of the PhD.

The endgame? The dissertation, I think. The next step toward that is writing a prospectus that gets the faculty members off my ass, so I can finally just sit down and do the work I've been planning.

The hard part will be finishing by June 2015. But fuck it, I don't want to be here forever; the average is six years for this field, and we have three people who are now in their eighth year here. 2015 would be the end of my fifth year, so I'd be ahead of the game. It'd be great to have that happen.

I finally landed a job as a high school English teacher! It is only until the end of the 2013/2014 school year, but it will be a great first experience as I adore alternative schools. I am excited to not be working in a restaurant anymore, have weekends/holidays off, and I am especially excited to work with students and dive into meaningful literature and analysis. I am so happy. It has taken me years to get here.

I have 13 inches (2.3 oz.) less hair than I did this morning. Also went to the state fair and got to go upside down repeatedly. ^_^ Life is good.

Shitty webcam pic:

Spoiler:

Wow; you and your hair are quite lovely. I'm jealous.

Eevee wrote:

dive into meaningful literature and analysis.

From my time doing field work I have learned that the last thing anyone wants you to do in a classroom is what someone would call "meaningful".

#bitterness

Mr.Doobie wrote:

Eevee wrote:

dive into meaningful literature and analysis.

From my time doing field work I have learned that the last thing anyone wants you to do in a classroom is what someone would call "meaningful".

#bitterness

You never know. I work in an alternative high school as a librarian, and on occasion I have had interesting conversations with the students about literature. (Like the time two of my TAs who had been reading Frankenstein in English class were debating whether the creature was evil or was in search of acceptance and love and didn't know any better than to do evil things.)

My cousin from Oklahoma and his new wife are visiting! (I just wish my sister had asked before inviting them to stay in our house. And sent out invitations to the entire family to come for dinner, at a moment's notice.)

But still a good thing, because I finally get to meet Kelsey! 

Lady Anne wrote:

Mr.Doobie wrote:

Eevee wrote:

dive into meaningful literature and analysis.

From my time doing field work I have learned that the last thing anyone wants you to do in a classroom is what someone would call "meaningful".

#bitterness

You never know. I work in an alternative high school as a librarian, and on occasion I have had interesting conversations with the students about literature. (Like the time two of my TAs who had been reading Frankenstein in English class were debating whether the creature was evil or was in search of acceptance and love and didn't know any better than to do evil things.)

It's understandable, Doobie. Especially in poorer schools, students get shafted and it sucks. However, one of the best things about this school is that the literature we are reading may not fly in other schools that are prone to canonical works. Right now, we are reading "The Tortilla Curtain" and "The Fault in our Stars" which were both written within the last 20 years. I am excited to dive into the classics at some point (like Frankenstein, Uncle Tom's Cabin, etc.) but for now, I am excited to see how students analyze these works. They are relevant and interesting... And controversial. High school students love controversy.

Eeveegou wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Mr.Doobie wrote:

Eevee wrote:

dive into meaningful literature and analysis.

From my time doing field work I have learned that the last thing anyone wants you to do in a classroom is what someone would call "meaningful".

#bitterness

You never know. I work in an alternative high school as a librarian, and on occasion I have had interesting conversations with the students about literature. (Like the time two of my TAs who had been reading Frankenstein in English class were debating whether the creature was evil or was in search of acceptance and love and didn't know any better than to do evil things.)

It's understandable, Doobie. Especially in poorer schools, students get shafted and it sucks.

I'm actually really happy to hear that there are alternative schools that actually.... y'know... care. That actually gives me hope that maybe I'll also be able to find a place like that to teach (my goal) and I'm really happy you found a place like that. Even if it's only temporary, it puts you on the map, y'know? Maybe it'll set you up for more jobs like that in the future.

It's just, the Philadelphia public school system is such a fucking hole, man.

Eeveegou wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Mr.Doobie wrote:

Eevee wrote:

dive into meaningful literature and analysis.

From my time doing field work I have learned that the last thing anyone wants you to do in a classroom is what someone would call "meaningful".

#bitterness

You never know. I work in an alternative high school as a librarian, and on occasion I have had interesting conversations with the students about literature. (Like the time two of my TAs who had been reading Frankenstein in English class were debating whether the creature was evil or was in search of acceptance and love and didn't know any better than to do evil things.)

It's understandable, Doobie. Especially in poorer schools, students get shafted and it sucks. However, one of the best things about this school is that the literature we are reading may not fly in other schools that are prone to canonical works. Right now, we are reading "The Tortilla Curtain" and "The Fault in our Stars" which were both written within the last 20 years. I am excited to dive into the classics at some point (like Frankenstein, Uncle Tom's Cabin, etc.) but for now, I am excited to see how students analyze these works. They are relevant and interesting... And controversial. High school students love controversy.

They do indeed love controversy. During Banned Books Week, I put together a display of books banned for various reasons (some of them lolworthy). Then I told anyone who asked that the books were banned and why. Not surprisingly, the kids were eager to see just what it was they weren't supposed to read. I actually wound up ordering some more Harry Potter and Hunger Games books to meet the demand.

lemmingwriter wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

You've been doing this for as long as I can remember you posting.

What in hell is the endgame?  

It feels like that, honestly.  Five years for undergrad, three for the MA, and now I'm into year four of the PhD.

The endgame? The dissertation, I think. The next step toward that is writing a prospectus that gets the faculty members off my ass, so I can finally just sit down and do the work I've been planning.

The hard part will be finishing by June 2015. But fuck it, I don't want to be here forever; the average is six years for this field, and we have three people who are now in their eighth year here. 2015 would be the end of my fifth year, so I'd be ahead of the game. It'd be great to have that happen.

I more meant "what the hell are you going to do when you get this MA PhD BA DA CIA ABC XYZ in what is most likely a lolField?"

Eeveegou wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Mr.Doobie wrote:

Eevee wrote:

dive into meaningful literature and analysis.

From my time doing field work I have learned that the last thing anyone wants you to do in a classroom is what someone would call "meaningful".

#bitterness

You never know. I work in an alternative high school as a librarian, and on occasion I have had interesting conversations with the students about literature. (Like the time two of my TAs who had been reading Frankenstein in English class were debating whether the creature was evil or was in search of acceptance and love and didn't know any better than to do evil things.)

It's understandable, Doobie. Especially in poorer schools, students get shafted and it sucks. However, one of the best things about this school is that the literature we are reading may not fly in other schools that are prone to canonical works. Right now, we are reading "The Tortilla Curtain" and "The Fault in our Stars" which were both written within the last 20 years. I am excited to dive into the classics at some point (like Frankenstein, Uncle Tom's Cabin, etc.) but for now, I am excited to see how students analyze these works. They are relevant and interesting... And controversial. High school students love controversy.

Usually "controversial" with regards to entertainment usually means "stupid bullshit for the purposes of shit stirring thinly disguised as 'deep' philosophy." (See: Oryx and Crake) For some reason, when I do it, you fools are much more accurate.

Or it's Michael Cole's definition of "controversial," which usually translates to "the most asinine bullshit swerve in the history of the WWE."  It's funny to hear him call Del Rio's latest cheap heat grabbing shenanigans controversial when this is the same company that gave us Katie Vick and Lita's Miscarriage.

Regardless, literature is stupid and you are stupid.  How about you teach these retards something useful.  Like Math.

Lady Anne wrote:

They do indeed love controversy. During Banned Books Week, I put together a display of books banned for various reasons (some of them lolworthy). Then I told anyone who asked that the books were banned and why. Not surprisingly, the kids were eager to see just what it was they weren't supposed to read. I actually wound up ordering some more Harry Potter and Hunger Games books to meet the demand.

I'm calling bullshit on the grounds that no one under 20 years old is stupid enough to get The Hunger Games any way besides ThePirateBay.

Ah yes, ThePirateBay. Making English Literature less laughably expensive since Mikey figured it out.  

Also, why was The Hunger Games banned? Violence?

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

lemmingwriter wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

You've been doing this for as long as I can remember you posting.

What in hell is the endgame?  

It feels like that, honestly.  Five years for undergrad, three for the MA, and now I'm into year four of the PhD.

The endgame? The dissertation, I think. The next step toward that is writing a prospectus that gets the faculty members off my ass, so I can finally just sit down and do the work I've been planning.

The hard part will be finishing by June 2015. But fuck it, I don't want to be here forever; the average is six years for this field, and we have three people who are now in their eighth year here. 2015 would be the end of my fifth year, so I'd be ahead of the game. It'd be great to have that happen.

I more meant "what the hell are you going to do when you get this MA PhD BA DA CIA ABC XYZ in what is most likely a lolField?"

Oh. Teaching, probably, but I do have other options. I'm already working for an insurance research center, and I'll probably continue there as we expand our scope. The hope is that I'll work for the business college in some capacity so I can stay affiliated with the center. The boss wants to keep me as long as she can, with an eye toward me someday helping to run things.

I may or may not teach classes in my field (religious studies); I'd like to down the line, but I'm kind of burned out on the shitty political nonsense happening right now.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Also, why was The Hunger Games banned?  Violence?

Sex. Which there isn't any of. I told you some of the reasons for banning books are lolworthy.

What's actually pretty interesting is how the school designs its grading system. They don't do the traditional A, B, C, D, F, but students are graded on three levels: developing, proficient, advanced. What's nice is for each standard and/or task they're working with, there is a rubric that outlines exactly what each level means... Which is great because it's very transparent, allowing students to understand where they're at. I always thought the A-F system was too subjective and arbitrary... I often had a hard time grading papers that way. What really is the difference between an A and an A- or a C and a C+? Too antiquated...

Lastly, the school doesn't run on a semester/trimester/quarter system!! So, students get a final grade at the very end... And progress throughout the year is reported to parents, state, and students in the form of a mid-year and end-year narrative that teachers write for each student. This is the first time I have ever worked/been to a school that is so personalized for each kid. Very cool (:


By the way, each of my classes range from 18-22 students!!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me.

lemmingwriter wrote:

Oh. Teaching, probably, but I do have other options. I'm already working for an insurance research center, and I'll probably continue there as we expand our scope. The hope is that I'll work for the business college in some capacity so I can stay affiliated with the center. The boss wants to keep me as long as she can, with an eye toward me someday helping to run things.

I may or may not teach classes in my field (religious studies); I'd like to down the line, but I'm kind of burned out on the shitty political nonsense happening right now.

So cool!! I hope to one day teach at the college level... You're in a good spot being able to teach classes in a business school. Pretty much everyone I know going to school is either going in for software/electrical engineering or business.

Eeveegou wrote:

lemmingwriter wrote:

Oh. Teaching, probably, but I do have other options. I'm already working for an insurance research center, and I'll probably continue there as we expand our scope. The hope is that I'll work for the business college in some capacity so I can stay affiliated with the center. The boss wants to keep me as long as she can, with an eye toward me someday helping to run things.

I may or may not teach classes in my field (religious studies); I'd like to down the line, but I'm kind of burned out on the shitty political nonsense happening right now.

So cool!! I hope to one day teach at the college level... You're in a good spot being able to teach classes in a business school. Pretty much everyone I know going to school is either going in for software/electrical engineering or business.

I like teaching at this level, especially when I'm teaching writing. The freshman students in particular can be a ton of fun, and when they get hooked into a topic, it's energizing for everyone. Hell, my students last year wrote about zombies and vampires and had a great time doing it.

I'm not in a business-connected field, but I've kind of stumbled into it. The money is better there than in my field, so it may not be a bad place to start out.

lemmingwriter wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

lemmingwriter wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

You've been doing this for as long as I can remember you posting.

What in hell is the endgame?  

It feels like that, honestly.  Five years for undergrad, three for the MA, and now I'm into year four of the PhD.

The endgame? The dissertation, I think. The next step toward that is writing a prospectus that gets the faculty members off my ass, so I can finally just sit down and do the work I've been planning.

The hard part will be finishing by June 2015. But fuck it, I don't want to be here forever; the average is six years for this field, and we have three people who are now in their eighth year here. 2015 would be the end of my fifth year, so I'd be ahead of the game. It'd be great to have that happen.

I more meant "what the hell are you going to do when you get this MA PhD BA DA CIA ABC XYZ in what is most likely a lolField?"

Oh. Teaching, probably, but I do have other options. I'm already working for an insurance research center, and I'll probably continue there as we expand our scope. The hope is that I'll work for the business college in some capacity so I can stay affiliated with the center. The boss wants to keep me as long as she can, with an eye toward me someday helping to run things.

I may or may not teach classes in my field (religious studies); I'd like to down the line, but I'm kind of burned out on the shitty political nonsense happening right now.

So you paid these teachers a shitload of money to charge other people a shitload of money to teach them how to charge other people a shitload of money? This sounds like a Ponzi Scheme.

Lady Anne wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Also, why was The Hunger Games banned?  Violence?

Sex. Which there isn't any of. I told you some of the reasons for banning books are lolworthy.

Well, I vaguely recall Boything and Whatsherface kissing at some point. I also vaguely recall a fairly detailed description of someone catching an arrow with their trachea. The latter is A-OK, but the former is Very Very Bad. And then they wonder why the kids turn out gay.

Eeveegou wrote:

What's actually pretty interesting is how the school designs its grading system. They don't do the traditional A, B, C, D, F, but students are graded on three levels: developing, proficient, advanced.

Retarded, Eh Good Enough, and Why Isn't He in a Real School?

Quote :

What's nice is for each standard and/or task they're working with, there is a rubric that outlines exactly what each level means... Which is great because it's very transparent, allowing students to understand where they're at. I always thought the A-F system was too subjective and arbitrary... I often had a hard time grading papers that way. What really is the difference between an A and an A- or a C and a C+? Too antiquated...

Lastly, the school doesn't run on a semester/trimester/quarter system!! So, students get a final grade at the very end... And progress throughout the year is reported to parents, state, and students in the form of a mid-year and end-year narrative that teachers write for each student. This is the first time I have ever worked/been to a school that is so personalized for each kid. Very cool (:


By the way, each of my classes range from 18-22 students!!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me.

I can't wait until reality sucks this fucking joy and energy from you. It's really wearing on my nerves.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

So you paid these teachers a shitload of money to charge other people a shitload of money to teach them how to charge other people a shitload of money?  This sounds like a Ponzi Scheme.

Nah, I spent the first three years on fellowship, so I essentially got paid to be here (although not a lot). When I work for the university as an instructor, they waive my tuition and most of my fees, and I get my health insurance covered. I think I barely paid anything over the past few years, aside from rent and a few fees, and the only reason I took out a loan was because I did a study abroad trip.

It's more like I got paid to learn how to get other people to pay a shitload of money for my dubious wisdom, and in my spare time I work on getting people and companies to give my center a shitload of money so we can research how to better charge people shitloads of money. The PhD will allow me to do that with more authority.  

Eeveegou wrote:

By the way, each of my classes range from 18-22 students!!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me.

Just FYI for people who are not blown away by this, the Jr High and High Schools we went to were 32 kids a class, typically. You only go smaller classes if you were in some sort of weird high level elective (Or Quest, I suppose).

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

Just FYI for people who are not blown away by this, the Jr High and High Schools we went to were 32 kids a class, typically.  You only go smaller classes if you were in some sort of weird high level elective (Or Quest, I suppose).

And shit! The class size is like Quest, so you can actually get some meaningful work done... and ta-da! Kids are having a good time learning. I was may have slacked with my classwork, but it actually pushed my thinking with some great in-class discussions. Every kid has that in them.