adsii1970

Yesterday was a rough day. I think I might owe @TeslaPenguin1 an apology for a snarky comment (no offense meant to @Snark as I was referring to the action of being snarky ). When I was saying "I can't wait to read @Just Jim's next chapter, it was not meant as the "I want the next chapter, now!" comment it was taken to be. It was meant to be taken as a "I'm looking forward to reading it whenever it comes out" because as a fan fic author on this forum, I, too, must deal with time constraints.

Now for why yesterday was rough. I'm not tenured and is why I teach at two separate universities. The week before the semester started, I was notified that I was losing one of my classes (it had 27 students registered) because a tenured professor's class did not have the required number of students registered in it. Because tenured faculty are required to have 15 hours of courses, I was bumped from my course. Being bumped from one course reduces my pay by around $700 per month.

So, yesterday, my department chair called me up. She wanted me to authorize two students to transfer out of the course which was taken away from me and allow them into the course I still teach for the university. No problem. She then told me that since the course reassignment was made, the course has dropped from 27 registered students and was now (as of yesterday) at 14 (that's a loss of 48% of the students within the first week). Yes, you've read that right. The class has lost 13 students since the first day of classes. And many are telling the registrar the reason is because I am not teaching the class.

So, to add insult to injury, they took a class from me and I get a lecture about having a cult following on campus. The reason I have a "cult" following on campus is because:

• I take time to listen to a student who comes to see me during office hours.
• I return emails within three hours of receiving them. My average would be lower if I factored out the weekends. I don't email on Sunday.
• I am consistent in my grading.
• I do not make excuses when I screw up, I admit them and fix them.
• I don't assign busy work. The first day of class (and in the syllabus) I explain to students why I assign certain things.
• If needed, I will allow a student to schedule an appointment outside of my normal office hours.
• I teach the course materials and do not indoctrinate. I allow a free and open discussion in my classroom.
• I don't do the "Bell Curve" thing. If the entire class earns an A, then that's what I do.
• And I have a heart. I remember what it was like in graduate school going through a divorce, custody fight, bad car wreck, and the death of a close family member.

And most importantly, I remember that my students are human, too. People want to be around others who value them as people. And when it comes to taking a college course, students want a professor who they can relate to, who is approachable, and most of all, who they believe is going to treat them fairly. And that's what I do.