(no subject)

I got told last night at class that I was "a legend among the first-year MAs." Apparently they think I have a complete draft of my thesis done already. I...am not sure where they heard this, because I definitely only have sixteen pages now. Which, yes, is further along than pretty much everyone else in my year, but it's not that remarkable. Nevertheless, I was rather pleased to hear that. :D

Teaching is less pleasing. It is getting easier, thankfully, but today I think I just confused my students while getting them to perform a mini rhetorical analysis in groups. I think they got by the end that they had to make a claim about the work rather than just restating MLK's argument in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," but it was hard going. I'm glad I had them do it in groups, and didn't try to do it as a class, or have them work on it individually. Friday we're doing specifics of how to write a good intro, thesis, body paragraph, and conclusion, so I'll take one of their claims that they came up with and use it as a sort of running example--how to write a good statement of this claim, how to back it up, etc. Maybe that will make more sense. I guess this might be something where I just need to talk at them for a while, rather than trying to facilitate discussion of the topic that eventually arrives at answers. I try to stay away from lecturing, because if I do that, then why did I make them read the chapter in the book, you know? But this seems to be something that needs it.

Anyway, we're doing the body paragraph as a hamburger thing, which should be good for some laughs, especially since I can't draw on chalkboards at all.

And at least most of the kids are trying and willing to struggle with the material. I do have a few who are obviously completely uninvested and will undoubtedly fail out by November (the one who's missed three days of class already comes to mind), but on the whole, I have a good group of students.

And now I have to go read, because ILL finally got a book I need to me, but I only get it for FOUR DAYS. Grrr.

You thought your job market was bad?

A few months old, but THIS RIGHT HERE is the main reason I am not continuing on to a PhD.

(I hear stories from people on the market of hundreds of people applying for each position out there. Some of those hundreds have been looking for a tenure-track position for three or four years. I can have trouble finding a job without sinking four or five more years into higher ed, I think.)