"I Used To Be Disgusted"

I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with some of my students in summer school. Their lack of effort or motivation, their willful disregard of rules and instructions, their tendency to just do...well, nothing. It's all getting to me. I'd say I need a break, but I know there's only two weeks left and that I can make it that long.

Still, it's difficult some days during summer school to remind myself why I enjoy teaching. I don't have that problem during the regular school year, but that's probably because I'm teaching history then and I feel more in my element.

Finally got my updated GMU transcript this morning and delivered it to the Powers That Be (PTB) at the other school so we can get my full teaching license. For those who don't know the story, one of my classes wasn't showing up on my transcript. I called about it, and they said they had to file something called retro-enrollment papers to get it added back, and that it was all on their end and I just had to sit back and wait a couple of weeks for it to appear on my unofficial transcript. Well, a month passed, and no word. I called back and discovered that, since the class was more than a year old, the Dean's Office had to send a memo to the Vice Provost's Office to get it approved, then it had to be sent back to the Dean's Office, who would then send it on to the Registrar, who would finally put the class on my transcript. That took another month. It should've taken a week, tops, even with the inherent lack of communication between departments that you find at universities. I mean, I'd've walked the damn paperwork back and forth across campus if it'd have got the stuff done faster.

But now it's taken care of, and I should have my official license from the PTB in a few weeks (give or take). Hurray!

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Elvis Costello, "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes"