Don’t update your system when working on an important project

My advisor decided I needed to update a graph that I made used Matlab. A small theoretical curve graph, nothing fancy or labor intensive. I thought that it would take 5 minutes to make the small changes. I was wrong, it turned out. Matlab became screwy after I upgraded to Snow Leopard (the latest Mac OS). It won’t let me save graphs and displays my y-axis label oddly. I had one of those midnight moments where I didn’t think it was possible to change it. I considered editing the graphic under Photoshop, since the changes were really cosmetic (a frame, a thicker line) but couldn’t figure out how to make a credible thicker graphed line.

Then walking for my coffee, I realized that all I graphed was an equation and I could redo it in Mathematica (which still functions). Solution worked. However, I learned a very important lesson: don’t upgrade until everything is done.

 

A week until break

I’m preparing my students for the next exam, which is fast approaching. I forgot how long the semester system can be; when I was doing my graduate degree, we were on quarter system. That means we would end right before Thanksgiving. I used to prefer the semester system, but now I’m not so sure. Perhaps it’s just what you’re used to at the end of the day.

Although I enjoy teaching, I could use the break myself. It’s just nice to relax, you know? Relaxing is relative, though. I finally received more edits in the mail for my thesis, so that’s how I intend on spending my time, hustling out those edits. It would be nice to have a real break, but at the same time, I’d rather be finished with my thesis than have a break break.

I’m starting to get settled more things. I think this weekend I may finally start doing yoga again. I’m starting to incorporate little dance practices for when I go back to dance class (I’m thinking next month, right before the New Year). I’m surprised that shimmy is still there and that I can still isolate muscles. I suppose muscle more really does exist.

 

So where have I been?

Moving and working means I’ve been quite busy. Last week, I was keeping myself afloat best I can in life. I luckily have been able to keep myself ahead of the game with the students, but I’ve also had a mound of grading to do. Then I come home to clean, figure out how I’m getting certain items I don’t have (pots, pans, whatever) from Craig’s List or otherwise. My cats have been adjusting, as well, which has been some work; my one cat was having a hissing fit with the other two.

Last week, besides the moving stress, was a bit stressful because students like to argue grades. I’m not sure if it’s the nature of the beast, being female, or being young (or a combination), but a handful of students have mindblowingly crazy attitudes. It varies from telling me that I’m not fair for holding their grades to the syllabus, which they not only received prior to me but also we talked about when I did arrive, to being mad at me when they don’t understand what’s going on in class because they were absent and refuse to visit me during my tutoring hours. I’m not trying to be mean or harsh, but sometimes I’m astounded with the lack of accountability on the students’ behalf. I understand life is hard, but you have to take control of things. Thank goodness it’s only a handful, but they can sour things fast. I luckily have some fantastic students who may not totally understand physics, but they’re willing to work at it and not become accusative.

I’m also trying to make decisions on the rest of my life. Do I go to grad school next year (or rather, try to)? What kind of job do I want? And so on. Our work schedules for the next semester have not come out yet, which is stressful. While everyone at work insists that they keep people on as long as they can, there is no guarantee. I’m not trying to be negative or think for the worst, but the reality is I have a contract for so long. So in addition to trying to make long term plans, I am trying to keep my options open for the shorter term.

During my spare moments last week, I’ve also been exploring dance options. I discovered that the studio I used to attend offers a work-study program for dance classes, so I applied to there. I’m also looking at taking a drop-in ballet class. Once I have a feel for my job situation, I’ll likely return to Odissi classes here (or possibly Bharatanatyam). I would love to find a Flamenco class, but I a) don’t want to overextend myself and b) don’t know where one is.

A good part of me is interested in establishing a social life here of sorts; the last time I lived in the area, a bunch of my friends were here. They have either moved away, or we’ve gone very separate life paths at this point. I don’t want to go out all the time, but it’d be nice to hang out with some other people.

So that’s me in a nutshell for now. I think that I should be able to update more frequently next week, but who knows?

 

Cheaters never prosper

I had my first bout with cheaters this past weekend. Kind of soured the weekend, even though I can’t take it personally. Cheating bothers the heck out of me. Besides the idea of people learning to learn and enjoying it, it just makes me uncomfortable to have that dishonesty.

Cheating is a really bad idea. In the best case scenario, you leave a bad taste in the mouth of the person grading you. They may not be inclined to bump your 59.45 to a 60% (and a D-), meaning you failed the course. In the worst case scenario, you face major consquences. If being an ethical, upright person isn’t enough of a reason to not cheat, the consequences of cheating listed in your academic handbook should scare you straight. You can get kicked out of school in some instances or fail a class. The latter situation damages your GPA and possibly puts you behind in class. You may also have to retake the class with the same professor, who may remember you as that person who cheated.

In the situation of getting kicked out, that is a doozy to overcome. Don’t rely on what your friends tell you, that the school doesn’t enforce the cheating policy. It’s like drunk driving. Many may get away with it and get lighter sentencing, but you may encounter the people who follow the books. In your eyes, it may be unfair that you’re the only person who was punished, while everyone got a slap on the wrist, but the law reads how it reads. My school has a 3 strikes policy. Strike one, you get warned and fail the assignment. Strike 2 (which can happen any year, with any class you take), you fail the class in which your second cheating occurrence happened. Strike 3, you’re out. You wasted a lot of money and time to walk away with nothing. You may have also ruined your chances of finishing a degree, at least for a long time.

In short, don’t cheat. Believe me, I didn’t enjoy talking to deans on what to do or failing these students. It really can hurt you in the end.

 

My general test taking and grade tips

Tomorrow my students have their first midterm. Some of them were thankful to have a practice, some of them- well, not so much. Unfortunately, I’m afraid some of them won’t take the tips and advice that I’ve given to them to heart (I have a few “too cool for school” types). These are actually things that I noticed affect some people near and dear to me or things I’ve learned the hard way.

• Study ahead of time. No brainer, but I’ve seen this happen numerous times
• Do your homework. You just create extra stress by trying to learn things a few days before the exam when you should actually start learning the concepts when they’re introduced.
• Actually do the physics problems like you would on the exam. Just looking over doesn’t help matters. You have to actually figure and struggle a little. Watching the teacher do examples is not learning. I find some students think that watching me repeatedly do examples will make things click. It more than likely will not. I probably could do examples until my hand bleeds and I die, and there’s a good chance that they would not learn the topic at hand that well. Note taking, in my opinion, can be passive.
• Sleep well before an exam. Cramming the night before (or period) rarely helps matters and just adds to stress.
• Try not to worry too much after you take the exam. It is literally out of your hands, and you more than likely need some time to recover and work on other schoolwork.
• If you are concerned now about your grades, speak up! I think grades are like financial debt. It is bad when you are in bad places with them, but you cannot do anything about it until you acknowledge that. Also, like credit card companies or loan people, most professors/teachers are willing to work with students and help them figure out what to do and how to improve their grades. However, they aren’t going to be favorable with that if you are doing this last minute.
• Believe you can succeed. Thinking you can’t do something is defeating, because you have already convinced yourself of that. Try to think that you can weather the class/exam.
• There is light at the end of the tunnel. As much as I hope people enjoy school and class, I recognize that people end up taking classes that they don’t like, either because of requirements or because the class turned out differently than expected.
• You have to keep your eye on the proverbial prize. You may hate the class/professor/topic, but you’re in a class and you should at least be concerned about passing so that you don’t lower your GPA/not meet requirements to graduate/etc. At the end of the day, your lack of progress in a class only affects you.
• Be nice to those around you. Professors and teachers like helping people who have a good attitude, not the students who are hostile or apathetic. You don’t have to be genius to be liked by many people; effort and the right attitude means a lot. Even if you don’t love the person, you should definitely be nice. Yelling at them, treating them poorly, etc. is really just unprofessional (would you yell at your boss?) and doesn’t help your case for getting help or advice. No one likes dealing with nasty people.

Does anyone else have tips to succeed at school? I know to some people these sound corny, but I think you have to keep all these things in mind.

 

Midterm time

My week has consisted of getting my students ready for their midterm. While my boss is fine with me delaying exams, I want to get them used to my exams as well as get them motivated to learn the material. I find it odd being on the other side of the table. Making problems up that are thoughtful, interesting, and not too difficult is a challenge. Writing my first equation sheet was a challenge as well. I have fairly good notes of my own that cover what we’ve done, but  I wanted to make something clear for the students. I don’t think they’re used to using an equation sheet, and it is a skill to learn prior to the exam, not at the exam.

Speaking of my students, they are slowly warming up to me and how our classes are. They were used to not having a system, so I think they appreciate that there is consistency, even if I’m still learning. What I like about my boss and everyone at the school is that they understand that I’m still learning. I know how to teach physics on some level, but I’ve never had to worry about assigning work, creating exams, etc. No one taught me how to do that, either. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist, but I’m trying not to be hard on myself. I feel like I am improving with each day.

The job has been quite a bit of work, which is to be expected. I’ve been fitting in my thesis editing (working on that after I finish writing here) and job searching. To clarify, my contract is only good for this semester. While I think I have a decent chance of getting more work, nothing is secure so I feel that it’s necessary to still search. I’m not sending out my CV as vigorously as before, but I have sent out a few applications. I would be more than happy to continue working at the school,  but since I’m not guaranteed work beyond this semester, I have to keep looking.

 

One week down

My first week teaching was a bit of a challenge, but I think that things will shape up as time progresses. The students and I are establishing a relationship. It’s difficult for them, because they haven’t had a steady instructor. It’s difficult for me, because this is my first lecture and they have hadn’t much of a time at school. Because of having so many different instructors, they’re all over the place in terms of what they know and don’t know; I’ve heard they were up to a certain point, but they are not quite there. Unfortunately, the previous instructor never handed back graded work, so they have no idea where they stand in the class. We’re at midterms, which is a scary time for many students, since they are quickly approaching the time to drop a class.

I like my students, though. They are adjusting and seem dedicated to learning. It feels good to have some place to go each day other than my computer to get on Craig’s List, Indeed, HireCulture, etc.

I’ve been apartment searching. On one hand, as many have pointed out, my job is only good through December. On the other hand, I’ve been living out of a suitcase for 2 months or so and no job right now is really secure. I think I’ve found a place, but I have to work a few monetary things out. I’ll be glad to be settled again (for the time).

 

So what is an adjunct professor?

A few of my friends have asked me about this. What does it mean to be an adjunct professor? People with at least a masters can be adjuncts. There are perks and pitfalls of being an adjunct, from what I know. I thought I’d briefly explain those issues, from the employee’s point of view.

• You have no contract beyond the semester. What’s good about it is that you can leave if something better comes up after you fulfill your duties (or if you just plain don’t like it). What’s bad is that the school isn’t obligated to keep you.
• No benefits. I’m lucky that I’m in MA, so I can get state insurance, but many others aren’t so lucky.
• Pay can be low. Mine is decent, but it isn’t outstanding. Well, it’s outstanding, in my opinion, compared to what I’ve received in the past and what I had set my threshold at, but I imagine if you have more of a work background, it isn’t great.
• No desk/office. I’m going to end up sharing a desk and starting a home office to do some of my work. I prefer working from home, but it would be nice to have the option.
• No research. This can be simultaneously a blessing and a curse. For many professors, they have to churn out research (“publish or perish”) in order to gain tenure. I don’t have pressure, but I also can’t have a lab or have money to start one. I’m thinking about inquiring to do some volunteer work in a lab around the area to keep my skills sharp and network.
• You are there to teach. I like that a lot, because some people do become profs not because of love of teaching but because they want to do research and the teaching is essentially a burden for them.

So there you have it. Right now, the job is a decent fit for me. It feels good to breathe  little and slow down on the job hunting. I felt a little bad canceling some interviews and wondered about the possibility of what they would’ve brought. However, without an offer on the table from them, I don’t think it’s wise to take the risk.

 

I’m hired but searchin’ still

I’m somewhat out of the woods in unemployment land. I was hired officially today as an adjunct professor (I may even get to be addressed as professor) at a community college. I look forward to it. Even though I’ve been rather negative about the whole job search thing and stuff in my life, I was hesitant to share this news. It happened very fast. I decided to call the place, instead of waiting. I had always heard that one waits to hear back, but since the ad specifically listed that they were hiring fast (I start Tuesday), I decided it wasn’t in my best interest to wait. I now wonder how much better I would’ve been calling instead of emailing. Oh well.

The interview took over 2 hours. In terms of interviews, this was not the longest (longest being 7 hours or so, including lunch), but it was an interview. I never know how to read interviews sometimes. I think I landed the job not only because of my initiative to call but also that I can both teach physics and relate to the students; we come from similar backgrounds, even if I’ve managed to do all right for myself.

The job is pretty good; 2 lecture sections and 1 lab of intro physics is all I teach. I’m a little nervous about filling time, really leading a lecture, and so on, but I think I can handle it. The school is very supportive, too, which is good.

The downfall is that being adjunct doesn’t pay well. Well, that’s half true. This position pays decently for the amount of time I’m going to work (or so I estimated), and it would leave me with time to get a part-time job. However, it’s scoring that part-time job. I may be able to get some tutoring through the school, but it is unclear how much right now. I’m hoping for about 10+ hours, but we shall see. I’ve been applying for more tutoring jobs from Craig’s List, as well as other misc. jobs around. Hopefully I get something else soon. I’m not picky about pay or anything, I just need something to supplement my income.

This weekend is going to be spent preparing to teach. I’m excited and scared simultaneously. Wish me luck!

 

Vedi, vidi, not quite vici

My thesis defense was yesterday. It went okay. I was disappointed by the lack of crowd (one adjunct admitted he went to the beach). The presentation was not flawless. I use Keynote, which is the Mac version of Powerpoint; I prefer it, though I have Powerpoint. The day before, when I rehearsed, Keynote had an aweseome presenter only display, where I had a clock and my notes on my screen, and the presentation on the big screen. True to how life rolls, I wasn’t able to get that back the next day, even though I hadn’t changed any settings on my compuer and no one had used the room for my presentation.

The defense part (the part behind closed doors) was intense. At least mine wasn’t a friendly meeting of professors; we were there for business and nothing nice. I have to do rewriting. Everyone has different standards; some things that my advisor had wanted me to do and loved were things the committee hated. Go figure. The only bad thing about the edits are that some of them I need to have access to stuff at school. Due to my job search and lack of job, I am moving in with a friend in Providence, RI next week sometime. I have to work hard to get stuff done all while packing.

The other thing that made yesterday rough was a friend wanted to cancel on me for moving. I was relying on this, since I’m moving within a week or so. I have since found a reasonable mover, but I now need to figure out how to move my cats. Airlines won’t let me fly with three cats or buy seats or anything like that. I’m not sure why, but that’s what I found out from customer service tonight. Anyone have any advice?

That’s where my life stands. My big relaxing stuff today (and part of yesterday when I wasn’t freaking out about my move) was eating malai kofta from my favorite Indian restaurant, playing Sims 3, and sitting around in my PJs.