Festivus Marketing

Last Wednesday our department held a festivus party. One of the features of said party is the festivus pole. We had a lovely pole donated by a department member but apparently this non-commercial holiday now has an offical festivus pole.

Company sells aluminum poles to celebrate Festivus 'holiday'

Wishful thinking?

Here is my horoscope for today.

Career matters should be going very well for you today, dear Virgo. A sudden change with regard to your work could catapult you into a position you've been hoping to reach for a long time, and it could come with a raise, too. You've worked hard and done very well, so what may seem to others to be a lucky break is actually only the outcome of intense and determined effort on your part. Enjoy your success, and make the most of it.

Marking redux

Okay its official, grading papers and exams is my least favourite part of teaching.

I try to create a learning environment where there are no surprises at the end of the semester. My students had 65% of their grade at the time of writing their final exam and submitting their personal interest papers. Many of my students were at an "a" level going in to the final but that wasn't always the case after.

When did final exams become a non-measure of the learning that has occurred throughout the course? My students, of which the majority did earn A's, seemed to think that the final exam is just a formality and that their performance on said exam should not change their grades. I am a little lost in this new world where people think that they should get a particular grade just because they expected it. My personal experiences with final exams have often been frustrating and confusing but I don't remember blaming anyone else when I did poorly. Perhaps it is part of grade inflation that doesn't just occur at prestigious schools. Perhaps I have unrealistic expectations of what graduate school writing should look like. Perhaps I need to reevaluate whether dumbing down the final exam would be "fairer".

I think that in the future I will read negative reviews of professors with a slightly more jaded eye. For I am sure for the individuals who expressed dissatisfaction with their grades are prepared to take out their frustration in that forum.

Globalization lite

Without dismissing the often negative and serious effects of globalization I had a surreal experience last week. Waiting for new tires to be put on my car last Thursday, I wandered over to a strip mall across the street. This mall is in a hispanic neighborhood and the majority of stores were targeted towards this population. The surreal moment occurred when I wandered past a mexican discount store, then a record store playing a type of music I have little to no tolerance for, tejano music. You would think growing up in a Ukrainian household that the sound of an accordion wouldn't cause such a visceral reaction but it does thanks to some inconsiderate neighbors from the recent past.

The surreal moment occurred when browsing through a clothing store that I presume is marketed towards the adolescent group that believes the tighter and shinier the clothes the better. Looking through the footwear which seemed to feature spike heels I heard a tune that made me stare up at the speaker in stunned disbelief. They were playing Nickleback, a horrendously untalented Canadian band who grew up about 150 miles from my hometown. I think it was the juxtapositioning of crappy Canadian music in a Mexican chain store in Houston, Texas that caused my bemusement.

I think that this firms up my opinion that globalization is evil incarnate and that Nickleback will one day be mentioned in the same breath as Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, and Shania Twit. Quite a legacy.

Changes afoot

Ah, just when I think the semester is winding down, things heat up. In my new interim position I find myself sometimes arguing against the perception that I shouldn't be making any changes. You would think that going above and beyond what is required might be appreciated. Unfortunately internal intrigues that I am normally oblivious to have impacted my efforts. I am considering applying for a new position in MPOW but there are so many factors to consider.

A few months ago my team took a personality test online and I scored high as a "political" leader. I don't consider myself political and in fact have some distaste for the occasionally obvious machinations going on. However, I do realize that if my goals and objectives for our program are to become part of the larger goals for the organization I need to do a little behind the scenes work now. Sigh.

Ice Scraping

I hope this amuses you as much as it amused me.