Nutrition

I cannot adequately express how exhausted I am.

Yesterday, several "crises" at the U occurred related to my electronic classroom (officially called an LMS.... learning management system) that damaged a test I had prepared for my students for later in the morning.  In this particular class, the students take part of the exam in a traditional, on paper format, but there is a smaller portion of the exam that is given through my LMS so that I can have students watch video footage and write about it. I was able to work with the LMS IT folks before class, and they helped figure out what was wrong.  Then in class while I was proctoring the paper portion of the exam, they sent me elaborate instructions on how to REPAIR the LMS portion.  So, it was a tense time.  

But, more to the point, when I stepped onto the U grounds at 8:45am yesterday, until I left the U grounds at 6:45pm, I was non-stop busy and occupied.... not only with my normal work (classes and research) but also a community presentation I had to give, a plethora of slow talking, needy students (even though I did not have scheduled office hours yesterday), a slow talking faculty member from the tutoring center who felt it was important to visit me because not many students are using her tutoring services. 

The "highlight" of my conversation with this tutoring center faculty member was that she was strongly suggesting that I take mandatory attendance in my courses and also make it mandatory that my students visit the tutoring center.  

I listened to her spiel, but in my mind, I was thinking, "Like hell I will do that, lady!" There is no way I COULD take attendance every session I meet with  my ~250 students.... nor would I want to!  These are college students, and I feel they have the right to choose whether or not to attend class.  And, I can also assure you that my classroom attendance hovers around 90-95% each and every session.  Students KNOW and understand that if miss my lecture, it WILL have a significant impact on their exam scores.  Now, every student may have an emergency of some sort where they MUST miss a class on rare occasion.  But, when I have a student who is chronically absent, I do know that these chronically absent students earn "F"s on their exams.  

After listening to her spiel, I let her know I had to run across campus to get to a presentation I was scheduled to deliver.  She yammered a bit more, and said that she wants to schedule a meeting with me to discuss this further.  I will meet with her, but it will not cause me to change my mind.  She is a 100%, tried-and-true "splitter" sort of individual. She relishes making EVERYTHING into infinitely smaller and smaller bits of minutia.  I find splitter personality types tend to be somewhat pushy and bossy and want to dictate to others how to do things.  

But, I can assure everyone.... I will not do what she suggests.  

When I arrived home from the U, my wife and I made dinner, and we were just sitting down to eat, when all hell broke loose again about the individual I cannot mention here.  It was ghastly.  And, the haranguing did not stop until around 1 am, when I had to disengage and go to bed.   It was horrible. And, all is still in limbo as well.

* * * * *

• I literally FORCED myself out of bed this morning.  I despised every step I took.  But, I got the last damn 10 miles in for the week.  I was in no mood to do anything.
• Today is Good Friday.  I have to read.  

PipeTobacco