You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2009.
Well, sorta.
Research Project Number – 04
I have a couple of chapters I am working over. We are having some file conversion trouble which is rather annoying. For awhile it had been files from my end going to theirs. Now it is files from their end coming to mine. Sigh.
Still, I’m moving forward with cut and pasted material put into the e-mail text itself.
Writing Front: Healing Hands of the Killer
There is an anthology opening to submissions here before too long and I’d like to send something their way. I do not have the time to write something new but I could, possibly, recycle something. HHK is probably the best bet that actually meets the anthology requirements.
So maybe I’ll get off my dead ass and get moving again. Maybe.
The Teaching Front: Struggling with the Great Awakening
I have a book to read on this topic since my assumed course command requires that I start on this topic. It is probably my weakest topic in American History overall. So reading I shall do lest I make my Master very unhappy.
This Padawan does not want the Master displeased. No.
Other Fronts
We have snow. Everyone who is enjoying warm weather and sunny skies are cheerfully invited to go stick their head in a wood chipper.
So it goes.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
Aboard the Battlestar Steven Francis Murphy BSG-71
Location: Combat Information Center
Mission: Consulting with Stellar Cartography
I am thirty-seven years old. I am not prone to fits of insecurity over my age for the most part. Granted, my hair is getting thiner in places and I am getting grey in others. My eyesight is not what it was nor is my physical endurance in many ways. Yet I am still young at heart.
Still, looking at the map that is my life, it seems I should be farther along toward my goals. Yes, I am teaching. Yes, I am published. Yes, I do have my Master of Arts in History. Yes, I have been traveling a little bit each year since I turned thirty-six. And yet I feel like I am behind.
I will have two years of teaching experience by the end of this semester yet I feel I should have eight. A screwball policy at a local campus deprived me of earlier opportunities to teach, opportunities which might have provided a tenure track job. On the writing front most readers know what happened pertaining to Material Soldier. I suppose I shouldn’t be furious over it but even on this day, my anger, when I bother to check it, seems fresh.
I should be fiscally secure at this point, yet I am far from it. In many ways I am in fiscal stasis. My college debt is arrested at the year 2002 when I went back to school. My income has not increased much. Granted, I earn more as an adjunct per hour than I did as a security officer and I do actually have the chance for advancement (something I didn’t have at Uniguard) but I still earn less than I’d like.
My health isn’t what I’d like and my writing career, while not dead, appears to be stalled out in many respects.
I’m running on empty in many respects yet I manage to scrounge up the energy to keep moving foward. Toward what eventual end, I do not know.
My parents and I were discussing the situation and my father, not someone I like to listen to much, made a point.
“We always tried to get you to understand that there were other concerns besides yours,” he said.
My response?
“I understand that now that I have taught for two years.”
There are days when I feel like a burden, not an asset. I seem to excel at everything except securing my own future. As for what to do about the current situation?
Well, I just don’t know. I’m just feeling very run down at the moment. Projects like RPN – 04 sustain my morale, just as the teaching does in many respects. But on a personal level, I feel a bone aching level of fatigue and resignation.
I just don’t know what it will take to get to the land of sunshine and bunny rabbits. Or at least some compromise thereof.
On we go.
The Teaching Front
We covered more of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency today, mainly pertaining to increased government regulation over corporate behavior. It is not a very exciting topic yet it is important, which is why I slug my way through it. We should be covering Panama on Monday.
On other teaching fronts, I assumed command of a course for a peer. I can not get into details, especially since I do not have many to give. Even if I did, I wouldn’t. They took their test today which will be followed by a lecture on The Great Awakening on Monday. After that we should be moving forward toward the French Indian War.
In my eight week we are moving toward the Civil War. I am already prepping for my second eight week course which is American History Two. Study guides and other materials are more or less ready. I need to print out a Reconstruction Lecture and prep a course binder for them.
One upside to the eight week classes is that I get accelerated teaching experience and an opportunity to work with different allocations of course time.
Other Fronts
Tonight is BSG night and beer night. I have research to do for my client and soon I’ll have to get cracking on the summer job front.
My morale?
Low.
On we go.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
The other day over at Jim Van Pelt’s Livejournal he was discussing the issue of student plagarism. His entry segwayed into some of his practices pertaining to late work, the main upshot is that he accepts it. Jim’s rationale for this is that he feels it is important to make the student do the work, actually make them learn. I can agree with the sentiment but I have serious concerns about the consequences.
Here is a link to Jim’s blog where some of my concerns are aired. If you are wondering why I drop by there, Jim is not only a science fiction writer, he is also a High School English Teacher. I find his education based entries to be of interest though I often disagree with his positions.
http://jimvanpelt.livejournal.com/190313.html
My primary concern with accepting late work is that it detracts from my own time. Students who have a sense of entitlement pertaining to late work often seem to operate without any consideration that their instructor(s) might have demands on their time other than grading assignments. In my response over at Jim’s blog, I outlined the academic concerns, mainly that grading late exams and papers drew time and resources away from my own review and prep work for follow on lectures. Further, it draws time away from review of the last quarter’s worth of material in order to improve my own teaching methodology.
In extreme cases, it draws my attention away from students who did do the work on time, made their best effort and could use my attention and guidance for possible improvement in their own efforts. If I am grading late material, I am not helping the student who got a D get a C on the next exam.
My philosophy is not meant to be tyranical or draconian. It is meant to instill one very simple concept into the students.
Your Rights End Where the Rights of Others Begin.
When one follows this philosophy, they need to keep in mind that the talking student, the disruptive student, the late student, the lazy student, should not be the center of attention in any given classroom. They are interferring with the learning process for those who are making an effort and they need to be dealt with.
My Stick based methods of dealing with such students are decidely old school and I make no apology for them. Late papers are NEVER accepted. Deadlines are well publicized in advance and the students are repeatedly reminded of these deadlines. Students who miss their exams, starting this semester, now receive a Universal Make Up Exam. The gist of the exam is that the student is required to tell me everything they know about the historical significance of the last testing quarter. In terms of formatting papers, students are heavily marked for papers which do not follow format guidelines.
Why do I do this? Isn’t the material more important?
Yes, the material is more important. More to the point, I should not have to do this at all. The reason I have to do this is because the public education system in our nation has failed miserably to prepare students for college level work. They are not able to handle High School level Freshman History to be honest. Thus the Community College’s mission, in my mind, is to repair the damage, correct the malfunction and prepare them for four year universities and graduate school.
The problem we often encounter with many of our public school students is that they do have a sense of entitlement pertaining to liberal classroom management practices is that they will resist the more conservative model. This liberal method also seems to be driven by studies which are bandied about the education establishment that indicate that students have different needs and expectations (perhaps I agree with that) and as such, we, the instructor, need to adapt our practices accordingly.
We need to adapt.
I need to adapt.
The fundamental problem with this attitude is that the real world doesn’t operate this way. As I pointed out at Jim’s blog, the military does not operate this way. Sergeants do not adapt to Privates and raw recruits. In the corporate world it is not this way, supervisors do not adapt to their employees.
I am The Instructor and technically, I am also The Adult. I am in Command and I am running the show. The Students should (and they will so long as I have it my way) ADAPT TO ME. This is what was expected of me in college (a neighboring community college) and it was also expected of me in graduate school. Failure to adapt resulted in failed courses, not an opportunity to get a do over.
We have to deprogram this sense of entitlement out of the students. We need to teach them how to be students before we can even get to teaching them the material of our respective disciplines. The public school system thinks they are helping by using these permissive tactics but in the end, they are setting these students up for failure.
I’ll repeat a story I related over at Jim’s blog.
My mindset is driven by an experience I had in graduate school. I tutored someone for a local community college (one with a bad reputation) who was an honors student. They arrived at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and struggled mightily in a history class we were both in. At UMKC, the grad students are often in the same classes with undergrads. The difference is that we have additional requirements to meet in addition to lectures and tests.
I did everything in my power to help that student, Jim. The student wasn’t stupid by any means yet at the end of the day, he failed every test given to him.
I can’t help but think that his plight could have been avoided if someone, or a group of someones, hadn’t been harder on him sooner. Worse yet, I get students in my own classroom that had College AP History in high school who simply aren’t ready to take on the watered down material I give out or are products of someone else’s college course.
Now, for the record, I am not always the best student. My papers are late sometimes and I do not always attend class. However, the difference is that I do not badger my Instructors to cut me some slack. I did the crime, I do the time, I am responsible for my actions.
Well, that is all for now. I’ve got to run home and take care of a few things. More later perhaps.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
Many things, to be honest. I’ll try to have some actual content tomorrow.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
Among other things, that is.
The Teaching Front
I was all set to run off for a morning at the campus hot tub when I realized, not for the first time, that we would not have class on Wednesday.
I also realized that the next time I’d see my eight week students after today is next Monday, the day before their final. Which means they need their study guide today. I’ve still got ten of their papers to grade (which I’m going to get to here in a bit) so the scheduled hot tub time went into the crapper.
Life is like that sometimes. I ran over to the campus mess hall (I call it that even though I shouldn’t call it that) for a “plate of bacon,” which would horrify overseas folks to no end. That is my early lunch along with my tea.
In American History II we moved into Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, which I enjoy talking about. I’ve covered it enough times that I can do significant components from memory, which is another good sign. We got through the Coal Strike of 1902 and now I’m about to talk about Trust Busting and Northern Securities Company.
In American History I we’ll probably segway into a comprehensive lecture on Slavery today, laying the ground work for the American Civil War. My American History I notes are rather . . . umm, full of holes after Jefferson. In other words, they need serious work. In any case, we’ll cover slavery today. Now is as good a time as any.
I need to prep for my second eight week class, which will start after Spring Break, prep mid term and final exams, and rewrite my Great Awakening Notes.
I’ve got a full plate but it is manageable.
Research Project Number – 04
We’re rolling forward again. I’ve got some chapters to send back to the client by the end of the week.
Asian Space Race
Here is some interesting stuff to watch.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5789385.ece
There are things which fascinate me about growing powers. They all seem to pick up universal trappings of Super Power status. Here are a few of them.
1. Nuclear Weapons or the capability to build them.
2. Aircraft carriers or something vaguely resembling one.
3. An unmanned space program.
4. A human spaceflight program.
It seems these will be the major powers over the next century.
India
China
Russian Federation
United States of America
United Kingdom
France
Australia
South Korea
Just pondering.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
The Manly Night Out
Hooked up with Jason from Thoughts of a Limemonkey at Grinders last night for some cold ones. I had not seen him since he recorded the first public reading of Tearing Down Tuesday. We shared war stories of various types, to include our own frustrations with the writing business. It was good to see him again.
The Teaching Front
Well, I’ll be taking over a peer’s class this coming Friday. I’ve got a week to prep lectures, some of which are in need of revision. I will be in that class for at least a month, possibly longer. For reasons I can’t get into, I’m hoping that the peer, who is The Boss, comes back soon.
In my own classes I’m two meetings away from the end of the first eight week American History One course. I’ve graded most of their interviews with a historical figure and to be honest, I’m fairly disappointed. Some students took the project for what it was and pushed hard on it. Others didn’t put any effort in at ally. Others still wrote fluff thinking I would not read it.
Grades are doled out accordingly. This is a first draft so they have a chance to improve their lot, but I suspect results will be uniform.
My American History Two class is about to move into Theodore Roosevelt and Progressivism. TR is someone I like talking about. Progressivism not so much. I think we can safely say that he is one of the first of the Imperial Presidents in many ways, the archetype for the Presidency through the 20th Century. I am going to try to give them their second test before Spring Break.
My second eight week American History Two class starts after Spring Break. They’ll receive the same essay assignment as the first eight week class.
Spring Break Plans
Trinity and I aren’t sure what we are doing for Spring Break yet. The temptation is to drive down to the Gulf of Mexico and throw ourselves into the ocean. Yet it seems more likely that we will probably stay around the area. Plans include a trip to a Bed and Breakfast we are both fond of and a trip to Stroud’s (really, really, good food). We had pondered a trip to Lambert’s in Sikeston, Missouri, Home of the Throwed Rolls but once I saw where it was on the map, I decided that perhaps that was further than we wanted to drive.
Powell Gardens is a possibility and maybe (I’ve not told Trinity this yet) a run out to KU to look at the campus museums.
We should have memberships at the Northtown Community Center by then so we’ll both be in the gym over that week as well.
Summer Job Hunt
Well, the hunt for summer jobs is already on. I’ve been looking at Federal Temporary jobs with the National Parks Service. There apparently are some local options that might be viable. I’m going to put in for a few of them.
Outside of that, the only thing I know is that I have no desire to work security again this summer. World’s of Fun is also out. So I’ve got some pondering to do.
So it goes.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
The Teaching Front
Today we covered the Philippine Insurrection and two pieces of literature from the time period. Most students have never heard of the Philippine Insurrection (our Nam before the Nam as I call it) nor do they know about the Anti-Imperialist argument against our involvement there. I spent time on that, telling them that the Philippines were not protected by the Teller Amendment (which prevented us from doing the same thing to Cuba) and we discussed the argument that the Philippines were not ready for self government.
Which, to my ears, sounds very much like the debate about whether or not you could get a Federal Republic established in Iraq. “They simply do not have the cultural experience,” and blah, blah, blah.
According to the research I did for my notes nearly two years ago, over 200,000 civilians were killed between 1898 and 1913. We lost 5,000 troops killed in action (that is more, at present, than we have lost in Iraq and Afghanistan) and far more than the 379 lost in combat during the Spanish American War. Granted, we lost 5,400 during the war but most of those were disease and medical mistreatment.
Finally, we discussed two pieces of literature. The first was Rudyard Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden, which is basically an open letter to the United States saying, “Welcome to the Imperialist Club.” Kipling is not often discussed these days because he is politically incorrect, fairly racist in his attitudes (racist insofar as we in the 21st Century judge him, no doubt in the 22nd Century we will be seen as just as racist in our own way) but I wanted to illustrate the Imperialist argument as it manifested itself in literature.
The second was a YouTube presentation of Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) The War Prayer, which presents the Anti Imperialist side. Now personally, I have very little use for Twain, as a writer or as a political commentator. I also find him to be a chicken shit of the first order. Two reasons for this, the first being that he ducked out of military service before the Civil War truly got started. The second pertains to this very story.
The War Prayer was not published until long after Twain’s death. He was told by his publishers that he was committing career suicide by trying to get this story published. Twain, preferring the comfort of his pocket book, trunked the story.
That I disagree with some of what Twain says in the story is not the main reason I have a problem with the man. The main reason is that he took the easy way, the comfortable way, he slipped away from the Fight just as surely as he did in Missouri back in 1861. If he had the depth of his convictions, he would have said, “Damn the Torpedoes.”
That said, I thought I’d share The War Prayer to you, the Readers of the Pondering Tree. It comes in two parts.
It was animated in 2007 if memory serves correctly, mainly for use as an Anti-Iraq War protest tool. In any event, it allows me to convey the Anti-Imperialist message with far more conviction than I could personally do on my own. I let Twain have his soapbox, even if I find his own conduct as a writer to be rather pathetic.
Photography
Some random shots, some of which will serve as new entry icons.
Yours truly playing a Fencer.
Some personal research shots in New York City.
For those looking for more after action briefs, I’ll try to get to those soon. I’ve been a bit busy with teaching, lecture prep and trying to work the tire off of my body.
Later.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
The Cathedral of Trinity
The woman I love has a blog, http://thecathedraloftrinity.wordpress.com which is worth checking out. Go give my girlfriend a shout.
The Teaching Front
I’ve got an additional teaching opportunity coming up this semester. I can’t get into the nature of it but I can talk about what I will be teaching. One of the topics of discussion in the session will be The Great Awakening.
The Great Awakening, as I understand it (very poorly), is a period of religious revival in Colonial America. It prompted the questioning of traditional religious authority and it laid some of the ground work for the American Revolution. I’ve lectured on the topic exactly ONE TIME and it did not go well. This time around in my eight week class, we skipped it.
In order to get a better grip on the matter, I did what all historians do, I got a book. I’ll read up and try to revise my understanding. From there I’ll revise my lectures to compensate. The good news is that I already have some ground work laid down by the previous lecture.
In my other classes, we’re moving on American Imperialism and George Washington respectively. I’m behind in my eight week class, the second time I’ve fallen behind in American History One even though I tried to start later in history. So I’ve got to rethink my strategy.
I am following the trend of my fellow instructors and cutting way back on the military side of things. It is getting to the point where the only battle I dissect in detail is the Battle of Little Big Horn. Perhaps that is not a bad thing. It isn’t like I am teaching a military history class.
Physical Fitness Front
If you count fencing, last night makes the second workout this week. I put in twenty minutes of cardio which left my body feeling as if I had been beaten with a brick stick. Later today, Trinity and I will hit the gym again for a third session in my case. Our travels have made me bloated and weak (Trinity, however, is still hotter than donut grease). Today I’ll hit the weights.
Other Fronts
Looks like Jason, a fellow blogger running Thoughts of a Lime Monkey, will be in town this week. I do believe we’ll see about hoisting a beer together. Jason is a writer, a novelist in fact, in search of a publishing house. I wish I could help him but I have trouble selling my own wares. In any case, we’ll ponder the matter over a beer or two at some watering hole in Kansas City.
And so it goes.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
The Fencing Front
Back after two weeks, I got a private lesson with the Coach last night on feint deceive and thrust. The drill went better than normal though I missed on one thrust and got the Coach’s arm instead. I’ll buy him a beer on payday for the muff up.
Two bouts last night, one win, one loss, though that was not what I was focusing on. I am trying to use my time on the strip to be productive, to implement what I’ve been taught during the lessons and drills. I didn’t have much luck pulling off the feint deceive because I’m leery of getting too close to my opponent. My range estimation is off and part of that, I think, is due to some eye troubles I’m having. I’m overdue for a visit to the eye doc anyway so maybe I’ll get that fixed after pay day.
I’m definitely out of shape. I had to work pretty hard last night.
The Teaching Front
Finished the Spanish-American War today and we’re moving toward Imperialism in the Philippines. We’ll discuss Mark Twain’s The War Prayer and Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden in class. At our present rate of speed, we should arrive at our second exam on the Friday before spring break.
I’ve got to finish grading eight week exams here in a bit. Results there are less than admirable. We’re moving forward into the Washington Administration in a bit.
Other Fronts
There isn’t much to report really. I’ve got to block off some time to look over some research material for the Client and get to the gym.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
The Teaching Front
A relatively easy day for me yesterday. I handed exams back in one class, reviewed the essay question responses, recovered the exams and moved forward with the Spanish American War. In my other class we had our midterm for the accelerated eight week session, probably a week later than I should have. Results are mixed in that course so far in terms of grades. I’m still in the middle of grading.
I have found out that there will almost certainly be no courses for the summer semester. As such that means I need to start looking for a summer job of some sort. I have no idea what I want to do. I do know that I have no interest in doing security again if I can help. The US Census Bureau is testing on campus this week so I may pop in to check that out.
Something different, folks. That is all I am asking. I don’t want to spend another summer at a security console somewhere. If I have to do that, I will, but I’d rather not.
Other Fronts
The weather in Missouri is doing her usual up and down thing, cold one day, moderate the next. It plays havoc with everyone’s immune systems.
Aside from that, things are fairly quiet. I’ll get more updates into the blog from the NYC trip soon.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
Those that done said stuff