teacherly musings

If one were to be a fly on the wall of the hallway outside my office, one would pick up some pretty strange impressions of the existence of non-tenured faculty. To wit:

• "Are you going to the union meeting today?" "No. Having the ways administration is screwing us numerated interests me not in the least."
• "...and they treat us like its our duty to do their job for them." "Heh. You just said 'doodie.'"
• "I notice that whenever I send out a notice on Starfish [the early warning system for success mentors], the student then quits coming to class." "You should use that power wisely."
• "When you made that crack about 'doodie,' I felt the need to tell you I have similar thoughts with the word 'retention.'"
• "You ever notice that it's the students who complain most loudly who do the least work?"
• "I've learned to do as little as possible as a survival mechanism. It's tough, though, because I actually like my job."
• "Somehow knowing that you were also made a 'University Diversity Champion' kinda ruins the honor for me."
• "It seems that every time I go to the public library, I have to deal with someone else's mucus. There's always some guy hacking away on the computer next to me. I agree with the ideas of public access in general, but on the other hand, gross."
• "I'm impressed that you own your own level and hammer. Do they live here?"
• "I normally despise meetings with every fiber of my existence, but when they affect me directly--such as when they're supposed to answer the question 'Will we get a new union contract before I retire in twenty years?,' then I make an exception."