On the First Day

A former student of mine, who is now in grad school, will be teaching a class for the first time on her own. Understandably, she was nervous. So she asked mewhat I did to mentally prepare for the first day. I told her I played songs in my head to calm my nerves and get focused.

"So what song do you play?" she asked.

"The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back."

"OMG! You're such a dork!" she laughed.

"It's been a top favorite lately and it works for me."

To all the teachers and professors, good luck on the start of a new semester! :D

I Didn't Want This Day To Come

In the past when I was teaching at other schools, I would count the days till the end of the semester when I would be finally free of my professional obligations as a teacher. I would breathe a sigh of relief and jump for joy when that day came. I would praise the few students who worked their hardest for me, and piss off the ones who disrespected me. I would pick up my mail in the department office that's been accumulating over the semester and quickly disappear back into the nameless faceless crowd of other adjuncts and professors.

That didn't happen this time around. In fact, I didn't realize today was the last day of the semester. I know I'll see my students in the future and that I'll definitely stay in touch with all of them. But more than anything else, I realize that I didn't want this day to come because I was genuinely enjoying my time and work with the students of Grinnell College.

I have nothing but praise for all of my students!

Damn, I can't believe it's the last day.

Just when I think I'm out ...

... I get pulled back in.

This student just doesn't give up.

I'm sure you are sorry to hear from me again. I just figured I would try to ask you to reconsider your decision. I only do this because it is my belief that you have entered an incorrect grade. I have in my Microsoft Word 7 documents pertaining to the online assignments which were due weekly. To only have received credit for 5 of them is obviously in no small way my fault, but I think perhaps a small percentage of the fault lies with you as well. I mean you never posted a midterm grade for me and I never received my midterm back. There was never any official paper issued stating how we were doing in the class. I know I should have come and asked how I was doing, but I figured as long as I did well on the test i should be fine for the class. The fact that the online assignments count for so much I feel is kind of ridiculous. I don't want you to do anything you feel is underhanded or undeserved on my part, but I do ask that at least you consider the possibility that perhaps there are two assignments that somehow got lost in the shuffle. Thanks once again for any consideration you have put into this matter. Have a great summer.

I knew I should've just squashed this earlier like my instincts told me I should have. But now I can take my gloves off. Here's how I responded:

It's no bother at all but let me answer your central question from the start and that is I am not going to reconsider my decision.

In fact, rereading your emails raised additional questions that were quite puzzling. First, if you say there are missing assignments, then how come you did not bring that up when I sent out the weekly digests? The digest is there for you to not only read everyone's responses, but to confirm receipt of your submission. Did you not check? There were a few students who I indeed missed their assignments but only after they brought it to my attention. I do not recall any from you. Second, I understand the pressures of working on a job while still going to school and the reasons for taking one up mid-semester is none of my concern, but why did you not inform either your employer or me when it conflicted with the class schedule? Third, transferring to another institution requires some preparation and planning, but at what point did you find out you needed a better grade? This was equally puzzling. Fourth, I find the timing of your complaint about the weight of the online assignments rather suspicious. My syllabus describes the grading requirements that I covered on the first day of the semester. The online written assignments were the most easiest to accomplish and now you have a problem with the weight of it? I find this really amusing.

There was ample time after the midterm to check in with me, describe your goals and concerns, and I could've offered different solutions. There were quite a few students who were in some really difficult personal, professional, and academic situations. Two of them had close family members pass away suddenly. But they all took the initiative to inform me of their situations. I advised them, gave them options, and they were able to not only complete the course requirements but also did well for their final grade. In other words, all of this really boils down to a question of your personal responsibility. As a result, I fail to understand how your lack of initiative involves me.

For emphasis, I cannot and will not reconsider my final grade. But if you wish to continue to protest this then I suggest contacting the chair of PIA, Prof. Robert Dudley, to see if there are any additional options. Officially I have no further obligation in my capacity as an employee for GMU. But I'll be sure to forward our email exchanges to him for his record. Good luck!

On the Warpath

My partner is on the warpath today. She was reading her last paper from her technology and contemporary culture course when she noticed a rather peculiar writing style. From her experience, she decided to google the first sentence of the student's paper and the results indicated that it was the first sentence from an abstract of a journal article about digital media. She read the abstract and the student's first paragraph and the similarities in structure, style, and order were irrefutable. This student copied the first paragraph. Now the question was how much of this student's paper was plagiarized from this article. It can mean the difference between a drop in a full letter grade or a direct action from the honor code committee that oversees cases of student plagiarism. Obviously, the drop in grade is more preferable than an action from the honor code committee which will maintain a record of this incident.

How do we know when a student's paper is plagiarized? There were a couple of signs that I picked up when I first read the paper. First, the sentence spacing was set to 1.5 instead of double-spaced. It's rare that a student will have too much to say in a research paper. Usually it's the opposite. Students will generally find ways to artificially expand the paper length instead of adding substance such as adding an extra break to a paragraph, increasing the margin size, adding 0.5 point to the font size, increasing the leading, etc. It helps to be a former graphic designer to know these particular tricks. In this case, it was a 12 page paper with tightly packed paragraphs, sentences, and spaces. Visually it stands out compared to other papers.

Second, word choice was another major indicator. Every discipline and field of study has their own indigenous vocabulary that we have to master. In common parlance, it's called professionalization. Every word is a specific reference to a theory, concept, or body of knowledge. Of course, the usage has to be contextualized with the field and the course. So for example, if I use the word "policing" or "surveillance" in a class such as global terrorism, it's going to have a specific reference to law enforcement, rights and protections of individuals, etc. However, in a class on , for example, "Postmodern Theories of Culture and Society," the words will mean something totally different that is about practices of regulation, knowledge/power relationships, etc. which are specific references to Michel Foucault. We use these words, concepts, and theories to discuss our research with other colleagues in the field as a kind of shorthand. As you can imagine, we don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time explaining basic ideas when we could use these shortcuts to get to our main points and move our conversations forward and quickly. Anyways ...

So when the student uses words like "film apparatus," "ideological apparatus," "consumer interactivity," or concepts and methods in political economic critique, those are specific references in film theory, production, and criticism. Now in a class about film theory, it will be acceptable because the course would survey those concepts. But the class is on technology and culture and although the emphasis was on film, she didn't cover anything in regards to ideological "apparatus" or advanced readings in political economy that the student was using. So already, my partner was alarmed at this very specific usage of this theoretical language.

Third, writing is like your signature. It has a particular cadence, style, structure, and pattern that is easily distinguishable from one student to another especially when you have multiple writing assignments. My partner is in the English Department and so correcting papers is her main preoccupation and she knows by virtue of reading them that she can tell when a student is writing excellently or poorly, when it's a first draft or a well-thought out paper, and so on. As a matter of fact, anyone who assigns frequent writing assignments will see these patterns emerge. In this case, when a student has been writing at a decent level throughout the semester, uses a predictable sentence structure, remains at a general level of argumentation, and then all of a sudden writes a well-constructed, theoretically rich, and structurally coherent argument on par with a graduate paper, then something is definitely way off.

Fourth, your word choice and construction are your fingerprints. Like writing, words are another way of identifying your unique character, and by extension, declaring ownership of your work. I don't mean any word but specifically some authors develop their own terminology or combination thereof to describe a different usage of a concept or theory. For example, "governmentality" or "governmentalization" will automatically reference Michel Foucault. The concept is not only his, but also he created the damn word. The same with "simulation," or "simulacra/simulacrum" that automatically points to Jean Baudrillard and it is his creation. So when I read a student's use of those concepts there had better be a citation.

So taking all these factors, and I'm sure there are many techniques that other professors use, my partner felt that this paper could not have been written by the student. Her suspicions were confirmed when we found the original article which was published in the Atlantic Journal of Communication, printed it out, and lo' and behold not only was the abstract copied, but almost the entire article was taken by the student that included similar word phrases, theoretical concepts, sentence structure, argument structure, market data, etc. Some passages were substituted with different vocabulary words, but left the basic structure intact. Some were taken straight out from the article word for word! Even the student's bibliography was taken from the author's list! What's more is that the original author coined the term "consumer evangelist" in which she took for her own!! And the student never once gave credit to the author who she was stealing his research!!! At least footnote the original author somewhere! It might give us room to maneuver to say that you ought to properly cite the material and rewrite the essay. But to not acknowledge him and to take almost all of his article and concept verbatim is too intentional and, in the end, unforgivable.

This same student sent an email right before finals (which is always somehow a dead giveaway) saying how much she enjoyed my partner's course and that she was simply amazed at how much effort my partner put into her lectures and her working with the students (By the way, this same student had a quite a few absences which is why her email was met with some suspicion. Wouldn't you?). This very student who praised my partner is doing the most dishonorable thing by stealing another person's hard work for their own, and to lie to her face. It's a very disingenuous and dangerous game to play with our good will like that.

But that's not the worst of it ... My partner's course was offered in the Honors Program where enrollment is strictly limited to honors student. THIS STUDENT WHO PLAGIARIZED IS AN HONORS STUDENT!!!

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING GODDAMN MIND?!?!? DO YOU REALIZE HOW BAD THIS LOOKS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE?????

It would be too easy for me to say, these honors students are just like every other student who is under pressure to succeed, to get the good grade, and so on. My answer is "NO." They are not like any other student. They are exceptional students. They have earned the distinction of "honors student" suggesting not only an academic caliber above and beyond everyone else, but more importantly, a higher standard of conduct as a result. Admittedly, and in a very bad way, I kind of expect other students to pull a stunt like this because I've seen it happen all the time. I'm not kidding myself about that notion. But an honors student? Either you're desperate and you had no other option (which I find problematic) or you're just an idiot and don't care for the consequences. Either way, this student is screwed and thanks for fucking it up for everyone else.

I think my partner will send the student's paper to the honor code committee. She's reading and comparing the paper and the journal article line-by-line, paragraph-by-paragraph and the similarities are undeniable.

What a terrible way to end the semester.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: I came home and my partner was dropping F-bombs like crazy. She showed me a comparison of the student paper with the journal article and more than 95% of the paper is plagiarized. One of the things my partner can do is to recommend to the committee a failing grade for the course and to have her be kicked out of the honors program. She also made this interesting observation about plagiarism. The average student will use Wikipedia to copy. The honors student will use academic articles instead.

Also, check this out. Compare the original paragraph ...

Cinema began as a 19th century, industrial age diversion, an illusion created by mechanical means. Even as it matured into an art form, it remained tethered to the manufactured tools that made its existence possible, and to the cumbersome distribution and presentation apparatus that brought it to huge worldwide audiences. Every piece of the cinema process required capital investment: the manufacture and purchase of cameras, projectors, and film stock; the services provided by photographic labs, and the exhibition mechanism contained in theater houses.
-- James R. Irwin, "On Digital Media As a Potential Alternative Cinema Apparatus: A Marketplace Analysis" (2004).

... with her paragraph and the bolded sections indicating her "original" changes ...

Cinema began as a 19th century, industrial age entertainment, a fantasy created by mechanical means. Even as it matured into an art form, it remained closely connected to the standardized manufactured tools that made its existence possible in the first place. The distribution and presentation apparatuses that brought it to huge worldwide audiences remained the same as well. Every part of the cinema process required capital investment: the manufacture and purchase of cameras, projectors, and film stock; the services provided by photographic labs; and the exhibition mechanism contained in theaters. There were also significant labor costs and marketing expenses involved. It is not surprise, then, that the creation of the feature films - cinema's most popular, influential, and codified form - quickly became almost exclusively a corporate enterprise.

... and what do you get? PLAGIARISM!!! LIAR!!! CHEATER!!!

And get this, she's a criminal justice major. Un-friggin'-believable.

And there's another one ...

I still have two outstanding items that are specific with GMU that I have to finish ASAP so that I can get on with finishing up my other commitments. It's two letters of recommendation for two students for the PIA Honors Program. But I got sidetracked with another student's plea for an extremely last minute grade change. Just like clockwork, there's always at least one student who thinks they deserve a better grade. I gave this student his grade breakdown. He scored an "A" for his midterm, but missed several online assignments, missed several class sessions, received average quiz scores, and scored a "B" for his final. His missing online assignments hurt him the most. I gave him a "C+" even though the numbers added up to a "C" for his final grade. He responded with this appeal ...

Thank you for the quick response. I really do have an issue in that I thought I only missed three of the online assisgments. I do concur that my attendence could be qualified as spotty, but I would maintain that I was only absent three times. As you can probably see in your attendence sheets i never missed a class before the midterm and the only reason why i missed so many after the midterm was that I got a job that has me working on Wednesdays sometimes. I avoided work as much as possible because I hated to miss class because, to be honest, your style of teaching works very well with the way I learn information the best. I hate to be petty, but if indeed somehow two of the online assignments were lost in the shuffle it does make a big difference. If would help at all I could resend them, assuming your even willing to consider it. Thank you again for your time. I would like you also to know that normally I would let bygones be bygones with this especially since you are very s
trong in the belief that I deserve a C+, but I'm trying to transfer and if there is anyway I possibly could've earned a B I'd like to explore that option.

Thanks Again

I knew my response would not be the end of it. I wasn't sure if I was aggravated with the fact that this was dragging on unnecessarily or that I had to place my other commitments on the backburner so that I can address his concerns. I think it was both. I immediately wrote an initial response ...

I'm really puzzled about one thing and that is why is this issue coming up now?

You had several weeks after the midterm to check in with me, describe your goals and concerns, and I could've offered different solutions. There were quite a few students who were in some really difficult personal, family, and academic situations, but they took the initiative to check in with me. I advised them, gave them options, and they all did well. In other words, there were all kinds of possibilities in the semester but it's your responsibility to come to me. Going to college is like a job.

I also have additional questions that were raised after reading your email. First, if you say there are missing assignments, then how come you didn't bring that up when I sent out the weekly digests? The digest is there for you to not only read everyone's responses, but to confirm receipt of your submission. Did you not check? Second, I understand the pressures of working on a job, but why did you not inform either your employer or me that it conflicted with the class schedule? Third, transferring to another school requires some planning and preparation, but when did you know you needed a better grade?

I appreciate you enjoying my course, but I have to be absolutely firm on this issue. My final grades are non-negotiable at this point. There is no time at the end of the semester. Furthermore, according to university policy, I can only change a grade if I made a mistake on the math, or I entered an incorrect grade (see pdf link). Neither of those conditions are applicable in your case. Therefore, I cannot accommodate your request for a change of grade. Nor can you send in assignments this late in the semester. My grades are non-negotiable.

I talked with my partner about this. She's in the midst of grading her student papers and she's mildly irritated with some of them though not as agitated as me. She basically pointed out that my response was too intense which might give the student the impression that I am attacking him.

I said, "What's your point?"

"Well he might go to the chair and complain about it, saying that this is evidence of a personal attack."

"And that concerns me how? Since neither of us are coming back what's the point? Who's problem is it anyway?"

She laughed and I thought she rolled her eyes again as she usually does whenever I become ... righteous. For a moment I imagined myself as Stewie from Family Guy screaming, "VICTORY IS MINE!!!" She said, "You should just make it short and simple and to the point. Just say no. Don't provoke him."

I kinda' sorta' wanted to. But she was right to say that it wasn't about the student. I remember something my advisor told me many times under his tutelage: "Be the good academic citizen." Simply put, don't create problems for your colleagues that they have to fix ... especially when you're about to leave. You don't want them to return the misery back to you years later. Better to be nice and leave on positive terms then to risk damaging your future. He was right. My partner was right. The academy may be a large place, but the politics of the academy can be very contentious and petty ... unless you're someone with a great deal of weight and power in which I do not have ... at least ... not yet ... There must be a line from Stewie about the chance for world domination but my memory fails me.

So I rewrote and shortened my official response a great deal ...

I appreciate you enjoying my course, but I have to be absolutely firm on this issue. My final grades are non-negotiable at this point. Furthermore, according to university policy, I can only change a grade if I made a mistake on the math, or I entered an incorrect grade (see pdf link). Neither of those conditions are applicable in your case. I know this is not what you want to hear and I am truly sorry. But there's nothing more that can be done. There is no more time at the end of the semester. Thank you and I do wish you luck on your future studies.

In hindsight, it does look and read better. Less provocative, conciliatory, yet resolute on my position without him taking it personally. I received an email in response saying that he understood my position and thanked me.

The end.

Goodbye GMU!!!

At last! Final grades have been turned in and I am officially done with GMU!

Here's the grade breakdown for my class:

• A+ : 9
• A : 24
• A- : 5
• B+ : 9
• B : 17
• B- : 3
• C+ : 3
• C : 1
• C- : 0
• F : 3

I assigned nine A+ marks for the first time ever. They absolutely deserved that mark just as three students deserved a failing grade from me. Every semester a few students somehow go out of their way to fail my course but that is not my problem any more.

WOOT! I'm outta' here! Grinnell here I come!

There's always one ...

Just when I thought I was going to make it through the end of the semester without a hitch, I get this email yesterday before the final exam.

Hello Professor Leung,

This morning I had a relative pass away. We had been preparing for this for months, but it still seemed so sudden. I feel that taking this exam today would not be in my best interest. I was wondering if I could come in Friday or Monday. Please let me know what I need to do in order to complete your class.

Thank you

I call bullshit. And I was about to blow a gasket right before I gave my final exam. The timing of the email was so damn suspicious. Here's why ... This student had not been around since the midterm exam. She had not turned in an online assignment since Week 4. She had missed all the quizzes. No email or phone call. Nothing.

If in fact she had been "preparing for this for months," why did she not inform me earlier? I had three students who had family members pass away this semester, but they kept me apprised on their situations and still maintained their work in class. We worked out a different schedule so that they can keep up with the course material. This student had all the time in the world to inform me; that was ultimately her responsibility as an adult and she failed.

Maybe this was a very personal issue? Maybe it was really hard for her to talk about to anyone else? Maybe. I will concede that point. But would you disappear for several weeks without telling your employer about what's going on? If you had a seriously deep anxiety about discussing your private affairs openly, you might react that way. Fine. But for any reasonable person? I don't think so. You will get fired and if that consequence isn't enough to tell your employer about what's going on, then I really don't know what is.

Here's what I wrote in response:

I'm sorry to hear of your loss and I am sure it is a difficult time for you and everyone in your family. However, I don't think rescheduling your final will be any good to you at this point. According to my records, you've only turned in 4/10 assignments, I have no quizzes recorded, and you scored a 73% on your midterm. You also have not showed up to class since the midterm according to my attendance records. The numbers say that you will not pass my course even if you have a perfect score on your final exam.

In order to avoid a negative report on your transcript, I suggest contacting the chair of the PIA department, Prof. Robert Dudley, about dropping/withdrawing my course because of a prolonged family illness resulting in death. You would need official documentation in order to make your case.

I wish I could give you better news but had I known about this we could have worked out an alternate schedule to accommodate your needs. I do wish you the best.

It's a fair, honest, and practical response, no?

Every semester, and it always happens around the time of final exams, I get a few students with very similar records of prolonged absences, missing quizzes, even an absent midterm, asking for an extension or a rescheduling because of an "illness," "a family emergency," "a death in the family," or "stuck in Boston." I said I would allow it if you provided documentation: doctor's note, family physician, airline stub, etc. And each and every time no one has ever provided me the proof. It is the one action that I have as a professor to protect myself from any liability. Moreover, I hate being a jerk to students but I'll be damned if anyone takes advantage of my good will. In this case, there was no way this student could even pass even if she had a perfect score. She can still technically withdraw under extraordinary circumstances, but she still needs proof. That's the bottom line.

I have not heard from her since yesterday nor do I think I ever will.

Still At 75

The first day of the semester went without a hitch. It is after all the first day so there's no real work to be done other than take care of some administrative items. About 12 students initially didn't show up, but it was quickly filled up with 6 and about 4 more came in late. Two emailed me later to say they were having trouble scheduling around their work, but they will attend. So I think I'm back at 75.

It seems to be a good group of students. Lots of freshmen and a good number of seniors and juniors. I also have a few more military students, and for the first time, a student who was in the Air Force. Now to see if folks from the Air Force are really that smart. =D I also have a dozen students who are older and work full-time. They always add a really great dynamic to classroom discussions. I have one ex-pat from California, a former police officer now working at a policy thinktank in Alexandria and a surfer which totally rocks! Most of the students are local with one coming from Alaska. Mostly white, two or three Asians, a few Latinos and Arabs, I think two African Americans, and it's gender balanced.

During what could be called introductions, I had a student ask me how the women were in California. That caught me off guard, but the best answer I could come up with was "Intelligent." *shrugs* When I continued my discussion about the dangers of mob rule and democracy, the same guy brought up the example of ... the "Japs" ... and the internment camps during World War II. I know he's well-meaning and I don't think it's done out of malice. I was caught off guard again, but it was so absurd that I just had to laugh. Besides, it's just too damn early in the semester to be pissy about anything.

So ends my first day.

3.5 Hours to Go

... before I begin the spring semester with my class. I'm very annoyed at this moment. I have 75 students registered and about 10 more on the waiting list. I can reasonably expect another half-dozen or so who will wander in looking for a spot.

75 students and I'm still getting the same paycheck of a little less than $2500 for the semester. At a pretty good junior college some years ago, I taught a section with over 100 students and I got an extra thousand added to my base which came close to $4000 for that one class.

This is bullshit. And this gives me another reason not to care about this school.

IT'S OVER!!!

'nuff said.

Final grades are done for both sections.

Scantron machine was still broken.

Second section's grade results was very similar to my night class. Here's the quick comparison:

Section 1: Final = 73.2%; Midterm = 87.8%.
Difference: 14.6%

Section 2: Final = 72.4%; Midterm = 84.3%.
Difference: 11.9%

I ended up curving the results after all ... A LOT ... just to save the few who were hit pretty hard.

But it's done and over. This semester is officially at an end for me.

Collateral Damage

So going into finals, I realized that I had way too many "A" students. Part of the inflation is how easy the midterm was which I think I need to redo. So in order to really discern the "A" students from everyone else, I had to make the final exam much harder. I added more multiple choice questions, elevated the complexity of the wording of the questions, and changed the final essay section to focus on the Iraqi Constitution. Obviously, the final exam heavily emphasized the lectures and in-class discussions so students would be in good shape if they were attending. Of course, it doesn't guarantee that students in attendance knew what was going on and that discrepancy showed. For the most part, the exam was hard ...

It was *A LOT* harder.

I think it was way too hard.

Average final exam grade from one section was 73.2%.
Compared with their midterm grade it was 87.8% so a 14.6% difference.

So I accomplished my objective and found out who the "A" students were. But the dedicated and solid students were also hit hard, dropping almost a full grade which really sucks. In general, the students were weak in one of two areas: the multiple choice questions, or the essay section. That was intentional and the differences really came through as students with excellent writing skills scored very well in the essay section, and those with strong deductive skills scored high marks in the multiple choice section. The 2 or 3 that did well in both received an "A." Unfortunately, there were those that did poorly in both sections, and when that happens you've hit the bottom hard.

Like rock bottom.

Like Age of Dinosaurs bottom.

Like so far down below there would be no point in trying to dig you back up ...

Not even for your skeletons.

I'll find out what happens tomorrow in my last section and see if the pattern remains true. If it does, then I'll have to evaluate my choices.

Grading ...

One class is done and another tomorrow morning.

If there's one thing I hate more about final exams, it would be a broken scantron machine.

The List of "Don'ts" for Students

I should be back to writing, but I had to do a double take on this one. By way of Orcinus who got it from Progressive Historians, it's a 26 point guideline called, "Don'ts for Students" published in 1981 by ... the North Carolina Moral Majority. Yep, it's a piece of Jerry Falwell's legacy. Orcinus called it the best summary of "the educational messages fundamentalist high school kids get from their parents and elders."

After I read it, I reminded myself that this was one of the reasons of why I teach -- well, 26 of them anyway. Although #24 seemed to be okay, but I'm skeptical of its intentions which still includes all 26 of them.

Don'ts for Students.

1. Don't get into science-fiction values discussions or trust a teacher who dwells on science fiction in his/her "teaching."

2. Don't discuss the future or future social arrangements or governments in class.

3. Don't discuss values.

4. Don't write a family history.

5. Don't answer personal questions or questions about members of your family.

6. Don't play blindfolded games in class.

7. Don't exchange "opinions" on political or social issues.

8. Don't write an autobiography.

9. Don't keep a journal of your opinions, activities and feelings.

10. Don't take intelligence tests. Write tests only on your lessons. Force others to judge you on your own personal achievement.

11. Don't discuss boy-girl or parent-child relationships in class.

12. Don't confide in teachers, particularly sociology or social studies and english teachers.

13. Don't judge a teacher by his/her appearance or personality, but on his/her competence as a teacher of solid knowledge.

14. Don't think a teacher is doing you a favor if he/she gives you a good grade for poor work or in useless subjects.

15. Don't join any social action or social work group.

16. Don't take "social studies" or "future studies." Demand course definition: history, geography, civics, French, English, etc.

17. Don't role-play or participate in socio-dramas.

18. Don't worry about the race or color of your classmates. Education is of the mind, not the body.

19. Don't get involved in school-sponsored or government-sponsored exchange or camping programs which place you in the homes of strangers.

20. Don't be afraid to say "no" to morally corrupting literature, games and activities.

21. Don't submit to psychological testing.

22. Don't fall for books like "Future Shock," which are intended to put readers in a state of panic about "change" so they will be willing to accept slavery. Advances in science and technology don't drive people into shock. It is government and vain-brain intrusions in private lives, which cause much of the unbalance in nature and in people.

23. Don't get into classroom discussions which being: What would you do if....? What if....? Should we....? Do you suppose....? Do you think....? What is your opinion of....? Who should....? What might happen if....? Do you value....? Is it moral to....?

24. Don't sell out important principles for money, a scholarship, a diploma, popularity or a feeling of importance.

25. Don't think you have to associate with morally corrupt people or sanction their corruption just because "society" now accepts such behavior.

26. Don't get discouraged. If you stick to firm principles, others will respect you for it and perhaps gain courage from your example.

DONE!

I officially submitted my last grade to the one student who left for military duty, but was still enrolled in my course. I was advised to simply put "Stopped Attending" and the date, and leave it to the bureaucracy to sort it out. Other than that, I am officially done with the semester. Hooray!

I also answered all the emails from students and their follow-ups. I've had no other emails since 2pm so pending the next 24 hours, if there are no other occurrences, then I am free!

Still Loose Ends

Only 10 hours after I submitted my final grades did the first trickle of saddened and disappointed emails from students started to appear. Then a stream. Not a flood, but I definitely have to wade through my inbox and start responding to their emails.

I called the Registrar's Office yesterday for clarification on the one student who was called to duty. I got transferred three times before I gave up. I called again today and I finally got someone who knew what to do ... sort of. She basically said to double check with the Dean's Office, but it's possible he either forgot to send in his paperwork or it's still being processed. At any rate, submit a "SA" designation or "Stopped Attending" and things will be sorted out later.

I still have one other student who's become an annoyance ... Actually there's 2-3 from both sections but this is one student who only showed up twice in the whole semester. He never turned in any of the online assignments, didn't take any of the short exams, took the midterm and failed, and, emailed me on the day of the final exam to explain (again) what had happened and then he asked if there's any way he can receive an incomplete(!).

I was floored at the audacity of his request!!!

I waited a week before I responded. I was busy correcting papers after all. But then this past Tuesday, he sends me another email indicating an "urgent matter" that "requires my attention."

"Back off, Sparky. Your 'urgent matter' is precisely that -- your's alone. Not mine."

Despite my grumbling, I responded. In cases like these, you almost have to respond because they'll keep hounding you. And so I did:

I'm truly sorry to hear about your continuing family problems, but this is an extraordinarily bad situation. First, I have not had any contact from you since the two emails from the beginning of the semester and the midterm regarding your situation. I responded each time encouraging you to keep me apprised and if there were continuing problems that you let me know immediately so that we can work out an alternative schedule. But there was no email follow-up or anything else since your last email and note from the midterm exam. Second, it really does not help your case when you send an email the day of the class's final exam. It doesn't give me adequate time. And third, according to our policy, a student has to be passing the course in order to qualify for an incomplete. You have not submitted any other work aside from the midterm, which was a failing grade, so therefore, I cannot give you an incomplete.

As a result, there is very very little, if any, I can do to help you now. The only thing I did was to submit a "never attended" report noting a last attendance of February 14, 2007. I'm not sure what our university policy is regarding "never attended" designations but I'm hoping it might give you some leeway in whatever you option you have left.

I'm sorry if this is not the news you expected but there is very little else I can do.

Show what he did wrong as evidence of fault. Place yourself on the high moral ground. Conclude that there are no more options left and that it is out of your hands. Short, simple, and to the point. I thought that would be the end of it but just yesterday, I get another email from him.

And I could not stop swearing up a storm after I read it. It was one line that blew me away:

However, I have recieved an incomplete before in 2 different classes where I did not do much work at all and completed them over the summer, it was a similar situation as this one.

*Sighs* How many different ways can I say "NO" to someone? Let's see ...

"No. Whatever agreement you had with other professors is with them alone. This is not a similar situation. This is my situation with you."

"No. You will not receive an incomplete."

"No. I am not the nice guy everyone thinks I am."

"No. I do not get paid enough to deal with this nonsense."

"No. This matter is over. There is nothing more to say."

Did that work? Let's try again.

"NO."

Still no effect.

"NO! Dammit."

*Sighs* Bloody hell.

Just One More ...

Grading is done ... sort of. I was done last night after spending another round reading the essay section of the exam. Some were exceptionally good, while others ... should have showed up to class when we discussed the essay question.

So after 8 hours or since I posted my grades, I already have 4 students seeking clarification. That's fine. None are actually complaining about their grade, but the day is still young.

I couldn't sleep again today. I woke up early with thoughts about my chapter again. I was going over what I needed to do today. Not surprisingly, most of it was about my chapter. On a positive note, I did receive my last two books from Amazon.com. I ordered a ton of replacements after I lost a set of books in the mail when I moved from Los Angeles. I'm still a little peeved about that one. That's several dozen books of intense close reading with all sorts of marks and notations that is not so easy to replace. The books are as I got most of them replaced in the past several months. But to go over and replace the notations? That's hard.

Anyways, I picked up two new books by feminist sociologist Carol Smart: Feminism and the Power of Law (1989), and Law, Crime, and Sexuality: Essays in Feminism (1995). I got around to Smart by way of another feminist sociologist, Vikki Bell, in her book, Interrogating Incest: Feminism, Foucault, and the Law (1993). Bell acknowledges the influence of Smart's analysis of the law as a "disciplinary" mechanism, a juridico-discursive conception of power that has characterized feminist analysis of power and politics:

... [the] law is only central and important to the extent that we accept its self-definition.... [Smart] regards the law as a discourse which has a privileged position from which to exercise power. Within the parameters of the legal method, the law 'is able to refute and disregard alternative discourses and to claim a special place in the definition of events.' The argument is that although other knowledges and other interpretations of events are articulated both within the legal process and outside law, they are only selectively 'heard.' The law exercises its power to disqualify knowledges and definitions of events through the notion of a legal method. Frequently, other knowledge is heard only to the extent that it can be recast as pertinent to legal issues. If not, it is excluded. For example, in a rape case, the woman's knowledge of events is only 'heard' when it touches upon what the law sees as relevant (10).

Both Smart and Bell are firmly situated in Foucauldian feminist analysis of power and subjectivity, a critique of the body and sexuality away from naturalized conceptions to constructed representations. Their work, and subsequently mine as well, calls attention to the ways in which the law is more than a repressive mechanism (i.e., mode of punishment), but also constitutes a mechanism of normalization.

Anyways, I seem to be jumping ahead since both Bell and Smart are going to be used in my conclusion about the intellectual and political relationship between political science and cultural studies. But first things first: finish my last chapter before the end of the month.

Oh wait ... I still have to take care of 1 student in my class who was called away to duty mid-semester (hence, the title of this post ... hehe). He's still enrolled in my course so I need to call the Registrar's Office for clarification on what to do about his status. I hope it's just an administrative oversight.

WTF???

So I get home and find that my internet is restored. Hooray!

I check my messages and I get an email from a student who's never turned in any of the homework assignments because he doesn't check his email. He asked if there is anything he can do now.

WTF???

I email him back telling him to turn in whatever he has *now* otherwise I'll have to grade with what I got. And it's not pretty.

I cannot wait until this semester is officially over.

The Internet Gives Me Life

I wanted to submit my final grades this morning, and at least get an early start on the day, but my internet provider went out. I would've just left it alone and hoped it would work itself out, but I had to call technical service. I couldn't leave my time to chance after coming back from writing. And so I called and went through the usual computerized interface, got transferred to a technical operator and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... until I finally got a human being to answer. I informed him that my internet service was out and that I did the usual troubleshooting (turn off the modem, wait 30 seconds, turn it back on, etc. etc.). He was polite and courteous.

And he told me to turn off the modem, and wait 30 seconds to turn it back on. *sighs*

After several more minutes of troubleshooting my home computer, he finally tested the line, contacted the local administrator, and finds out that the local network was experiencing a shutdown. It will take 3-4 hours before the service could continue again. My episode with technical assistance took over an hour.

I didn't lose that much time, but it certainly was an inconvenience in the morning. Maybe it was fortuitous because I looked over my final grades and I decided that I ought to have another round to be sure. The results still looked a bit dodgy.

Grading

So after the first completed round of grading, the results are rather mixed. That may be a good sign because it means a better spread distribution from the midterm grades. But there are some unusual quirks. My Wednesday night class had a fairly predictable outcome. Heavy on the B range, and no failures with the exception of one student but that's a different case.

However, my Tuesday/Thursday class was ... "unusual." The exceptional students did rather well, but some faltered on their performance and even went as low as receiving a C+ on the exam. Then there are students who had a C/C+ going into the exam, and received a B+/A- for their final. The section was top heavy in the A/B range with a 3 or 4 failures. Also, the Tuesday/Thursday section had their exams the day after my Wednesday night class sooooooo ... I can reasonably assume these positions: 1) some students talked and exchanged notes, and thus, performed well, 2) some students for whatever reason had their priorities elsewhere and thus, did poorly, or 3) I really did make my exam too difficult(?). Now, the latter point was an attempt to distinguish the "A" students from everyone else, so I did throw some curve balls. I don't deny that strategy may have influenced the outcomes. But, as intended, the "A" students did pick it up so in essence I did my job. As for the rest, there was a general decline in performance accordingly. I can't say I'm totally shocked and surprised at these results, but it is a rather interesting comparison with my Wednesday night section.

I still have one, perhaps 2, more rounds for reviewing my initial results and finalizing it for submission. It's all on the essay portion of the exam and the hard part is grading the average responses -- the ones who tried, got some good ideas, but for whatever reason, is just okay. The easy ones are the really intelligent, and the really horrendous -- and there were quite a few that I thought came from beyond left field. Anyways, I need to get this done and out of the way so that I can get back to my research and meet my deadlines.

Winter Vacation

Finally! The semester is over! I turned in my final grades and I am officially free. I can't wait until next weekend where my partner and I are heading to New York for vacation. I'm not flying to California to visit my folks this year. And considering the major blizzards and airport shutdowns, I am glad I didn't.

I just want to read books, write my chapter, and play video games. And I made some progress on my chapter researching the Virginia v. Black (2003) case. Funny how I can make some headway when I don't have a major obligation like teaching.

In general, I love my students and they've been great. Though they need to stop using Google and Wikipedia as their sources. They need to go to the library and read a book. I wonder if any of them had ever picked up a book. I've always enjoyed the tactile nature of being in a library and thumbing through a book's pages. The internet as a virtual library is wonderful, but it's not the same experience. They also need to be patient and allow the research to develop and evolve. A question does not have to have an immediate answer, but that it takes time to develop. It must be all that mocha frappucinoes they've been drinking.

At the same time, I need to rework my syllabus. I think I have to incorporate more writing assignments, quizzes, and the like. It was too easy a semester, but now that I have a better grasp of this course, I can shape it the way I want it. I also realize that my theme for the course could have been better organized. In some parts, it was just too random, without a certain coherence for students to follow, let alone an understanding of the stakes of democracy. I also really ought to challenge students more and don't let them off the hook so easily. They didn't get away with murder, but I certainly didn't do enough to push them or have them be accountable.

Anyways, I'm off to see the matinee showing of Happy Feet. Hooray!