Day 57 - Governor Newsom imposes new restrictions
Not my backyard of course, but you get the general idea regarding installing a canopy. What a nightmare…
Monday. 1/11/21
9:00-9:30 - I make it a point to get up early so I can prepare the audio lecture for Specialty Class 1A by 11:30, per L’s request. Today is also the first day of school for my two classes which means I’m teaching back-to-back, from 2:30-9:30, with a 30-minute break in the middle.
Downstairs and the dog is still sleeping. I say good morning and rub her tummy and we go outside. Earlier this morning, she pooped in two places on the patio so I clean that up while she goes potty. Back inside and rotten chicken for her, coffee for me. I go to work.
9:30-10:30 - I pull the lecture for Chapter 1 and compare it to the Google slides L. prepared for that Module. Then, I look on You Tube for musical clips to insert between the slides at key points during lecture. I open the You Tube tabs in sequential order so they’re ready to deploy as I’m lecturing. It takes some time to come up with ideas for musical content.
10:30-11:00 – I record lecture, mindful of the fact that L. needs to airdrop the file at 11:30. I estimate that the Chapter 1 Lecture will take about an hour to record. This is the first Chapter Lecture of the semester so I want everything to be perfect, including the slides. I make a few notes for L. regarding changes to the slides.
Around 10:45, as I’m recording, I hear L. moving around, as if she’s leaving. At 11:00, while I’m recording, she enters my office and whispers to me, “When are you going to be done?” I have a musical clip playing at the moment, so I reply, “At 11:30, like you told me.” We step out of my office and L. said she forgot she had a facial in 10 minutes and the aesthetician just texted her a reminder and she has to leave. I reminded L. that I specifically asked her last night when she was available for the airdrop today and she specifically said 11:30 and I will be done at 11:30. L. abruptly turns on her heel and heads for the door, angry. I said, at her back, “I’m not sure why you’re upset with me.” L. says, “I’m leaving – I’ll be back at 11:45” and storms out.
I return to lecture and continue recording. I finish at exactly 11:30.
11:45 – L. is not home. I know L. has work at the art studio at 12:30 so I don’t know how she will fit this air drop into her schedule.
12:00 – 12:15 - L. arrives home. I’m sitting on my bed, in my room, calmly waiting for her. As she airdrops my file, I give her a list of the changes I need for the slides - they are very minor textual changes. L. hurriedly makes the changes and is so pressed for time she has to blow dry her bangs in my bathroom because there is not enough time for her to return to her own bathroom. I feel bad but I arranged my day to accommodate L. – what else am I supposed to do? L. is typically so organized – it is not like her to forget an appointment. You can see my comments from my previous post regarding how efficient she is.
12:15-12:45 – I eat left over pizza from last night and read a Money Diary.
12:45-1:30 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform.
1:30-2:30 – I go to work. Core Class No. 1 starts at 2:30 and everything is ready. The first day of school will not run the entire three hours. If you read this blog, you know I don’t use Zoom – I deliver course content via the “Poli Sci Podcast.” This is very different from my colleagues and a little confusing for the students at first, so they are emailing me an hour before class looking for the Zoom link. Hint: there isn’t one. I respond to emails and patiently guide the students to the Discussion Board on Canvas.
2:30-4:30 – Class goes well! A few students live chat with me in real time, asking questions about the textbooks and the Inquizitives. I send email blasts throughout lecture, advising them of each step: 1) going over the Syllabus; 2) now it’s time for Chapter 1 audio lecture and Google slides; and 3) get ready for a brief video clip. Teachers have been utilizing virtual education for almost a year now and the students have adapted – distance learning is no longer this strange, complicated process and has become the new norm. I hope it continues.
4:30 – 5:30 - My next class starts at 6:00 so I have some down time. I quickly eat a piece of pizza, then go outside and remove the “rags” (canopy) from my gazebo. I move the ladder to various corners of the patio to pull the canopy down – it’s hard work and now dead leaves are all over the place, falling from the pockets in the canopy to the patio. I pause to sweep the patio.
The new canopy arrived a few days ago. I asked L. if she could help me put it up this week, but she said she didn’t have time so it’s on me. I have to hurry as Specialty Class 1A starts at 6:00 and I want to be available to the students by 5:30 in case they have questions about the format. I unfold the canopy and, inch by inch, move it along the gazebo frame. The gazebo ‘roof’ (frame) comes to a peak and it is extremely difficult to pull the canopy over the peak and position it into place, but I do it, constantly moving the ladder from one section to the other of the patio. There are 20 straps in various sections of the canopy that need to be velcroed to the frame, but I have to go back to work. I Velcro one tie per side, throw away the old canopy, and go to work.
-L. calls R. and asks if he or his Mom need anything since they’ve been quarantining for some time. He requests some frozen dinners, so L. goes to Trader Joes and buys several frozen meals. She drops them off at R.’s doorstep, then goes to R.’s closed bedroom window so she and R. can see each other while they talk on the phone. This would be comical, if it wasn’t soooo sad. Seriously? This is what we’ve been reduced to as a society? Talking on the phone through a window because we can’t control a pandemic? It’s been a year and we are still no better off…
5:30-6:00 – There are no emails in advance of Specialty Class 1A, which starts at 6:00 p.m.. I find this odd, but when I check the Discussion Board, students are already signing in. The class is slotted for 40, but there are just 20 students enrolled – I narrowly made the requisite cap for the class to run. With a shock, I recognize almost all of these students from my previous classes – they know exactly what to expect.
6:00-8:00 – This class runs extremely well with the exception of one student from the Office of Student Disabilities. OSD emailed me a list of students enrolled in my classes TWO days before the first day of school. As is my practice, I reached out to each student individually and asked how I could accommodate them in order to facilitate their learning experience.
In my opinion, OSD students are some of the most entitled people I have ever taught. In fact, several years ago, an OSD student tried to sue College No. 1 because he alleged I didn’t give him enough time, during a group assignment, to complete a 10-question multiple-choice quiz. He had a history of suing the college for perceived slights concerning failures to appropriately accommodate OSD students and most of his civil complaints went nowhere, although he was successful regarding a civil suit against the incorrect placement of a stop sign in Parking Lot C.
The OSD student in my current class responded to my “Welcome” email by writing a lengthy, articulate email informing me that he needs closed-captioned for my “audio” lectures because 1) It is difficult to comprehend audio content; and 2) he won’t have to take as many notes with closed-caption.
How do you close-caption an AUDIO lecture?! It’s like close-captioning music. When you’re listening to a song on the radio, you don’t see subtitles floating around in the air…How do you close caption a podcast? There is no visual accompaniment so there is no platform for subtitles. Is this student serious? The OSD student goes onto say that if this will cause “an undue hardship” for me, I must inform him immediately.
I can tell that this is a “test” to see if I really am available for live chat during lecture. I’m certain that this OSD student is also positioning himself for a lawsuit against me and the college.
I respond to his email point-by-point. The recorded lectures have accompanying Google slides, designed for viewing while the lecture is unfolding-this should help with his “comprehension.” Did he open the Google slides? Does he need help finding that link? It’s on Canvas. Additionally, I state that I don’t want the students to take notes because the most pertinent information is already located on each Google slide. Finally, I inform the OSD student that OSD DOES, in fact, have the software for closed-captioned. Simply contact OSD and explain that you want them to close caption a recorded lecture and they will advise you accordingly.
Can OSD close-caption a podcast? No, of course they can’t! Once OSD receives his asinine request, it’s on them to tell him no – not me. OSD can transcribe the podcast, but that is completely different from his original demand which essentially consists of subtitles floating in air, a technological impossibility.
The student continues to email me during lecture. He doesn’t respond to my email, suggestions, the fact that OSD can provide closed captioning, at all and instead requests a Zoom meeting. I’ll say again, this student writes extremely well and the nature of his disability is unclear as instructors aren’t provided with that information – we’re not allowed to know. Based on his veiled complaints, I’m assuming that he is asserting some kind of bogus learning disability.
A Zoom meeting? I don’t think so. I email the student, “Sure!” and ask him the nature of the meeting, adding that I would like him to email his questions in advance so I am better prepared to respond to his inquiries. It is the rare student that requests a Zoom meeting. When the request is made, students are immediately shut down after I respond with, “Sure! Can you tell me the nature of the meeting?” because, oddly enough, they don’t know. They can never articulate exactly why they want to meet via Zoom and I’m not a mind reader so I also can’t figure it out.
The OSD student responds that he needs to “state” his questions verbally, not write them, and avoids answering my primary question: “What is the nature of the meeting?”
I reply, “Sure!” “Adjunct instructors do NOT have office hours and I am only available on Mondays, 15 minutes before class or 15 minutes after class. Which would he prefer?”
The student seems miffed and says, “I see. I will take 15 minutes after class, then.”
I reply, “Great! Next Monday is MLK day and we do not have class. This leaves 1/25/21, from 9:00-9:15 p.m. available. I have set aside this block of time for you. In the interim, please email your questions to me 5 business days before our meeting. That way, I can either conduct research and/or contact other colleagues for additional information, if necessary, based on your questions. I know “stating” your questions is important to you and I respect that. You can send me your written questions 5 days in advance of our meeting and then verbally state your questions during our Zoom meeting” [Insert happy-face emoji and go-fuck-yourself emoji here].
The student, refusing to provide even an inkling of what this Zoom “meeting” will entail, says, “I was under the impression that we would be meeting tonight, after class.” He emails me the entirety of the class, as the audio lecture is unfolding. I don’t think he has a learning disorder unless being an asshole falls under a category in the DSM-IV. “So sorry, but I have a previous commitment.” The student confirms 1/25/21 and thanks me for my time.
I ‘play my last card’, my ‘ace in the hole’ and send my final email to the OSD student: “Oh, by the way. This class has a prerequisite – ABCD-1. Can you let me know when you last took that class? I ask only because a similar issue occurred with another OSD student last semester…he enrolled in this class but had not completed the ABCD-1 requisite so he had to drop.”
The OSD student, who aggressively and relentlessly has emailed me for the past 2 hours, doesn’t respond. Hmmmm. Spoiler Alert: I never hear from the student again. The next day, he drops the class.
8:00 – 11:00- Class is over, but I hang around a little while longer in case the students have questions. They don’t because they’ve all taken me before.
My back yard is an absolute. mess. I go outside and clean out the red-rock bed, sweep all the leaves, and fix the water fountain. I fasten the remaining Velcro ties on the canopy, then water all of my plants. The yard looks great! I adjust the sprinkler timer in the garage and go inside for food prep.
11:00-1:30 – My food intake has been abysmal lately so I take this time to meal plan and prep. I add diced apples, walnuts, and honey to a pint of plain yogurt for breakfast and then make two spinach salads – tomatoes, more carrots, zuchinni, and cheese - for future lunches. Kitchen duty and I prepare my coffee for tomorrow.
1:30-2:30 – Straighten up my room slightly. Night time routine. Bed.