April ending

Somehow I missed last week entirely, so here it is April 30th and the month is over. We had a big snowstorm yesterday, but I didn't take any photos and it all melted away today. Normally my semester would be over too, but we started a week late and so we'll end in May. This week is the last week, and then there's just grading. Since I'm only teaching one section this term, the grading won't take too long. I'll probably file my grades next Monday (the 8th), Tuesday at the latest. Then I can spend the rest of the month focusing on my research assistant job, which I've really not been spending enough time on.

The end of the semester is definitely bittersweet this time, because it's looking like it'll be my last term in this department. They're phasing us out, the lecturers. An email went out last week informing us that they won't assign us classes, if any, until August (perhaps a week or two before the term begins). And the email actually said, "don't wait for us," i.e., find some other job instead. It's so rude.

A few weeks ago there was a party for two instructors who were retiring. But for the 20 or so lecturers, some of whom have taught in the department for seven or eight years, it's "don't wait for us." I suppose the difference is that the instructors were leaving voluntarily, while the lecturers are being let go. OK, we're temporary employees, I understand that. But we're not contractors -- the university takes taxes and social security out of our paychecks and gives us health insurance. What's the difference between an instructor and a lecturer? An instructor gets a two-year contract, while a lecturer gets a one-semester or one-year contract; instructors are paid more; instructors get a retirement plan and some other perks that lecturers don't get. Some instructors and lecturers have PhDs, some have JDs, some have MAs -- there's really no difference in education level.

We're all adjuncts. We're all temporary employees. But we, the lecturers, are all of a sudden being treated like scum. It makes me hate academia all over again. Wish I'd done anything but come back to it.

I shouldn't fuss. I've already got my new job settled, as a lecturer in a different department. I'll be teaching two or three classes there in the fall. Haven't signed the contract yet, but it's looking good. We're not going to starve. I'll be just fine.

But I'm still mad. Ten days ago my department held its annual awards ceremony, for students who have excelled in the different classes we offer. Two of my students from last year won 2nd prize in one contest, as a team, so I got to go to the ceremony and present their award. Quite a feather in my cap, and what was even better, the 1st prize winner also came from a lecturer's class! It was a nice way to go out, I'll say that.

Then a few days later one of the admins dropped by my cubicle and asked me not to forget to turn my keys in at the end of the term. "It's since we don't know about fall assignments yet," she said euphemistically. In other words, you're fired and we're going to give your office to someone else. I've always kept my keys (and my office space) over the summer before. I hate my department. OK, I'll stop.

In other news, as I mentioned two weeks ago, Kid A got his braces off, and a week later he got a retainer. Here he is showing off his newly straightened teeth, and below that he's holding his lovely black retainer (his choice of color, of course). These pictures were taken five days apart, so I don't know why he's wearing the same shirt! (He needs more summer shirts.) He's been quite good about wearing the retainer so far, but when he takes it off to eat,
it doesn't always go back in his mouth right away. Sometimes I find it on the kitchen counter, in the little dish he insists on putting it in. I'm terrified he's going to leave it in the cafeteria or a restaurant. When we made the appointment to come back in a month to see the orthodontist, the receptionist told us to be sure and bring the retainer with us. I said, "Won't he be wearing it?" and she smiled and said, "Exactly."

Kid A has also been playing a lot of baseball, two games and one practice most weeks. His team is the strongest in the league, with a record of 5-1. They lost their first game and nothing since. It makes the games a little depressing, actually, because the other teams do so badly and I feel sorry for them. Last week we played a team that hasn't won a single game yet. We beat them 11-2, even though our coach put in a pitcher who's no bigger than Kid A and had never pitched before. Of course, he did great. Kid A is one of the weakest members of the team, and yet he's playing wonderfully, throwing well and running fast. Not doing so well on hitting, needs to build up his confidence. But the rest of his team is so amazing that it doesn't matter.

The other thing we've been working on is testing Kid A for dyslexia. He finished the evaluation last week, and now we're waiting for them to write up the results and call us for a meeting. We are beginning to think about what steps to take next year, possibly something major. I wish we had understood that this is his problem a long time ago, but I'm glad we're doing something about it now.

I've got nothing to write about Kid B, probably because he's just chugging along. No braces, no retainer, not doing a sport, not being tested for learning disabilities. He might be jealous of all the attention being paid to Kid A, but I don't think so. He enjoys baseball evenings, when I take Kid A to the game and he gets to stay home with Dad.

I had more I wanted to write about, but this is probably enough for now. I need to get ready for bed, because tomorrow is a busy day. Teaching, two conference calls, and then my book group is coming in the evening. We've got something going on every night this week, be it book group, baseball, or other meetings for both Rocket Boy and me. But we'll get through it. And pretty soon it will be the last day of school.