November Fatigue

Awfully tired and unusually so at this point in the semester. The fall semester almost never feels like a grind, but this one does. Maybe it's because I'm always two steps behind. Or maybe it's the work-life juggling act. Chasing around my two boys is fun but it takes a ton of energy! I am usually high energy throughout the fall semester, but I've been relatively low-key this time around. The fact that it rains on most of my teaching days doesn't help!

Today happens to be a beautiful sunny day, and I slept well last night (very rare), so I'm recharging a bit today and hoping to shake off the fatigue. Sabbatical is right around the corner. I have been conscious about not coasting to sabbatical. As much as I am looking forward to my sabbatical in the spring semester, I have worked hard to not act like I'm already on sabbatical! So I've done my best this fall in preparing classes and teaching them, along with advising students with their academic and career affairs, plus meeting my responsibilities as chairperson, and keeping up with research and writing. Still, I wonder if my impending sabbatical has subconsciously slowed me down a bit this semester. I'll do what I can to recover some energy without totally relying on caffeine. Wish me luck!

I close by saying "no complaints." How can anyone complain with a sabbatical approaching? I only wonder if people experience a drop in energy prior to their actual sabbatical?

Using "Otis" by Jay-Z and Kanye West to Talk about Social Class

First, allow me to acknowledge the source of this teaching exercise. Karl Bakeman (tweeting from @wwnsoc at the time) retweeted something from Nikki Jones (@socprofjones). She recently tweeted "Best critique I've seen of Jay-Z and Kanye's 'Otis' - from the Black Youth Project" and included a link to an article.

Having recently heard the "Otis" song on the radio, I was curious to read the critique. I found the criticism to be very interesting and insightful. Basically, it boils down to saying that the song is over-the-top in terms of bragging about money and material goods. If you watch the video, you'll see the standard visuals: expensive cars, watches, sneakers, and beautiful women. In the song, there are references to supermodels, champagne, diamonds, private jets, and money. Kanye sings about his "other, other Benz." All of this, according to the article, is shallow and out of touch. This is no time for such an excessive display of riches, the writer says. In tough economic times with a high unemployment rate, the song and video offer an unnecessary show of a luxurious lifestyle. Furthermore, the writer says, this is not what their audience wants to hear. In essence, it's overkill.

I liked all of the author's points, and went to my Introduction to Sociology class on a Friday morning to discuss the video and the author's viewpoints. I showed the video and asked for reactions. During the discussion I brought up points from the article. I found that students (at least those who spoke out) disagreed with the writer. They didn't find the video to be over-the-top or "in your face." One student described Jay-Z as someone who embodies the "rags-to-riches" story. Another said that Jay-Z and Kayne would be criticized if they were singing about the streets, or being in jail, or glamorizing a criminal style. In other words, he argued, they'd get criticized for singing about the streets or singing about being rich. So they can't win. Another student said that people continue to "drool over" the materialistic lifestyle that is rapped about in the song. So, the student said, people do like to hear this kind of song. None of my students voiced an opinion that was in agreement with the critique.

I came away from the class thinking that people firmly believe in the American Dream. No matter that the economy is stalled and millions of Americans are struggling. People still cling to the Horatio Alger myth (anyone who tries hard enough can get ahead). I suppose that people like to see the outcomes of this hard work (material goods and riches). If it's presented in hyperbolic fashion, so be it.

I'm curious what students at other colleges and universities think about this song and video. Do they relate to it? Find it entertaining? Does anyone find it to be repulsive? Foolish? Or out of touch? In any case, the exercise makes for a good discussion about social class.

Talking occupations with my 4-year-old son

This is a short video of my conversation with my four-year-old son about occupations. He would like to be a teacher, thinks only boys are firefighters, doesn't want to be an "Army guy," and doesn't know what a plumber is. Don't worry, I'll explain that women fight fires too!

It's interesting to think about how children form their ideas about different occupations. My son responded positively to the question about being a garbage collector--I wonder if and when his views will change, considering it's a job that is ranked low in terms of prestige.

Broke and Famous

In the future there will be two categories of people: broke and famous.
79% of the population will be broke, 21% will be famous.
But that’s okay because everybody will have the chance to be famous.
Everyone will be monitored 24/7/365 and every action recorded permanently.
That’s how they will decide who gets to be famous.
It will have the intended benefit of ending crime.
(People will stop committing crime once they realize they will be caught and punished immediately. Even white-collar crime will be punished.)
The streets will also be totally clean because littering will bring immediate punishment.
At first people will bemoan the end of privacy but complaints will stop after people see how nice it is when there is no crime and the streets are clean. Plus there is the chance of being famous.
And it should be said that it won’t be horrible to be broke.
Basically the conditions will be tolerable enough so that nobody minds too much.
Everyone will be able to pay their rent and have enough to eat.
How we gonna eat? Just watch The Jetsons.
They will also require immunizations for everybody, free of charge.
Plus they are going to turn January into Equality Month. Everybody will have exactly the same amount of possessions and money for one month. It will take a lot of maneuvering but they can figure out how to do it.
So everyone will get to taste equality for 31 days.
Why January? Gotta start the New Year out right, right?
People will be rewarded with lots of cash if they demonstrate proficiency in another language.
They finally figured out that two languages are better than one.
Only one news channel will exist and it will be called HOTT News.
All the anchors and reporters and pundits and sportscasters and meteorologists will be models.
There won’t be any hate on HOTT News because it will replace all the other news channels that will lose ratings when they run out of ways to hate. (It turns out that hate has an expiration date.)
People will embrace the change because HOTT News is gonna make tolerance sexy.
Music will be pretty good too because they will ban lyrics.
So there won’t be any violent and misogynist songs.
Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of good music. It’s amazing what they can do with JAZZ.
(If you’re wondering what happens if people listen to songs with lyrics they already have, the answer is they will be punished immediately. Don’t worry, HOTT news will make censorship sexy.)
So there will be broke and famous people, no crime, clean streets, free immunizations, rent and food paid for, more multilingualism, censorship, and tolerance. It won’t be a perfect situation but it will be good enough. They finally figured out that if conditions are good enough and if beautiful people say everything is gonna be alright and people stand a decent chance of being famous then people will shut up.
The end.

Author's note: my attempt to use creative writing to glimpse the future.

I'm HOTT. Except I'm Not.

I got an e-mail yesterday informing me I'm included in an article on a website called hercampus.com. It's a list of the best and worst professors in the U.S. The list is compiled based on reviews from ratemyprofessors.com. It's not news to anyone that ratemyprofessors.com isn't scientific. We know that it's basically a haphazard sample of student opinions. That doesn't mean that the comments are worthless, but it does mean that they aren't representative of the population of students who have taken a professor's classes. I'm on the list of "best professors"--I suppose that's better than being on the list of worst professors. The author of the article boils down my ratings by saying "most of the students say he is 'amazing', 'interesting' and 'HOTT.' For the record, only one student said I'm HOTT. I'm not sure what the extra T means, but I assume it's good. I'm flattered that someone thinks I'm HOTT, but I assure you that I'm not. (Today I look like I'm going to a casting call for a Dockers commercial. Only I wouldn't be hired, because I'm short). I don't think I'm unattractive, I'm only saying that at least 99 out of 100 people in a room wouldn't describe me as HOTT (or HOT).

The writer goes on to say "Beyond being easy on the eyes, it seems that Niagara students also enjoy the ease of his classes and the entertainment value of his lectures." The author correctly points out that most of my reviews come from students in SOC 101. This is no small point. I teach several classes: Social Psychology, Race & Ethnicity, Research Methods, and Introduction to Sociology. The way I teach SOC 101 is very different from how I teach upper-level courses. I do see how my Intro class is perceived as easy (although it might be "easy" because I teach it well--just a thought). However, I certainly don't love being reduced to someone who is "easy on the eyes" and "easy." I doubt that's how a representative sample of my students would describe me.

There are worst things in the world than being characterized as a "talented teacher" who is "totally cute" (those are other phrases in the article). If I may say so, I do think I'm a talented teacher. "Totally cute" is a long stretch. I guess I can't pick and choose adjectives. And I'm not mad at the writer--she's only working with the "data" from ratemyprofessors.com. Furthermore, I sent my picture to a writer for Huffingtonpost.com when she was writing a similar story earlier this year. I figured "why not." As long as she was writing a story, I might as well send a picture. So I sent a picture of me with my son Troy, who inspires me in life.

So I write this not out of frustration or because I'm upset. I write it to reflect on what it means to supposedly be one of the best professors in the nation. And to emphasize what we already know: that a haphazard sample of comments should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Come find me at a conference (or do a Google image search) and you'll agree that I'm not HOTT.

Ultimately, I think this post reflects my concern about not being taken seriously. Who wants to be labeled an "easy professor" who is "entertaining" and "totally cute"? Even if I am entertaining, or cute (debatable), there's more to me than that.

The Private Lives of Students

We don't always know what's happening in the lives of our students. Sometimes we forget that their lives are complicated. They're not just our students. They deal with family problems, they have jobs, they have social lives and social problems. They deal with stress, just as we do. Often our students show up in class with the appearance of being bored, or tired, or disengaged. Sometimes they really are just tired. Hell, sometimes they're hungover. But in some cases there's more to the story. Much more. I think it's important to remember that students deal with a lot of different feelings and emotions, so we shouldn't take it personally when they are tired or disengaged in class. It's hard not to be offended if someone is "out of it" during class. We might rush to judgment and get upset when they aren't involved in class discussions and don't seem singularly focused on the class content.

So where is all this coming from?

On a few occasions this semester, students have confided in me about personal problems they've experienced. A few students have shared very personal information with me to explain why they've missed class or will miss an exam. I'm not trying to be mysterious here; it's just that I would never violate their privacy or their confidence. So let's just say I've learned that some of my students are going through (and have gone through) some very difficult situations. They are the kinds of things I would have had enormous trouble dealing with as a 20-year-old (or as a 30-year-old, for that matter). I admire these students for coping with significant challenges in their lives. I worry about them because it would be hard to get through such difficult situations. And it puts into perspective what goes on in the lives of students. More happens to them than we might think. As said, sometimes a tired student is just tired. Sometimes a student really is just bored. Sometimes they drank too much the night before. But a lot of times, there's more to the story. So I err on the side of reserving judgment. I err on the side of not assuming. I have come to understand that a lot goes on in the lives of students, and it's impossible for many of them to come to class with a clear mind and clear head. For my part, I try to be compassionate and sympathetic (AND FLEXIBLE) when it comes to extending deadlines for assignments or rescheduling exams (not in case of hangovers, obviously). In short, I don't automatically give a student a hard time if they show up late or if they are disengaged in class. I try instead to be understanding and helpful. In short, I try to be supportive.

A Good Day

It was Monday. I never know what Mondays are going to bring. Wife is out the door at 8:00 and my parents come by 9:30 to watch our sons for the day. It's my job to get the baby down for a nap by 9:00 (he "sleeps in" until 6:30 in the morning if we're lucky) and then head out the door in time to review my notes for 11:15 class. Sometimes baby Mack decides to give me a hard time and resist his morning nap. But yesterday he cooperated and hit the sack with no fight at all. I came down the stairs feeling like a champion, and finished getting ready for work. Only one problem: I forgot to brush my teeth. Well, I could head up the stairs to the bathroom and risk waking him up, or not brush my teeth. Of course, we have the creakiest stairs in the world, so hell no I'm not going back upstairs. My parents arrive and we chat for a few minutes, and I head out the door with time to go to the convenience store. I grab a toothbrush and toothpaste and enjoy my half hour ride to work. I settle into my office by 10:15, brush my teeth in the bathroom down the hall, and prepare for class with nearly an hour to spare. So far, so good. The day proceeds without drama. Wonderful. I teach two classes--I'm not amazing in either one, but I get the job done. I'm composed and professional for office hours and stay on top of e-mail and administrative tasks. I'm relaxed when I chat with colleagues and students. 5:00 comes fast so I shut down for the day and pick up the kids at my parents' house. Baby Mack has snot flying out of his nose, which quickly gets transferred to my nice red shirt. It's all good, all of my other shirts have booger residue too. It comes with the territory. We have a fairly pleasant ride home. I'm starved, so I crush some leftover pasta and vegetables and feel good about the day. My parents call. I forgot Mack's giraffe at their house, a little crutch he'll need for daycare on Wednesday. Oh well, I'll figure it out tomorrow. Right now it's time to wind down. We all get a good night's sleep. 4-year-old Troy sleeps until 6:40 and Mack actually sleeps until 7:00, something that almost never happens. I head downstairs with the boys and upon opening the dining room shade I see that my car door has been open all night. Somehow I forgot to close it after we got home yesterday. As luck would have it, the battery isn't dead. There's probably a squirrel hiding in my car, but so be it. It was a good day and today looks bright too.