Basic Options for Teaching in Colleges

 

Okay, I-Get-It!  It took a long while, but I finally get it.  I was in a tizzy for 2 weeks about teaching. I finally know the deal.  Here it is:

Full time faculty:  Involves lecturing and doing clinicals.  I did this before and hated it.  Required too much work. I was teaching, doing clinicals, developing lesson plans and all the other stuff that goes along.  I did a great job, but the demands on a new faculty were just too much.  

Clinical faculty:  Involves taking students for clinical training. I did this for a long time. Not for me. Students do not want to procure skills.  Their focus to pass didactic exams.  So much push back from students in every single CON/SON. Nope! Not doing that again!

Part time faculty:  I did this on Saturdays and Sundays.  It was nice. This would suit me ONLY for doing didactic. Part time involves continuous and uninterrupted employment, without the full time hours. This may  be okay.

Adjunct faculty:  This is my current position.  It is actually okay. I will only do didactic. But, my contracts have been irregular.  But, after giving more thought, I am fine with teaching the same subject as needed which will not be every session.  

Here is the difference between Part time and Adjunct:

•  Adjunct Faculty are not engaged in a continuous relationship. They are assigned work as they are available as the college has needs.
• Part- Time Faculty engage in a continuous relationship with with the college and the school is committed to providing work assignments on an ongoing quarterly basis. Only part-time faculty members may participate in Mentoring or Committee Work assignments or any other work assignment that may span four or more quarters.

Hence, Adjunct Faculty is fine for me. I do not want to take on any additional assignments.

I'm good.

Managing Facebook Groups in 2020

 

During 2020 many Admins are posting concerns about their groups being shut down.  Be aware that during this horrible pandemic, folks have been displaying very vicious behaviors in social media.  The behaviors have gone beyond trolling and fighting.  The behaviors have been ramped up to assault and harassment.  The attacks have been so full of hate and anger.  It has been unbearable!

Consequently, Facebook has appropriately taken great actions to update and enforce their Community Standards... Thank Goodness.   Facebook has been progressive and NO NONSENSE with enforcement. As Admins of groups in social media, folks are responsible for ensuring decency in their groups. This responsibility is not to be taken for granted. 

I manage many Facebook Groups. My groups have always been decent.  I walk a fine line to stimulate engagement with overbearing censorship.  It is doable.  Groups have to be implemented the right way starting Day One.  My biggest group is with 23K members.  Its a great group!!!  Here is how I manage my awesome groups...

• Manage the vetting process to prevent accepting fake profiles. Members in my groups must have experience in social media.  So, I usually require at least 3 years in Facebook.

• Members must answer questions.  Most "bots" will not engage in this selective process.

• Members need to have some type of image on their profile.  Don't be lazy!!! Insert an image!!

• All posts must be approved!  Members are only interested in themselves.  Will post scams, schemes, and porn to manipulate members.  Hence, my discussion board is great!

• Comments and replies must be monitored!!!  This is where the fights, hates and attacks take place. Deep threads  can be horrible!!!!  This is often the location where violations in Community Standards take place.  Comments and replies can be full of hate and very vile.  

• I act FAST on violations.  I do not engage with offensive members because there are too many of them. I learned the hard way back in March 2020 to NOT FIGHT WITH MEMBERS!!!  So, I will quietly remove the comment / reply.  Usually members get the hint / message.

• When comments / replies are extremely vicious, I will delete to comment, remove the member and block the member from my group. 

• If Facebook catches a violation before me, I ALWAYS take an additional step to BAN the offensive member. 

• So, Group Admins who state that Facebook abruptly deleted their groups are not being honest. Facebook gives warnings and they watch the subsequent action by Admins.  So, folks really need to be truthful.  

• We all need to be decent.  No need for hate, fights, trolling and other nastiness that takes place in Facebook Groups.  If you cannot effectively manage your group... SHUT IT DOWN!

• Finally, as an excellent Admin, I never provoke, challenge, intimidate or threaten members.  

The Challenges of Teaching Nursing

 

I am currently awaiting for a contract to teach for Spring 2021. Not sure if I will be offered a contract as the Spring session is almost here.  So, I am pissed off as I really enjoy teaching.  

I am a good professor and I am skilled at teaching. I have taught in both classroom and clinical settings. I value the quality of education and the outcomes on quality patient care.  Programs today are "fast-tracked". Many colleges take the money and move students along FAST.  At graduation, students cram for the licensing examination and become lousy clinicians.  What a disservice to the profession.  

Here are the problems with clinical training:

It is impossible for students to learn skills in a 12 hour clinical.  Students resent working.  They simply want to get the hours to graduate. Hence, they never develop the skills for measuring vital signs, performing assessments and documenting patient care.  They simply go to clinical to study for exams.  When students are challenged, they complain that they are being harassed.  

Students do not know how to write composition style.  Faculty members are mandated to enforce APA format, however students resist and complain vehemently.

So to get another clinical contract, its best to go with the flow. Only lousy instructors get contracts.

Here are the problems with classroom teaching:

Students are lousy. I had to teach lesson plans, make sure that salient test points are included in lectures, THEN give students a review session to make sure they pass the exam.  Then exams are adjusted by the lead professor to make sure students pass the exam!!!!

Assignments are lousy.  Assignments are nothing but copy & paste jobs. 

Students take weekly quizzes and practice exams, then procure answers from Craig's list and get 100%

When students take the proctored BIG exam they fail horribly!

Faculty meetings are a JOKE!!! Nothing has ever been mentioned about the horrible ranking of the school.  Faculty minutes document that they follow the Vegas Rule:  "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."  They do not realized that the status of the school is public information and is published.

So, if I do not get a contract, I'm like whatever... just make sure to not ever offer me another.  I will not resign.  The school will just have to do what they need to do.  

Fuck the CON / SON.  I hope the State shuts them down!  

Update December 11 2020

I have decided to move on and seek a position elsewhere. I am a good instructor and do not need to sit back and wonder if I will receive a contract. Furthermore they are on probation as it is a lousy CON / SON. No need to be affiliated with losers.  Screw them!

Busy day today.  Working on a huge online application for a preferred teaching position. Nice college.  Good standing. I am just very pleased that I simply did not just sit back and allow stuff to happen to me. 

Many SON/CON have horrible administrators who need their ego's built up.  I can tell some stories of incompetence at the administrative level of higher education.  I will one day.... but not now.  

I also decided to NOT resign from the current job.  I simply will not respond to any correspondences and will not accept their contracts.  When asked, why I have not signed a contract, I will simply tell them my assignments have been irregular.  I will give them until 12/18/2020 to send me my contract.  You see, I can give deadlines too!  I am not to be fucked with. Believe that!

Update December 12 2020

Thank goodness that I took a nap to think things through. Timing is everything! I will continue to work on the online application. But, I will not submit until January 2021.  If I submit the application now, and get accepted, they may rush me to start teaching for the January session.  That would be horrible for me. That is EXACTLY what happened at this current SON / CON.  They rushed me through the hiring process. I had to run and get the textbook. I had NO prep time for the course. YET, I performed well.  It was a mess but I did good and students performed well. It was such a rush job that HR overlooked giving me a contract!!!!!  I had to call to ask when would I get paid.  They had to rush and give me a contract to sign.  So, it is risky for me to wait a bit. But, departments and organizations are LOUSY.  I have to wait for a few more weeks. Its worth the risk to prevent me from getting fucked over.  I know how this shit goes.

I just checked the targeted school website. I now know the start date for the Spring session.  So, I am firm of my strategy to when to submit application.  The full application is now complete.  Just a matter of doing a final review, then to submit at the right time.  Perhaps after Christmas.  No need to risk getting rushed without time to prepare.  That has happened to me too many times.  Prep Time is important!

Reminders:

I must remember why I am not to push my pending applications until after Christmas:

#1- Give current employer time. They will not give me notice, so Christmas is good timing to not mess things up for prospective employers.

#2- To push through applications now, would only result in me being rushed to teach in January 2021 without time to prep.

#3- I do not intend to run around in December and January.  So, best to focus on March 2021.

Update December 14 2020

I had a major change in plans.  I decided to take control.   I will not allow lousy SON/CON to control my decision points.  During the process of applications, writing cover letters and letters on teaching, I said "WOW!!!!  I am GOOD!"  So, I pushed through about 4 finalized applications yesterday.  So, this is an exciting time again. 

During my reflections, I remembered that a new full time faculty was placed in my student email list back in September. Early in the session, I STOPPED sending that instructor my group emails.  I suspected I was being used to unknowingly train that person.  

Plus, the Dean sneaked into my Zoom.  Not sure why as I ALWAYS posted my sessions.  The bitch did not know what she was doing.  The Dean is new.  Then the Assistant Dean did the same a week later. Not sure about these sneaky moves.  

Yesterday, I DELETED ALL of my content in the One Drive.  This week I will close out the full One 

Drive.  I am NOT to be fucked with.

I am not being mean.  In January 2020, the college forgot to give me a contract.  I had to ask when would I get paid.  Then HR got into a panic halfway through the session.

I NEVER received  access to faculty training until 10 months later.  I do not know how I managed to achieve success.  The current employer is PHUCKED!

HENCE THESE ARE THE REASONS WHY I PUSHED THE APPLICATIONS YESTERDAY!!!

I AM TOO GOOD TO BE PHUCKED OVER!

No need for me to resign as I am contracted.  HA!!!!  Screw them losers!!

Additions to December 2020

I must leave current SON / CON! Here are some reasons:

January 2020 was last minute with NO PREP TIME!

September 2020 the course team leader changed the syllabus DURING THE SESSION!!!  I had two classes canceled when I could have been doing classes!  No Advanced Notification!  Consequently, as the poor instructor, I had to revise my subsequent lesson plans.  Maybe this is a reason why the phucking school is on State probation. I need to get out of this current college.

Hardball! An Important Consideration!

Inquire about prep time. This is a MUST for student success!!

Which learning management system? Must get acclimated!

Who develops test? How soon will I get access to build lesson plans?

PowerPoints?  How soon will I get access?

Textbook!  Can be very expensive!

Update 12/18/2020

Okay, it took a while but on my own, I discovered that my position is an 'as needed'  position.  

Key Differences between Adjunct and Part-Time Faculty: Adjunct Faculty are not engaged in a continuous relationship. They are assigned work as they are available and as the college has needs.

I GET IT NOW.  I'm cool now.

Approaching the End of a Difficult 2020

 

I made a lot of adjustments in 2020. Important to carry out public safety guidelines during this respiratory pandemic.  This is a list of what worked successfully for me during a very difficult year of 2020.

• Demon Trump lost the election!
• Finally by December 2020, I fully adjusted to a shelter-in-place lifestyle.
• Converted from many years from an IPhone to Android.  Best decision in 2020.
• Online teaching with even more quality than in-person teaching.
• Harold's and Sharks' Chicken wings pick up for son.
• Neighborhood grocers Jewel Osco and Mariano's 
• Walmart SuperCenters in Zion and Cicero Illinois
• Sam's Club Gas stations in Gurnee and Cicero Illinois
• Great work produced with my little remote job.
• Outdoor dining at Connie's Pizza, La Cantina and Pappadeaux
• Online video streaming
• Online shopping with Walmart and Amazon.
• Facebook Messenger 
• SMS text messaging
• Delivery services - USPS, UPS, FedEx and Amazon Prime delivery.
• Social media - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Best Buy for computers and Geek Squad for computer services
• ABC 7 for up to date local news coverage and CNN for national news coverage
• CTA for the few times I used.
• Angie's List and Yelp services

Looking forward to a promising 2021!  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Contemplate on the Here and Now During this Pandemic

 

It's not a good idea to focus too far into the future during this pandemic.  The future is rather bleak. We have not been successful in controlling the coronavirus.  Folks refuse to mask, social distance and avoid gatherings.  

Folks are selective at each point:  

People go out within indoor settings and remove masks. "Oh, I have to eat" or "Oh, I'm eating during this flight".   Indoor restaurants and bars are hotspots.  Folks do not understand that they cannot remove the mask while eating or drinking!!  So, restaurants and bars are now closing.

Yes, humans are social beings.  But, gatherings are taking place as if there is no respiratory pandemic! Parties, celebrations and such have never stopped.  In most instances, folks are not wearing masks.  Now, we are approaching Thanksgiving.  Infection rates are already soaring. Things look bad.  The outlook is not good.

I suggest, just focus on the here and now.  

• Stay low.  Protect your bubble. 

• For Thanksgiving, I plan to cook as usual.  BUT, no company.  I will drop off and have my family members pick up meal trays.  I'm a good cook.  I enjoy cooking.  

• Be mindful of meals and food intake.  Eat soups and take daily vitamin.

• Go slow on the wine.  

• No travel.

• Do more phone chat with friends,

• Plan on taking the flu vaccine.

• Figure out how to burn calories and lose weight.

This year has been brutal.  But, the vaccine is on the way and we have to get ready to go back in public. YIKES!  LBVS.  We can do this!!!  So, focus on the here and now!

Mask While in Indoor Venues

 

Never remove your mask while within the confines of an indoor venue!!!

Why is this pandemic not yet under control and getting worse????!!! Let's do some truth telling.  I was a Nurse Epidemiologist who spent 1 week in training in CDC way back in the 1980's, so I know what I speak.

The Virus: The coronavirus is a respiratory infection. The virus is released from infected lungs into the air and probably is aerolyzed on air current. Hence, it is highly contagious and virulent.

Masks: Masks do NOT prevent folks from contracting the coronavirus. Masks control the spread of the airborne virus from an infected person to others.  This is why everyone must wear a mask.  Oh yes, masks must be worn over folks' nose!  We breath through our nose not mouth. COVER YOUR NOSE!!! WEAR YOUR MASK THE RIGHT WAY!

Social Distancing: When folks are in close proximity with others, it is easy to inhale the virus from infected folks. So, best to keep a good distance from others even while masked.

Hand Hygiene: Stringent handwashing with soap and water is important. Use of alcohol hand sanitizer is also helpful.

Why is this pandemic getting worse?

Breaches in the Bubble:  During the pandemic, folks must secure their "bubble". Folks have disregarded this principle and connected with others not knowing who others have been in contact.  

Indoor Social Gatherings: During the year, folks carried on as if the virus was gone. Folks were without masks, in close proximity, eating and drinking without masking, laughing and exhaling the virus.  Folks shamelessly posted such parties on Facebook.

Indoor Dining: Folks go to restaurants and carelessly remove their masks to eat and drink. So, now, the virus is released into the enclosed area and is easily inhaled by others in the enclosed space. THERE IS NO REASON TO RELEASE THE VIRUS INDOORS!!! If folks do not know how to eat and drink while masked, they have NO BUSINESS  going to indoor dining!  The virus has no respect for indoor venues!!

Bars: Bars are for drinking and socializing. Hence, masks must be worn the entire time.  Folks must mask while sipping drinks, running their mouth and laughing!  Folks must KEEP THAT HOLE IN THEIR FACE COVERED FOR THE ENTIRE TIME while at an indoor bar. 

Casinos:  Forget about it!  Ain't workable.  Folks will not don masks while drinking. Folks believe they are justified to remove masks while smoking.  Hence, no smoking in casinos.  Masks must be worn at all times.  Not possible to smoke while masked. NO SMOKING INSIDE CASINOS.  MASKS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES WHILE INSIDE THE ENCLOSED CASINO VENUE.

THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION TO UNMASK WHEN IN INSIDE VENUES!!!! That means stores, workplaces, buses, trains, planes, airports, casinos, bars, restaurants.... and so on.

Restaurants and bars in Chicago and Illinois are facing a crisis due to lockdowns. Chicago's winters are treacherous, so those stupid igloos will not work during our harsh winter months.  

This is the change that bars and restaurants need to commit to stay open:

1.  Patrons and diners must mask during the entire time while inside. YES, that means while eating and drinking.  This is doable. I did it all year!!!!

2. Masks must be worn the right way while eating and drinking.

3. Children should NOT be allowed in restaurants as they cannot master wearing masks while eating and drinking.

4. Promote curbside service.  Folks should not have to worry about getting a parking ticket.  Something has to be done.

5. Holiday gatherings are OUT for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Easter. Forget about it. 

6. Cooks need to figure out how family members can pick up food trays without contact.  Pick up and go.... curbside service.

WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Time to Celebrate a Job Well Done!

 I am just so elated this morning! I have been with my new little remote job for 6 months. When I started, my task was to work with the person I was replacing to prepare documents to get a convention accredited. It was a rush job to say the least.  The application was totally funky.  When the application was submitted, one major part was REJECTED 100%!  Running out of time, we had to hastily make major corrections.  It was a nightmare!

Fortunately, the convention was postponed as the pandemic created real time problems for conference. So, it was pushed back from March to July and then to August.  Hence, this gave me the opportunity to rewrite the application MY WAY!!!!!

I put in a lot of time to make sure it was a good, appropriate and well-written application.  It took time. I had to fight my boss as well.  It was so much drama, I just stopped speaking to the team for almost one week!

When I came back, things were better.  People had done their job.  I submitted the application on Wednesday.  I was on "pins & needles" awaiting to hear back from the accrediting body.  Then yesterday, we heard back... The accrediting body gave me accolades on a job well done and complete!!  YEA ME!

It really was a great application.  I've been on Cloud Nine... The Top of the World ever since yesterday. I needed that acclaim!!!!  I got the job done!  YES!!!!

For the 2021 convention, I have already created the timeline. I am looking forward to preparing that conference.