Notes from the IOF corner

Halfway through the first week of classes and I'm already worn out:

1. Textbook problems! Way back last spring I ordered a new composition text with readings, but the bookstore instead stocked the same text without the readings, and when I called the bookstore manager to get it straightened out so my students would have the text they need, he said well we have the correct text in stock but it just isn't listed as required for your class, which makes no sense since I ordered the correct text and marked it as "required." Now all the students who bought the wrong book have to take it back and exchange it for the right one.

2. Tech difficulties, not horrible but distracting all the same. I'm not using Zoom in classes this semester (unless...you know the drill) so starting class requires far fewer clicks than last year, but that doesn't mean everything is smooth sailing. I'm using a different type of online discussion in one class and I didn't get the settings quite right so none of my students could access it for today's discussion. I woke up in the middle of the night suddenly understanding what I'd done wrong and how to fix it, but I don't generally take my computer to bed so I couldn't do anything with it until this morning.

3. New masks! One style makes my glasses fog up so I can't see what I'm doing in class; the other style feels much flimsier but doesn't make my glasses fog up. It wears me out to have to make these life-or-death decisions every stinking day.

4. Emails! I'm not the only one having a rough start to the semester. I'm responding as quickly as I can but I sense a lot of anxiety among students who are panicking about every little thing. One student wanted me to summarize the entire plot of Homer's Odyssey, to which I responded, "You could easily go and read a plot summary online, but then you would miss out on the most valuable part of the learning experience: immersing yourself in an unfamiliar world and feeling your way around until it starts to make sense. If you feel lost, you're probably in the right place. It will become more clear the more time you spend there." I hope this is true.

5. I've been realizing for the past couple of years that my opinions and experiences are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the current academic climate. I try to stay up-to-date on what's happening in my field, but nevertheless I feel a steady but subtle pressure pushing me gently toward the Irrelevant Old Fart corner, and there's nowhere to go from there but out the door. This is the way the career ends, not with a bang but a whimper.