Unfair
So, I'm observing again. Why is it that I only seem to post anything anymore when I am observing? Anyway, I'm off at midnight tonight. Yay! But that's not what this is about.
I was supposed to teach a class this summer. It was my first opportunity to have a class of my own and the first time I would really be teaching astronomy. (Labs don't count, in my opinion). Up until now, I have only taught physics or chemistry. I'm really trying to figure out right now what career path I want to take--do I want to just do research, or do I want a tenure-track faculty position where I would teach and do research? I thought that this class would give me a huge opportunity to really see what teaching is like in a university class. I was looking forward to it. (And being as obsessive compulsive as I am, I was already starting to do a little prep work).
I should also say that this has been set up for several months now. The department asked for graduate student volunteers to teach summer classes; I volunteered and was assigned to teach one that starts in July. Today my advisor told me that he has decided to give my teaching position to someone else. So I am pretty damn disappointed.
Rationally, I can sort of understand his reasoning. The person he has decided to give this job to has no funding for the summer. I won a NASA fellowship a few years ago, so I pay myself (well, I pay about 75% of my own salary and a former advisor pays the rest). Technically, I don't need the money. (Though, I wasn't going to get paid any extra for teaching; it's just that this other advisor wasn't going to have to pick up the extra part of my stipend for a month). So, by giving this teaching position to unnamed-student, my advisor has found him about 50% of his pay for 4 weeks out of the summer. My advisor also said he wants to free up my time this summer to focus on my thesis.
Irrationally, the argument in my head sounds like this. Why do I get punished by not being allowed to have this opportunity because I happened to have won my own funding? Why did my advisor decide to take my position to give to this other student, and not the positions of one of the other teachers this summer? There are three grad students teaching; am I the one who got shafted simply because the student taking my place is another student of my advisor's? And what was my response supposed to be when my advisor says "I hope you can understand this." Was I supposed to forbid him from giving this position to someone else?
(My response was a calm, yet clearly cold "Well, this decision isn't really up to me is it." )
And those extra 4 weeks I now have to focus on my thesis, some 10 months before I defend? Wow. What a difference that will make. Thank you so much.
Yeah, I'm pretty ticked. And pretty hurt. And pretty well done with my department. I'm ready to graduate and get the hell out of here. They can all bite me.
I also know that I am full of over-the-top melodrama right now, so I'm sorry about subjecting you to that.
I was supposed to teach a class this summer. It was my first opportunity to have a class of my own and the first time I would really be teaching astronomy. (Labs don't count, in my opinion). Up until now, I have only taught physics or chemistry. I'm really trying to figure out right now what career path I want to take--do I want to just do research, or do I want a tenure-track faculty position where I would teach and do research? I thought that this class would give me a huge opportunity to really see what teaching is like in a university class. I was looking forward to it. (And being as obsessive compulsive as I am, I was already starting to do a little prep work).
I should also say that this has been set up for several months now. The department asked for graduate student volunteers to teach summer classes; I volunteered and was assigned to teach one that starts in July. Today my advisor told me that he has decided to give my teaching position to someone else. So I am pretty damn disappointed.
Rationally, I can sort of understand his reasoning. The person he has decided to give this job to has no funding for the summer. I won a NASA fellowship a few years ago, so I pay myself (well, I pay about 75% of my own salary and a former advisor pays the rest). Technically, I don't need the money. (Though, I wasn't going to get paid any extra for teaching; it's just that this other advisor wasn't going to have to pick up the extra part of my stipend for a month). So, by giving this teaching position to unnamed-student, my advisor has found him about 50% of his pay for 4 weeks out of the summer. My advisor also said he wants to free up my time this summer to focus on my thesis.
Irrationally, the argument in my head sounds like this. Why do I get punished by not being allowed to have this opportunity because I happened to have won my own funding? Why did my advisor decide to take my position to give to this other student, and not the positions of one of the other teachers this summer? There are three grad students teaching; am I the one who got shafted simply because the student taking my place is another student of my advisor's? And what was my response supposed to be when my advisor says "I hope you can understand this." Was I supposed to forbid him from giving this position to someone else?
(My response was a calm, yet clearly cold "Well, this decision isn't really up to me is it." )
And those extra 4 weeks I now have to focus on my thesis, some 10 months before I defend? Wow. What a difference that will make. Thank you so much.
Yeah, I'm pretty ticked. And pretty hurt. And pretty well done with my department. I'm ready to graduate and get the hell out of here. They can all bite me.
I also know that I am full of over-the-top melodrama right now, so I'm sorry about subjecting you to that.
posted by Meredith | 7:13 PM
4 Comments:
Could you go to your advisor and explain your reasons for wanting to teach the course? They're very good reasons. Ask if maybe there's another one you could do. If that doesn't work, are there any other colleges in the area that you could adjuct a summer class for? That's what I did in grad school to get experience.
I could go back to my advisor and argue my case, but in the "experience" versus "funding" argument I will lose. Funding problems trump all these days. There are no other positions available at my university this summer and, in a cruel twist of irony, all of the local community college positions for the summer have been taken by the unnamed student that just took my university teaching position! So, at present, I have no options. I'll just have to find something else during the school year I guess.
this IS unfair, even though i get why he made that decision. he SHOULD have discussed it with you first, however, and maybe listened to your reasons for wanting to teach before he went and handed it to someone else w/o preamble. i would be fiery mad! i know you are WAY too nice of a person to pitch a fit about this, but i would be a'shoutin' sister!
I think you're being too nice...but I bet I would've done the same thing.
Post a Comment
<< Home