Day 13-all CA students must be vaccinated
I watched Episode 1 of this series today…
10/13/21. Wednesday
Today, my only goal is to complete any/all chores and pressing assignments so I can watch ONE episode of Maid, the new Netflix series that just dropped. I read the memoir [by Stephanie Land] when it came out a couple of years ago and really liked it. Over the years, I’ve been fascinated with women and the concept of work; how do women survive financially?; how do women work 40 hours a week AND still spend an extra 37 hours a week doing “housework and looking after children and their elderly parents?” ***The Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey found that women aged 15 and older spend 5.7 hours a day doing housework and looking after kids and elders. This time estimate does NOT include yard work (1/22/20).
Just ONE episode of Maid…that’s my goal for today.
6:00 – L. leaves for her long day at Otis.
7:30 –7:45 – As you know, class starts at 8:30, but I didn’t set up this Module ahead of time. I am out of bed and moving fast this morning. But, first things first…the dog went back to sleep after L. left. She is wiped out and lying on the couch, but when she hears me come downstairs she rolls over on her back so I can rub her tummy. I sit next to her and give her love and attention until she’s ready to go outside. She jumps off the couch, grabs her toy, and we head for the backyard. I stand around while she goes potty.
I really need to tend to this yard…
Return inside and coffee for me; cheese for her. I go to work.
7:45-8:30 – I create a prompt for the Discussion Board and ready the course content. It’s a light day - the students are listening to lecture and watching a documentary. I was in Vegas last week so I’m behind on three days of Attendance for this class and need to catch up. I review the Discussion Boards for last week and update my Attendance for Wednesday, Friday, and today.
8:30–9:30 - Class is in session.
I post and email a Midterm Announcement to the students and then I check email at College No. 2. My Dean’s Secretary informs me that the online high school class I was scheduled to teach for Spring Semester 2022 was canceled; however, they have an alternative assignment if I’m interested. The new assignment is a F2F class, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 8:00 A.M. Oh…and it’s in Inglewood…traffic at that time of the day will be horrendous.
I taught at this high school before [2 years ago] and it was a rewarding experience - I really loved the kids. But 8:00 in the morning? Two days a week? On the 405? I reluctantly take it, but my Dean’s secretary doesn’t sense my reluctance because I never say no…I always say, “Sure! Sign me up!” That’s my signature phrase.
A true blow…
9:30-12:00 – Class is rolling along without incident so I switch to my Asynchronous class and take the last two weeks of Attendance. Then, I compile lists of every student who received a D or F on the podcast/video quiz over the past two weeks and send “personalized” emails, addressing them by name, wherein I accuse them of failing to “actively participate” because it’s obvious they are not watching/listening to course content. I issue a stern warning that they will be dropped from the class if this continues. For clarification, every quiz is comprised of 10-multiple-choice questions. If you watched the material, it’s impossible to receive a D or F on the quiz. This is how I know people are not completing the course content.
10:05 – Class dismissed.
A few of the students from my Asynchronous class respond that they did, in fact, watch the videos/listen to the podcast and “maybe I should have taken notes – I didn’t comprehend the material.” No. You’re a liar. This Canvas software is so good I can see to the minute when the students start and finish their quizzes. Here’s an example:
Last week’s Module consisted of listening to two episodes of a podcast [45 minutes each], then taking a Podcast Quiz. Also assigned for the week was a documentary [90 minutes], followed by the Video Quiz. So, this is how normal people complete the assignments: At some point during the week, you would listen to the podcast episodes, then take the quiz when you’re done because the material is fresh in your mind. A few days later, you might watch the documentary, then take that quiz.
Normal people do NOT take the quizzes, one after the other, in a time span of 2 minutes, 30 minutes after I post the week’s assignments. I’ve just posted 3 hours of content and you took two quizzes a half hour after the assignments are open in Canvas? When they’re due a week from today? Clearly, you are opening the quizzes and guessing on the questions so you can get these assignments out of the way. No.
Alternatively, for several of these assholes, the test-taking software shows the student logging onto Canvas, 8 minutes before the Sunday-at-midnight deadline, and rapidly taking the quizzes. No. Normal people would not listen to two episodes of a podcast, THEN watch a documentary, THEN take two quizzes, back-to-back, over disparate material. As stated earlier, Normal people listen to the podcast, then take the quiz. Later, Normal people will watch the video, then take that quiz. For the majority of the students, who are actually following along with the course content, there are significant gaps of time between the quizzes, as there should be, because they’re being tested over 3 HOURS of material. That’s a lot to retain so legitimate students break up the material.
For those students, with their lies and false excuses, I call them out on the time evidence…hard.
One of my students pushes back against my initial email, insisting that he watched the course content. I email him exactly what I’ve just told you: “I find it hard to believe that you were able to watch three hours of material 30 minutes after I posted the assignments for the week. Additionally, you opened Quiz No. 1 at 8:30 a.m., followed by Quiz No. 2, at 8:33 a.m. You completed Quiz No. 2 in 30 seconds. From my perspective, it appears that you are taking the quizzes as soon as they are posted simply to “get them out of the way.” This is not considered “active participation” in an online class.”
I never hear from the student again. I listen to episodes of Happier this entire time.
12:00-1:00 – I spend this next hour corresponding with Kellie, from Elite Building via email and trying to answer questions I’m not qualified to answer regarding the two garage doors that I’m replacing. What kind of “bore holes” do I need? Did I select my “hardware” yet? What is the “swing” of both doors? Somehow, I’m supposed to calculate the “swing” of my doors using what appears to be a sample geometry math problem that was sent to me as a guide. Note: I failed geometry in high school. This is so overwhelming and I have nobody to help me…
I text “John”, the installer for my garage doors, and ask if he will look over the invoice from Elite Building to see if I have the “swing” right. Since he’s installing the doors, shouldn’t he be participating in the process? AND, when he committed to this job, he said I could have Elite contact him for clarification on anything they might need. John says he’ll call Kellie…
-The Home Security vendor finally returns my text and ask for the make and model of my Home Security system. He also asks me to describe the problem. I spend some time looking at my system and texting him the information. Then, he responds that he’s familiar with my system. Yay! Spoiler Alert – I never hear from him again. This will be the last text I ever receive.
-L. sent me an Addendum to her Xmas list so I order even more gifts.
……Just ONE episode of Maid…that’s my goal.
1:00-2:30 – I make scrambled eggs with pepper-jack cheese and finish Work Won’t Love You Back. Ordinarily, when I finish a book, I post a picture and provide a book review. This book is a bit different. It read very much like a textbook or, perhaps, assigned supplementary material for a college course on “The Exploitation of Capitalism.” I loved this book! but it’s too difficult to write a review of this particular text. I will say that every chapter addresses a particular area of work, where the employee is over-worked and underpaid, while at the same time gaslighted into believing they’re lucky to have their shit job, especially when they’re allegedly “doing what you love.”
A few of the chapters include:
-The Artist. The takeaway – “You’re lucky that you’re able to do what you love. You don’t need a living wage.”
-The Teacher. The takeaway – “Teaching is a passion and you’re doing it for the children. It’s okay that you’re only paid for your time in the classroom and NOT the 20/30+ hours you spend during your personal time, grading papers, preparing lesson plans, cleaning your own classroom, because teaching is a calling and you’re doing it for the kids. You don’t need a living wage when you’re following your passion.”
The Caregiver. The takeaway: “You’re taking care of [insert relative here] because you love them and it’s your duty to take care of your family member. You don’t need to be compensated for a job you’re performing out of love.” [Never mind that the majority of caregiving, if not ALL caregiving, for the old and infirm is performed by women]
The Software Engineer. The takeaway: “You beat out over 100 people and you’re lucky to have this job. Putting in a 90-hour, work week involving a set salary and NO overtime is how you pay your dues at this company. There’s a line of people competing for your spot. You’re so lucky to be here.”
The Intern. The takeaway: “You beat out over 100 people and you’re lucky to have this internship. Putting in a 30/40-hour unpaid workweek will give you experience that you can add to your resume for future jobs. You’re so lucky to be here.” Note: – Alexandria Ocasio Cortez announced, after she became a member of the House, that she would pay ALL of her interns a salary. This is in direct contrast to her male-counterparts [House members] who pay their interns nothing.
2:30-4:30 – Grade papers.
4:30-5:30 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up.
5:30-6:15 – I take the dog for a walk; then
6:15-7:00 – rearrange some of my exterior Halloween lights.
7:00-8:00 – I set up the “animal bone yard”, on the west side of the house, and listen to Canary. Finally, the Halloween decorations are complete! I turn on ALL the lights so L. can see the exterior when she comes home after her 16-hour day at Otis. I know she’ll be exhausted and maybe the Halloween lights will add a little happiness to her long day. I turn on the interior Halloween decorations, also.
…Just one episode of Maid…
8:00-8:30 – Kitchen duty. I have some carrots, cucumbers, tortilla chips, and hummus for dinner, while I clean the kitchen.
8:30-9:00 – I read You Need a Budget in preparation for my upcoming Book Club meeting.
9:15-10:00 – I do a 30-minute Insanity Max-Friday Fight and it totally kicks my ass.
10:00-12:00 – I report to my office, grade papers, then scan them to my hard drive so I can email them to the students later.
12:00-12:30 – L. is home and says nothing about the Halloween decorations. We talk about her day and she goes upstairs to take her shower. I turn everything off and go back to work.
12:30-1:30 – I grade and scan more papers while I listen to tomorrow’s Audio lecture. I update my Google slides and tomorrow’s script.
1:30-2:15 – I update the gradebook and return the papers to my students, via email.
2:15-3:00 – I upload a blog post.
3:00-4:00 – [Insert trumpet blast here] I watch the first episode of Maid! I like the series quite a bit!
4:00-5:00 – I start watching Episode 2, but accidentally fall asleep before the episode ends.
5:30-6:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed.