sometimes it's quite difficult explaining to people how you work at two different colleges, and at one of them you have two different jobs. it seems simple enough, but sometimes it just doesn't click.
then i think about it. i think about the amount of class (load) that i'm carrying. don't get me wrong. in no way am i saying that i'm some sort of work horse. i just work. and sometimes it doesn't feel like i should be getting the part-time/adjunct end of the stick. for instance, at university x i taught 10 units last semester. i was also an assistant coach. i also taught @ college y during that time period. over at college y, they run an accellerated pace, so a class that i teach for 3 units takes 5 weeks. so over the last semester + (jan -now), i have taught 7 different classes. 21 units. and, i've been doing all of these jobs for over 2 years (i've coached since 2000, that is 9 sesasons total on the job). that's right, 31 units over 2 schools, and coaching.
but somehow when an outside company looks at it, they can't quite figure out how much i work.
sometimes it makes me want to just do one of the jobs. too bad the one i want isn't looking for full-timers.
*lest anyone think i'm being racist/ethnocentric/etc i thought i should clarify the title. there was a comedy sketch, i think from in living color, where a girl brought her boyfriend home to meet the parents. mind you, they were all jamaican of some sort. but, they grill him on how many jobs he has and whether or not he's jamaican enough.
2 comments:
from my observations, it's very difficult to escape adjunct status. you either have to be close to someone in the department who is respected and will go to bat for you or you have to go back to school and get a doctorate. management usually looks at it this way: they are benefiting from all your skills and energy right now on the cheap AND they have the flexibility to cut or increase your courses as they see fit. why give that up as long as you're willing to continue working under those conditions?
there are many reasons why this is a bad way to run a college, but most important in my mind, it's just not fair to people like you that are hard working, dedicated teachers.
you might want to consider trying this:
if college x values your coaching, tell them you are thinking you might have to stop coaching because you have to work two jobs to make ends meet and you just don't have the time to do all three. maybe the head coach will then try to pull some strings for you.
you should wait, of course, until you think there's a chance college x will create a FT position (considering school finances and/or department needs).
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