A Vision of College Students Today

Please note: I first wrote the following article in December 2019. I kept making tweaks to it and submitted it a number of places in December, in January, and in February with no takers. I thought about tweaking it to include the COIVD19 crisis, but as is, I think this serves as an important snapshot to how roughContinue reading “A Vision of College Students Today”

The “Big Idea” Gender Studies Syllabus

This is the third installment in my “Big Idea Syllabus” series inspired by Dr. Michael Wesch’s “Big Idea” Syllabus for Anthropology. My “Big Idea” Syllabus for History can be found here, for Writing here. The “Big Idea” Syllabus for Gender Studies follows.  Gender is an important, valid field of inquiry, and because women and gender-nonconformingContinue reading “The “Big Idea” Gender Studies Syllabus”

239 visits. 180 hours. Office Hours.

I continue to really love office hours (and even thrive on them!), and I had another semester of wonderful and very busy office hours, even busier than last semester! Here’s the data breakdown for the Fall 2019 semester. (Added 11/29 10:15 AM: Unfortunately, you might not be able to see the full data correctly unlessContinue reading “239 visits. 180 hours. Office Hours.”

Asking Students How They Are Really Doing Should Not Be A Rare Occurrence

Asking students how they are really doing should not be a rare occurrence. For several years now, I have scheduled a day mid-semester for wellness in almost all of my classes because I have seen my students arrive more and more stressed every semester for several years. The results are always amazing. In hopes of encouragingContinue reading “Asking Students How They Are Really Doing Should Not Be A Rare Occurrence”

122 visits. 74 hours. Office Hours.

I’ve always had busy office hours as discussed here. Invisible Labor is pervasive in our world. People labor in ways that are often unseen, unacknowledged, and/or even unpaid. In order to help counter this, I tracked visits this semester. The results follow.  I had 135 students this semester across 5 classes (plus one independent studyContinue reading “122 visits. 74 hours. Office Hours.”

Increasing Budgets, Empty Rooms, and Missing Representatives

As a graduate of Brazosport College and as a citizen who pays taxes to the Brazosport College Taxing District, I enjoy keeping up with some of its activities when/where possible. In 2007, voters approved a $70,000,000 bond. This bond included a number of items but two new buildings and various remodels accounted for the bulkContinue reading “Increasing Budgets, Empty Rooms, and Missing Representatives”

18 Ways to Have Different Class (or Group) Discussions

The following outlines various techniques I use when teaching to enhance or change discussion-based activities. I’ll update it as necessary. I’ve had a number of students say they enjoy my classes in part because they never know what we’ll be doing that day!  1. Bring out the maps. Have students draw maps and discuss theirContinue reading “18 Ways to Have Different Class (or Group) Discussions”