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...if it hasn't worked out, it's not the end.


The biggest problem with being a lecturer is absolute lack of job security. Spring semester has been a mess since registration started last November. The university has all these plans to increase enrollment for Fall 05, which prompted every department on campus to start bolstering their faculty rosters. The English dept. hired five people before the start of Fall 04 in preparation. This was fine for the Fall semester, but caused a lot of problems for the Spring since there just weren't enough classes being offered for everyone to have a full load.

I was originally scheduled for four sections of Comp II. In November, they cut me back to two sections, and it looked for awhile like I might be down to one. Everyone I ran into in the dept. made a point of telling me not to give up. Just put up with the bad schedule for a semester, because they could all but guarantee me a full load in the Fall. The Chair even gave me a Christmas card that said "you're the teacher we'd all like to be." Talk about buttering up.

Going elsewhere wasn't an option. We're very rural, so my work options are limited. Besides, why would I leave a job I love? DH's job takes care of my insurance needs. Paychecks would be a problem, but we've dealt with worse. Finally, it's an adjunct position, which means up until the start of the semester, anything could happen. Two of my three semesters at the uni resulted in schedule changes for the better the day before classes started. The third didn't have room for a schedule change.

To make things better, the Nagasaki program is on again. Because of enrollment, there was some concern that the program would be canceled for the Spring, but whoever makes these decisions decided to just go with the reduced number of students. Again I'm teaching the 2 cr. American Culture class, though not the 1 cr. Basic English Reading. Instead the students will have a 1 cr. Geography course taught by a friend of mine in the Geography dept. As it turns out, though, the director of the Nagasaki program is planning to retire, so she's sloughing off some of the demands of the job. From that, I also picked up the 2 cr. ESL Composition class, and I'm co-teaching the 3 cr. Practicum for the future ESL teachers with her.

This gives me about 11 official credit hours for the semester, plus a great deal of unpaid work as I take on more responsiblity in the Nagasaki program. I had 12 last semester, so all told the semester is looking pretty good even with the cut backs. It helps to say 'yes' to everything that's offered.

Now it turns out that one of the other adjuncts is giving up her classes. With a full week before the semester starts, I've picked up another course. The last minute adds always seem to be Frosh Comp 1. It's an 8:00 class, which sucks. But I can deal with anything for a semester.

This puts me at 14 credits with the world's messiest schedule. My Comp IIs are MWF from 12-1 and 3-4. The Practicum is MTTh from 6-7 pm until Feb. 11, then it's M 6-7 and TTh 2-3. And Comp I is T from 8-10 am and Th from 8-9 am. The ESL Comp and Culture classes haven't been scheduled yet. Also, nearly every Friday after Feb 12th will be a field trip with the Naga kids. Yes, that means I'm double booked on Fridays.

This is one reason why I love this job; it's so unpredictable.

ETA: I guess the Frosh Comp I class isn't TTh at 8 afterall. I'm picking up the MWF 9-10 class instead because the other available adjunct already has a 9-10. This creates scheduling problems with the Friday fieldtrips. Also, it requires me to be on campus for almost 12 hours three days a week, with classes at 9, 12, 3, and 6. Well, I know when my office hours will be. :)


I hereby resign my fannish life until June. If anyone needs anything from me, please let me know before next January 18th.