September to Remember

I am running a bit tired today and I thought... what could cheer me up? So I came to write a quick blog post about September and thought of this song~~~~


I really need to go rollerskating. I miss my rollerdiscoboogielife.

Since school has started, I've been reading "Becoming Nicole" and I was really looking forward to attending the "New Student Convocation" because Nicole Maines was the keynote speaker.

The event was slightly ruined by a group protesting EO1100. There are reasons why the CSU is having difficulty graduating 100% of incoming students. Some people believe that our students are taking unnecessary courses. Some of those courses include remedial math and remedial writing classes. Some of those courses include Africana studies, American Indian studies, Asian-American studies, Central American studies and gender and women’s studies. The instructors who teach those courses would see their enrollment drop (and job cuts) if students are no longer required to take those courses.

I'm sad that people don't graduate. I'm sad that Nicole's keynote was overshadowed by a group of angry people. I'm sad that students are coming to a university that is not able to eliminate opportunity and achievement gaps. I'm sad that people are going to be losing their part-time teaching jobs. It's a complicated issue.

EO1110 retires the placement tests in math and English, instead focusing on offering non-remedial courses only. Our department is filling our classes to the fire code limit to balance the budget because our department gets a certain amount of money per enrolled student, but... How does a packed and uncomfortable classroom support student retention and success? Sometimes I feel like the CSU-level initiatives and what our department does are in direct conflict.

Someone mentioned that their son is studying GIS. I got jealous. I have to get ready for class now. I'm trying lots of new ways to use technology in the classroom. I can't say if any of it is working yet.