Update

The past seven days have been a bit of a whirlwind around here. On Wednesday we received a message that immigration would like to see us on Thursday. So in addition to trying to coordinate a Thanksgiving gettogether we had the stress of the unknown hanging over our heads.

Thursday’s meeting was…curious. In addition to refilling our an immigration form we’d already filled out nine months ago, we were asked a series of questions ranging from our educational background, to our past travels, to our known associates, to our financial status.

Since then we have been looking at ways of downsizing our lives. We’re selling off major pieces of furniture. We’re giving back things we’d been storing for other people. We’re looking at ways of possibly getting things home. Basically, we’re gleaning our lives downs to what we need.

It seems more than coincidental that at the same we’re coming to terms with getting rid of stuff, John is talking about having a greater dependence on God and Jake is talking about existentialism and an old episode of “Ed” (remember the bowling alley lawyer?) is talking about Walden and the need to simplify. Songs like Remember Surrender by Sarah Groves and references to “Be still and know that I am God” keep running through my head. My conclusion – we are not in control but know who is. We can attempt to focus our dependence on Him but we still need to realize that no earthly methodology or formula can prepare us for the unpredictable and absolutely abundant blessings He will be giving us

Yesterday afternoon, a week after we were first called to the Immigration office, we again received a message that we needed to come in. This time it is to follow up on the questionnaire we initially filled out. Apparently it is because they had problems reading my handwriting.
The “B” I got for handwriting in the third grade may finally be coming back to haunt me.

For your immediate concern

Just a quick request that today as you're thanking God for your turkey or turkey shaped soy substitute, think of Amanda, Atticus and I. We'll be meeting with some gov't officials today for an unexpected meeting. A similar meeting took place with some of our friends this summer and they were asked to leave.

Please lift this up.

Hopefully we'll have an update for you before your dessert is served.

Blessings

An Unemployed University?

Imagine what would happen if all of us had a sudden, fair and accurate job evaluation. It wouldn’t look at qualifications or past performance, just are you doing what you’re supposed to be doing. And are you doing it well. A positive evaluation (say C+ or better) would allow you to keep your job. A lower mark would require immediate retraining and a failure would result in your termination. Would you still have a job?

Or more importantly, would any of your colleagues still have a job? (Since anyone reading this is, of course, the perfect employee.) I’m frustrated with teachers who don’t teach or seem to want to. I have a friend who recently complained that students taking his graduate course, a course he specializes in, were “horrible”. Ah, it must be the lack of preparation; the poor standards set while they were undergrads; the rotten teachers from years before; the third and fourth year classes that failed to challenge, prepare or accurately familiarize them with the material…Except for the fact that he was their professor for those preparatory classes. His field of specialization is unique enough that only he could have taught them, or failed to teach them, the relevant material.

Another colleague rarely uses English to talk to majors or graduate students in the subject. Imagine two people trained in the field of English talking about a paper written in English that outlines problems with teaching students how to use spoken English effectively only the whole conversation is taking place in some other language.

And of course there are stories of PhDs bought through the internet, sold A’s, sexual harassment, non existent office hours, fifteen minute class sessions and so on.

In all fairness, there are those I work with who are still interested in helping students learn. There is my boss; an underpaid, overworked mother of three, underdog opponent of the Indian boy’s club. And the one who works for free since the gov’t decided that they’d been mistakenly paying her an extra couple of dollars a month for the last couple of years. And the graduate students who would love to think for themselves but know that if they challenge their professors too much, they might not get the grades needed to go for their PhDs elsewhere. These, along with the students so desparate to learn, are why I am able to continue teaching.

I accept that I may not have the credentials of some of the staff I work with but I do actually love teaching. I enjoy having students come to me to discuss what they’re learning and interested in. I love showing them that it is ok to have original ideas. And that it’s even ok to change those ideas. I suppose that since I’ve only been teaching a few years, I shouldn’t be so critical about those who may have burned out. But I’d like to think that when I do burn out, I’d have the grace to allow myself to be replaced rather than hold on to a profession I should be fired from.