A Summer Check-in!

Author

Kelsey Smith
July 14, 2025

Working through the Wobble

Hello everyone! I hope you are in the midst of a good summer and are gearing up for Fall! I’m teaching Summer term, and I’ve been trying to gear myself up to start biking to campus again. I live close to campus, so I’d been in the habit of riding my bike to work. However, when I was biking to work in April, a minivan ran a red light and hit me while I was crossing the street. I was thrown into the intersection but was incredibly lucky to literally walk away from the accident with only scrapes and bruises. My bike is fixed, I’m fully recovered from my minimal injuries, it’s been three months since the accident, and it’s been three weeks since the start of Summer term. But I still haven’t gotten back on my bike! Biking, something that used to be easy and convenient, is now really messing with my head.

When I listened to Dawan Coombs’s recent devotional, “Working Through Wobble,” it was a lovely balm to my nervous little heart. Professor Coombs did a wonderful job articulating “the wobble”: “moments of spiritual, emotional, ideological, or religious hesitation, vacillation, uncertainty and instability in our lives” or basically when things that seemed safe or reliable in our lives don’t feel that way anymore.

Your wobble is probably not a new found fear of biking. But you might be experiencing other hang-ups and frustrations that are affecting your teaching or general sense of well-being. Perhaps a negative or rude student comment has been eating at you even though you know you should disregard it. Maybe you’re going through challenging personal and life circumstances that are contributing to feelings of overwhelm or have you questioning your personal abilities. If that’s the case, I’m so sorry! As Professor Coombs inspirationally reminds us, “your Heavenly Father will turn your moments of existential wobble into times of exponential growth as you rely on the Savior and Him.” Whatever your wobble (and how wonderful if you are currently wobble-less!), please know that your teaching efforts are greatly appreciated by me & the English Department. And please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help!

Read on for more information on the upcoming August training & this Fall’s Peer Observation program 🙂 

RSVP to the August Adjunct Faculty Training

Our August adjunct faculty training is scheduled for Thursday, August 21, from 9 am-1 pm in 4186/88 of the JFSB (lunch is at noon) While not required, this training is so helpful in preparing for Fall semester and getting information about Department policies, priorities, etc. Please RSVP by Monday, July 21st. 

Multimeter Licenses Available!

The English Department has four, semester-long licenses for Mentimeter available for English adjuncts. I’ve never used this tool before, but this Fall I’ll be using one of the four licenses and turning my Google Slides into “interactive Mentis” i.e. interactive presentations that encourage student participation. Wish me luck! If you care to join me in learning about and using this new tool, or if you are already a Multimeter fan and are interested in a free semester-long license, please email me! ([email protected]) Licenses will be given on a first come, first serve basis. I’ll keep a waiting list if more than three of you are interested this semester.

Linking Learning Outcomes on Learning Suite

For those of you teaching Summer term, you’ve probably noticed that Learning Suite has gotten some new updates and a new look! While these slides hearken back to the old Learning Suite UI, they are still a very useful step-by-step explanation of how to link your Learning Outcomes to specific assignments on Learning Suite. Check these out if you are interested in helping your students more clearly understand how their assignments support class learning outcomes and goals.

Peer Observation Interest

It’s time to start organizing the Adjunct Faculty Peer Observation Program that was introduced during our April Faculty Luncheon! As you may recall, starting this Fall, you can receive a $100 stipend for observing a fellow adjunct’s class. Please peruse this document for all the details, and note that we have clarified that only observations of WRTG (not ENGL) courses are eligible for a stipend.

If you already know you’re interested in participating, please fill out this form. I’ll be sending out more reminders in coming weeks, but the deadline for deciding whether you want to participate in the program will be September 3, the first day of class.

Stuff for your calendar

AUGUST

  • Monday, August 11: Last Day of Summer Term 

  • Friday, August 15, 10 am-1 pm: New Adjunct Faculty Orientation in 4186/88 JFSB (only for new hires)

  • Wednesday, August 20: Summer Grades due by Noon

  • Thursday, August 21, 9 am-1pm: Adjunct Faculty Training in 4186/88 JFSB. RSVP here!

  • August 25-27: University Conference

SEPTEMBER