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- Two roads diverged on campus, and I took the one to the JFSB
Two roads diverged on campus, and I took the one to the JFSB
Kelsey Smith
March 22, 2024
The best part of teaching in the Benson building this semester has been meeting up with Ansalee Greenwood and Alisa Brough after class—we all teach in classrooms down the same hall!
It feels like we’re in high school again, waiting for each other to get out of class so we can enjoy our 10-minute walk to the JFSB for me and the JKB for them. The recent sunshine has made our walk even better!
In just ten minutes, I’m energized and feeling better. A few weeks ago they helped me recover from quite a serious blow: a student had told me after class, “You have no compassion.” Through her tears. Right after she told me she was going to Rome with her parents for a week.
It’s amazing what a ten-minute walk with friends can do: I am compassionate! I am a compassionate person with boundaries!
NOTE: The student withdrew from my class after talking with her academic advisor. Which was made possible by my compassion: I gave her the academic advisor’s number. The end.
Two roads diverged on campus, and I took the one to the JFSB
You’ve probably noticed, thanks to email, that April 18—”Exam Preparation Day”— is a busy day! Two events are scheduled: the Biennial Adjunct Faculty Conference + Award Luncheon and the BYU’s Faculty Center’s annual Adjunct Faculty Seminar + Box Lunch.
Now let the record show that last semester we decided to hold our conference and awards luncheon on April 18, thinking the seminar would again be on graduation day, like last year. (I remember the day well—it was also the day I was prepping for my first colonoscopy! No box lunch for me!)
But no. The Faculty Center realized what we already knew: Exam Preparation Day is the perfect day to get together. We debated moving our events, but we decided to press forward—we had the rooms reserved and no other dates hit all the right notes.
So perhaps as President Oaks counseled way back in 2007, we need “forgo some good things in order to choose others that are better or best.”
I assure you that our biennial conference and award luncheon will be a rejuvenating good time. Dare I say the “best” time? Boldy I do! I hope to see you in the JFSB and at the Hinckley Center for lunch and celebration on April 18!
Wanted: Funny teaching stories
This year for our second annual Adjunct Faculty Award Luncheon, I want to laugh—and I want everyone else to laugh too. If you have a funny teaching moment, one starring yourself or one of your students, that you’d be willing to share with everyone, please send me an email today! Pleeeeeaaaasse!
A treasure trove of writing prompts
Back in February at our narrative sharing time, Mauri Johnson offered to share writing prompts from Short Reads’ Flash February writing initiative, and here they are: Flash Writing Prompts.
In her email to me, Mauri wrote, “Some may be more applicable to Writing 150 than others, but I think a lot are helpful with practicing, drafting, brainstorming, and the last few are really helpful when it comes to revision! I hope some of this is helpful to others!”
I just have to add that the prompts are also great for us—we’re writers too! I’m already thinking about what I’ll write in response to the “the last time” prompt. Thank you, Mauri!
Stuff for your calendar
Spring is officially here, and the wind-down of WInter 2024 has begun—hurrah! Remember, you can now see our adjunct faculty happenings on the department Google calendar—our events are in green: The English Department Calendar. (Thank you, Juli Todd!)
MARCH
March 27: Adjunct Faculty Book Club Lunch. We’ll talk about Verified over lunch at noon in B114 JFSB.
March 28: Student Ratings Start! Encourage your students to complete ratings for all of their classes, but especially yours. Inspiration works best with information!
APRIL
April 3: Withdrawal Deadline. Use the week before this date to have the a-W-is-better-than-a-F conversation with your students who have many absences and/or are failing. You’ll be grateful you did.
April 18: The Adjunct Faculty Biennial Conference! One of the best days of the year! Great presentations with new ideas and strategies! Please come! Your teaching lamp will be refilled!
April 18: The Adjunct Faculty Award Luncheon! After the biennial conference, we’ll meet for lunch at noon on the third floor of the Hinckley Center to celebrate all of our good works! Put it on your calendar today!
April 18: Student Ratings Close. Perhaps request a rating analysis from the Center for Teaching & Learning SCOT program—and go for the big picture: ask them to sort and categorize your last three years of student ratings (don’t worry if you’ve been at BYU that long :).
April 30: Grades DUE by NOON!
Our makeshift website
As I’ve noted before, Ansalee Greenwood, Greyson Gurley, Kelsey Smith, and I are hard at work writing content for our Adjunct Faculty Website (and we are continually surprised at how much stuff we need to cover!). Until this website is up and running, here are links to some helpful Google docs (which you can also find in your “swag” folder that’s sitting in your mailbox right now):
Observation Opportunities—sign up to be observed or find someone to observe!
Syllabus Requirements: I just added another option—the RWC’s official syllabus statement that you’re welcome to customize!
Write NOW!—want to get some of your own writing done? Write NOW! can help!