You could look at the university league tables for information about departments, try the Guardian newspaper.

wow, well done indeed, congratulations!


(up)8-)(up)

Hi SBCC, no you are not over-reacting - your flatmate has taken a great whopping liberty. How horrible to have someone you don't know sleeping in your bed, to leave it in a right mess and then have them act as if they have the right to do so. I would be having a screaming abdab by now, but then I have had my own flat for 6 years and am very territorial.

I recently had a dreadful experience on a train when my student rail card went missing and a particularly Blakey-like inspector humiliated me by making sarcastic, sneering comments very loudly about everything I said to him - including my answers to the barrage of qestions he was firing at me, then when another member of staff turned up with my rail card he tried to play games by wafting it in-front of me, but refusing to give it to me, despite my making several requests. Eventually I snatched it off him and he gave up the game and went away - his colleague apologised for the situation. This is all in-spite of this being the second inspection I'd been through on that journey - something another passenger reminded him of mid-way through his routine.


I have seen and heard of some other horrid incidents with guards/ticket collectors on trains, has ayone else seen this in action? I'm wondering if it is becoming more common, the rail company were quite defensive of the whole thing and seemed to think it wasn't that remarkable. The Blakey-type guard seemed to think he was behaving perfectly reasonably too, when I spoke to him aout the whole thing at the station platform afterwards.

So, any similar stories to tell?

oh yeah, it's April fool's day, thought it seemed a bit daft. :-)

I talk to people the way I usually do, I'm quite chatty; however, I'm not programmed to 'exploit' encounters, and I don't suck up - I am quite honest and worry sometimes that I may come across as critical, or as an up-start, but some people also respond well to things I say that I think maybe a bit controversial.

For example, I went to a department to ask for some teaching work and they really messed me about, asking me to wait outside the door for ten minutes (which is fine) and then not seeing me after 40 minutes when I had things to do and people to see etc. They were quite abrupt about it, explaining I had to wait because i didn't have an appointment; so I let them know I originally agreed to wait for 10 minutes, and had to go - which I did.

I tend to follow up if there is a natural flow to the conversation that I would like to continue, or if someone asks me to. I doubt very much I will ever do some purposefully designed networking plan, I don't think I would be able to be convincing. I am one of those people who shows everything on their face...

Thank you for your perpsective inducing responses everyone!

I remember myself at the end of the first year at uni: totally clueless, while my head was spinning like a washer on its final cycle. And I was a mature student of 26 so lordy knows what its like inside the 19 year old heads of my 'orrible lot.

Yes I fear this stuff will only get worse, what with budget cuts and student demands.

Thank you Ady, I just went out for a walk as I was coming back I realised what I am feeling is frustration, so I completelyy relate to you repeating the word!

I really think shrinking budgets are not going to help this either, sometimes there is literally not time to spend with the students, and little to prepare. This is not good for the confidence though.


thanks again x

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======= Date Modified 26 Mar 2011 19:43:14 =======
Last week I got some feedback forms from my stroppy first years and I am not al all happy with the results - I totted up the average for the 'are you happy with this module' ticks and it came to 60%. Some of the negative comments included 'not enough time for individual tutorials', 'make the lectures interesting right from the start so the group don't chat etc as much', 'the lecturer wouldn't give me her email address' (I am told not to by my boss who prefers them to contact him), and 'sometimes the lecturer struggles to get her point across'. I also had some good stuff, but the fact that the score was 60% has really got to me - the average score for the final, official survey in the third year for our department is about 68% - not good, but better than my latest.

I teach 90 of them at once: no seminars and no individual tutorials and they are a tough, cheeky group - they have been hard work, even for first years. And the module is hard going to teach anyway because there are so many of them and I lecture nearly every week. Sometimes I really work hard for them to understand the information I am giving them, and don't rest until they do, and I just feel so bloomin' resentful of those efforts when they don't see that as a good thing. Maybe next time I should deliver easy, simple material so there is no struggle.

The worst of it is that one student who I have helped go from 38% for her first essay to 68% gave the lowest score and said she was disatisfied with feedback! She has been disruptive all year, interupting me and being rude during lectures. It just made me want to throw the towel in... although I am over that now and realise she is only one amongst hundreds of students that I teach.

There were some useful comments in the feedback, but how much store can we really put by what first years think of teaching, they are so often a mass of confused emotions - or perhaps I am just telling myself that so that I feel better??

Blllleeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhh I wish I could write this easily for my PhD - just 550 words today. Oh well, thanks for being there to hear my rant, and doubley thank you if you actually read it. X

p.s. I've only had 16 forms back so far so maybe the average will get better, my two most difficult students handed theirs in though.

'Timelady' is so close to Tealady! How about 'Timemistress'? They have to have a woman as the Dr. next, surely.

Wally! That's such wonderful news... we will see your name in lights yet.

At least your corrections are minor, even if they are daft.


And here's a congratulatory robin, because you too can now fly free.



8-)(up)8-)(up)8-)(up)8-)(up)8-)(up)8-)(up)8-)
(robin)

Hey Wally, thanks for me mention! And please stay... you would be sorely missed.

That's very similar to the approach I take Bug, it's mostly an intro thing, I think I have less 'I's though. It's a shame you're not writng about aliens and animals tho! Would be fun,,,

Sneaks: Maybe your sup is teetering on the brink of being converted to 'I' and is, thus, inconsistent - there seems to be something of a generally sea change on this issue?

Does seem odd to just throw a random 'I' in; you could ask her and then report back to us with her answer; it would be interesting to find out where she's at with this.

======= Date Modified 10 Mar 2011 21:04:32 =======
Hello fellow PhDers,


I never used 'I' in my academic writing until my supervisor insisted on it, but doing so makes perfect sense to me now; in fact, I think student essays that don't read awkwardly. I don't mean 'I think', rather 'I will explore the relevance of' instead of 'this thesis (or however it may be phrased) will explore the relevance of' - the latter seems wrong to me now mostly because a thesis is inanimate and cannot explore, hence it is a grammatically incorrect phrase.

One of my teaching departments insists on the students use 'I' too.

Do you use 'I' in your writing, if so in what context do you use it and what subject are you? And does anyone know why we shouldn't?

I am arts/humanities and am curious to find out what other disciplines expect or allow.

Thanks in advance,

Esk x

Hi Sneaks, I get really pleased with myself when I've just finished something and my sup is happy, but then re-read months later and think - oh noooowooo I wouldn't write it like that now, and feel as if it's an undergrad essay.