In today's Times Union there was a link to a new blog (ejournal :-) they are hosting for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On a completely different note, there is a great store in Albany, called Huck Finn's Warehouse. That is high praise coming from me because I am an anti-shopper. Anyway, last week, Bob went there and got new livingroom furniture. We'd been considering making an offer on a house that is for sale on our street. It is bigger than our house, in better condition, with a yard that is an acre. In the end we decided against taking on a big mortgage payment and depleting our savings account.

Instead we decided to consume in other household ways, replacement windows being the most significant improvement. Something less important but more fun, our upholstered stuff was very worn out (only partially due to the animals). We tried to donate the loveseat and recliner (the "dog chair" was way past the point of no return) but the woman at the Salvation Army acted insulted, and implied that bums expect to sit on better furniture when they watch their burning barrels in outside camps under the highway overpass. I'm not really exaggerating. So unfortunately it all wound up in the landfill.

Now that we have had the new pieces for a while, it dawned on us that we didn't need a different house, just new furniture! Anyway, Bob done good...



The colorful things in the background are dog toys. (Yeah, they do play with them all, but yeah, they do have too many.)

After reading about his remarks during a speech on social security, I wrote the following letter to Congressman Hinchey. (Yeah, despite what I wrote about not being a letter-writing nutjob, lately, I have been writing a lot, haven't I?)

Thank you, or your staff, for reading my letter. I believe in complete disclosure. The above address and phone number are mine, but it is a weekend house. I am actually registered to vote not in Ulster County, but in Castleton, Rensselaer County, where I spend weekdays. (I teach at the University at Albany, SUNY.) I grew up in your district, in West Shokan in the Town of Olive, and most of my family still lives and works there. I don't actually receive mail at 20 Jomar Lane, but since everyone knows who I am, the postmaster will deliver any letters I receive to my parents.

I have been considering changing my voter enrollment to Olivebridge, because I would very much like to vote in the school board and school budget election (due to the large parcel which is devastating to Olive). However, although fighting for Olive's resources is vital to me, I am not sure changing my enrollment would be ethical, so I probably won't. I read on the earlier screen that you do not respond to non-constituents, but I believe as a 22nd district native and Ulster County taxpayer, I am a constituent. What I mean is that I am not some nutjob who is broadcasting letters all over the place.

Recently your name has been in the national news because of some remarks you made in Ithaca about the CBS News/Dan Rather debacle. Maybe I am sensitive because of the way the media and other towns in the school district and County have been victimizing Olive over the large parcel issue, and then the way Kingston and Ulster have been portrayed on TV because of the recent mall shooting, but I feel embarrassed for you, and for the 22nd district.

You are missing the point entirely, that a respectable network like CBS, the news division, one of America's most venerable programs, 60 Minutes, and Dan Rather did such shoddy research. 60 Minutes has always been one of my father's favorite programs, and we watched it since its inception in the 1970s. I hardly ever missed an episode until September, when they imploded.

If, as you suggest, they were fooled by someone (and to be honest the fakes were not very convincing to anyone who has ever used a computer or a typewriter) it shows incredibly poor powers of discernment for what is supposed to be an organization that prides itself on research. How could they be so gullible? Or did they want to believe the memos, and didn't care if they were faked? What else have they reported over the years that was based on faulty evidence, either because they were naive, or unethical? If your suspicion is incorrect, and they manufactured the memos internally the story is even more chilling.

Mr. Hinchey, I wrote above that I am not a nutjob broadcasting letters; I am not. I am concerned primarily with local issues that concern Olivebridge, the Ashokan Reservoir, Ulster County, Castleton, and Albany. My family is a mixture of Democrats and Republicans, and I am an independent. We don't argue politics that much (OK, my grandmother did, she worshipped FDR and was straight-ticket) but we all vote. In Olive, we all get along pretty well, and take pride in the endeavors of everyone in our community; in some ways that may be another legacy of the reservoir.

Whether I agreed or disagreed with you on an issue, over the years I have thought you are a bright person, admired your career through the Assembly to Congress, felt proud of your Saugerties roots, and believed you to be a worthy representative of my beloved hometown.

But right now I am feeling like you have taken leave of your senses. Having our Congressman make irresponsible and paranoid allegations of conspiracy theories does nothing to highlight our region in a positive way. Yes, some among the fringe elements may applaud you (in my mind's eye I see WDST, the Woodstock Times, and Alan Chartock giving you high fives), but I assure you, the plain folks I know will just shake their heads and think you are not the sharpest tool in the shed. Maybe you need a vacation? Why not go spend some time back in the beautiful Catskill Mountains and take pleasure in the beauty of nature. That grounds me when I am uptight. I call this the little picture focus, that is really the big picture. (Washington D.C. surely isn't.) It might bring you back to reality.

What a one-sided article. No doubt about this supervisor's agenda (theft of the resources of a neighboring town). What's amazing to me is that he labels others - in this case, those who disagree with his perspective - "ignorant." Does he have any clue that his inflammatory and insulting words will serve only to make folks in Olive fight harder?

I wish Olive would investigate every avenue for breaking away from the district, then wave bye-bye and take the Reservoir resources, not just because those resources should stay in Olive, but because educational research literature supports smaller schools, not big districts. Consolidation is an idea from the mid-20th Century, it is not modern, it is not efficient, and it does not produce quality.

But until that happens, it is true that the upcoming school board election is very important...for Olive. Four seats are up? Replace every large parcel supporter with someone pro-Olive. The school board / school budget election is one of the few opportunities to have an impact. Do not for a moment believe the company line that the current board spouts. They are trying to paint large parcel opponents as anti-education; that is a typical diversionary tactic. I have devoted my life to public education. The memory of the Board president's patronizing attitude at the public hearings on the large parcel subject is seared in my memory.

Two opinion columns, here and here, that overlook as much of the absurd Churchill story as the Chronicle. Which, by the way finally noticed the rest of the story today (unfortunately it is a subscription site, but the headline hits the nail on the head).

The Times Union notices the Catskill Animal Sanctuary.

The Freeman is all over the shooting yesterday at the Hudson Valley Mall.

And the Chronicle of Higher Education (it's a subscription site) notices the Ward Churchill thing. They focus almost exclusively on the free speech, academic freedom angle, and pretty much overlook any discussion of his questionable (understatement) academic activities; that's a bit strange, since the Chronicle is usually so...comprehensive.

Ugh. I am sick. I have a head cold, and as always, it is really irritating my sinuses. I must have picked it up on campus, my classes were half empty, and everyone else was not feeling well on Tuesday.

But, unlike my usual miserable self whenever I am ill (I am a horrible patient), today I am very happy. I wrote last month that Rudy had been a little sick. After a week of panic, we had good news yesterday, he has prostatitis (an infection in his prostate), which is the least serious thing he could have.

He had blood in his urine since early January. The first two weeks of antibiotics didn't work, so he was given another two weeks of Clavamoxx and an x-ray. The vet didn't see anything in the x-ray, and although the second round of antibiotics seemed to be working, the vet was uncomfortable. So Rudy had to have an ultrasound yesterday. That meant he would have to be sedated. Due to his age he had to go in for blood tests.

They were looking for kidney stones, prostate cancer (because a simple prostate infection is rare in neutered dogs), or urinary tract cancer (which is pretty rare in dogs). The prognosis for prostate cancer is poor, 4 months is considered a long time to live. Anyway, $750 dollars later, it turns out that although he is neutered - he does just have an infection in his prostate, all his organs are cancer free and he has no stones either.

So they switched his antibiotics to Baytril, which is better for the prostate, and he should be fine. Also, they didn't wind up knocking him out. I'm not sure if they muzzled him, but they said he was good. He had to lay on his back the whole time and have his belly shaved. We could tell he was mad at us last night. But, what a relief!

Something I would like to have added to my comment in the Freeman (but didn't, because I didn't want to be petty):

Q: What is one thing Olive has that Woodstock doesn't?

A: A supermarket rather than a CVS.

Ha ha ha...

Print that in the Woodstock Times and a flame war is sure to ensue.

Here is the Freeman's story about the large parcel protest. I just had to comment!

Another thought about the Thursday Threesome question on life after death. I am so interested in the past, I feel connected to it. It isn't just an abstract interest in history, as an academic subject (although that is another important part of the connection). Loving antique furniture, volunteering at two museums, doing genealogical research and memoir writing, serving on a cemetery board and living in an old house near another cemetery...these are all a part of my connection.

Once I wrote that genealogy research isn't just about names and dates on a dusty old page, it's more personal. It starts with seeing a baby's name in an old census, and following that name as it ages, through the decades; then it's locating a tintype of that person, all dressed up in Sunday best; next, it's finding a newspaper clipping in a scrapbook, announcing the marriage with great fanfare and exotic descriptions; then seeing the house, where the couple lived; and finally one day it's standing near a gravestone, displaying the name and dates. The person, who lived 150 years ago, is not some distant figure from the past. That experience spoke to me.

This virtual museum from some time ago is about The Battle of Saratoga. Standing in that battlefield is an other-worldy experience, very powerful. This was another experience that spoke to me.

Both times it spoke about life after death.

More on the large parcel, from the Freeman. This makes my blood boil. On one thing I agree with Wilber, it is a black & white issue, but that is where my agreement stops. The coming of the reservoir in 1904 was theft of Olive's resources by NYC, and the 2004 large parcel is theft of Olive resources by the other towns in the school district and county.

As far as taking the school board out of the decision making process, I don't agree with Leifeld (no surprise there) [more another time]. If the large parcel is going to stay on the books - then I say, keep the board in the hot seat. The school budget and the school board elections are just about the only place where Olive residents can have an impact.

There is a rally on this issue today, at the county legislature. I can't go, of course, but I am there in spirit. We may win, or we may not - but if it is the latter, we are going to go down fighting.

Trying this again, since I am home on a Thursday for a change.

The Thursday Threesome

Nothing is certain but death and taxes --Benjamin Franklin

Onesome: Nothing is certain- Have you ever thought you had a "Sure Thing?" Did it pay off or not?

I'm not sure what this means exactly. So I guess the answers are no, and n/a?

Twosome: But death- Do you believe in life after death?

Not that I don't have occasional hopeless doubts, but yes, I really do, for one logical reason (because what is the point otherwise?) and for a host of other reasons (among them, feelings, dreams, miracles, prayers, signs).

Threesome: and taxes- Have you got all your tax documents squared away and ready to work on? Or are you one of the people at the post office on April 15th?

Well - my documents are all squared away (I am still waiting for one 1099, this reminds me to follow up) and in good order, but I generally do wait until the deadline, or close to it. Maybe this year I won't procrastinate. Now there's a thought!

On and off, the last post I make does not appear on my journal. I have tried all the suggested things listed on help, but they have no impact. One thing that sometimes works, but isn't mentioned is clicking through the archives and then back to "current." But, that isn't working at the moment. So I am making this post simply to see if it appears.

Today's papers report on another disgusting case of animal abuse, involving horses. Amazing how differently it is presented in the Albany Times Union, v. the Kingston Daily Freeman. Maybe reporters in Albany are less sensitive to the subject (and more influenced by the scum attorney's rhetoric), or it could be that since the Catskill Animal Sanctuary is in Ulster County, the local view is more sympathetic to the animals. How can this horrible woman be allowed to keep 40 other horses? It is outrageous.

My second letter about the Large Parcel is in the Olive Press.

My letter about plagiarism is in the print edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education today. Smaller newspapers never cut my letters, but when I have written to a more prestigious publication, they usually do. So, it has been cropped (sentences are omitted, though no words are changed). I think my original was better, but the shorter one is OK, too.

It is online, but it is a subscription site. Here is the letter, at it appears in the print and online editions:

I have failed nine students for plagiarism in the past five years. ... It is an upsetting experience, one I try very hard to avoid -- but once the line is crossed by the student, the action I must take is very clear to me.

I spend time every semester explaining to students what plagiarism is, that I am good at detecting cheating, and that I will pursue a severe penalty in all instances I find. ...

Those of us who are horrified by academic dishonesty have no choice but to stand up for what is right, no matter the professional risks (frankly, the personal ones involving angry students scare me more, but that is one reason we have campus-safety officers). When I caught the first student cheating, I thought maybe if a teacher had outed the various leaders now involved in business scandals when they were still students, they would have learned something important. ... As a colleague said to me at that time, "sometimes the most valuable lessons learned in school are not actually part of the curriculum."

Here is my original:

I have failed (in the course) nine students for plagiarism in the past five years, and referred six of the cases to the university level, where five were eventually suspended from the university. It is an upsetting experience, one I try very hard to avoid, but once the line is crossed by the student, the action I must take is very clear to me. I spend time every semester explaining to students what plagiarism is, that I am good at detecting cheating, and that I will pursue a severe penalty in all instances I find. I believe the university to be supportive, but I also think that while some faculty members take it seriously, many others decide to avoid the hassle and issue a minor (or no) penalty. It isn't necessarily condoning it (in some cases it may be), but instead, avoidance.

If cheating and plagiarism are as rampant among students as I suspect, and if what another poster wrote is true (that lots of ethically-challenged undergraduates go undetected or move through degree programs without being penalized, then go on to be faculty members and published authors), it is a sad situation indeed.

Those of us who are horrified by academic dishonesty have no choice but to stand up for what is right, no matter the professional risks (frankly, the personal ones involving angry students scare me more, but then, that is one reason we have campus safety officers). When I caught the first student cheating, I thought, maybe if a teacher had "outed" the various leaders who were involved in business scandals when they were still students (and probably just beginning the path of wrongdoing), they would have learned something important and avoided future pain all around. As a colleague said to me at that time, "sometimes the most valuable lessons learned in school are not actually part of the course curriculum."

It's about 10 degrees and that actually feels - OK. Tonight it is supposed to be the coldest night ever? Since temperatures have been recorded? In my lifetime? In the past decade? So far this winter? Beats me, but I did hear some claim of that type on the television weather report.

I'm not sure what is up with students. You always hear from (most) older people that the younger generations are declining, in various ways. (I wrote most because Mimmie never said that to me, in fact she commented that young people really had not changed much in her opinion.) So I am not sure if Mimmie was right, and I am not remembering what my friends were like when I was an undergraduate, or if it is that I know people who are more self-reliant and motivated than the norm or what, because all of my favorite young people fit that description (and get snapped up for jobs right away after graduation).

This week, a bunch of students proudly shouted to me in class that they didn't do the reading, and it is my fault because (1) it isn't on the syllabus (it is); (2) I didn't announce in class that they had to read the article (I definitely did, but regardless, why should I have to do this?); and (3) the copy place screwed up and is selling the wrong course pack (I checked, and this is not true either).

I did something I rarely do, which is lose it. I yelled (yes, yelled, it is a 100 person lecture hall) as many nasty and threatening things as I could think up. Many looked scared, but some seemed impervious. Now, I don't usually do something like that, no matter how hard I am pushed. I avoid the necessity. Instead I do very structured exercises, with specific guidelines, where reporting out is part of the assignment. I rarely expect students to individually respond to questions I throw out, unless they are things that don't require much familiarity with the materials. I know from experience that most will say nothing. Often even students who do the reading are nervous about speaking, especially in the lecture centers. If the class does not cooperate, I fall back on chalk & talk, and go back to the drawing board for the next class. I generally have good results with this approach.

I rarely ask students if they did the reading when they don't raise their hands to participate, but I have found the GAs almost always fall back on this when they are confronted with a silent audience. The personal humiliation style of teaching is so common, and familiar, and I think that is the first thing in the GA's tool box.

However, I had to react in a very strong fashion. One of the undergraduate TAs decided to advocate for the complainers, right during class. This is a big no-no. I felt like slapping her. Since this is one of the GA-taught classes, I don't go to it every time it meets. I took the opporunity to make an impression so that the students don't disrespect the two new GAs when I am not around.

I don't meddle with the GA's experiments when in the classroom, since that would undermine their authority. I do make suggestions privately. But this week one of the GAs asked the fatal question to the blank stares, which sparked the student protests. And I couldn't risk letting that insubordination go unchecked.

Bob said he heard, or read somewhere about this latest crop having "helicopter parents." They are always hovering around, getting involved, fighting battles for their young adult kids. The college students whose families fit this description behave toward me as if I was in the parental role. In other words, when Dad said "be home by 11" and they sauntered in at 1 am, they whined "you didn't remind me" or "I tried calling but it was busy" or the old favorites "it isn't fair" and "it wasn't my fault." (I hear both a lot. "I know I missed some classes but it isn't fair I got a C since I tried hard" or "It isn't my fault I didn't hand in the assignment since I was on vacation.") Dad grumbled but immediately overlooked the infraction and did nothing. Or maybe Dad was absentee and didn't enforce rules ever.

If that is the case, I suspect yelling may not be very effective. The GAs will have to acquire a new tool -- learning how to "deliver content" that meets with student satisfaction, since letting the class out early every week is not an option. Kind of like the way the cafeterias have to cater to student demand for Starbucks, fast food and Coke or Pepsi. We had milk machines, dried out macaroni and cheese, and generic crap in vending rooms. The question of fairness wasn't part of the calculation.

And besides, we had to walk ten miles in the snow to get to those vending rooms.

So often I read something in the newspaper that annoys me. After I encountered this article this morning, I did a little surfing. I wanted to know if the paper was misrepresenting the situation. After watching the PBS series on Auschwitz that has been on the past couple of weeks, I had to know if this guy was really saying such things, and if so, why any college would invite him to speak. Not that I am opposed to alternative views, or free speech, or have no sympathy for indigenous peoples, but I was curious just the same.

Well, I think I have read enough. My reactions:

1. This dude has tenure and I am an adjunct? That fact alone says it all. But then he is mineral water, and I am a mud puddle.

2. There is something just a little odd about someone of privilege being so hysterical about injustice.

3. Good to read that he knows the truth, since the rest of us are brain dead (no joke, he actually does assert this, in a different, though equally offensive way).

4. Speaking the truth and all, I wonder if he has ever heard of anti-Semitism? (But of course not, he is in denial. As in Holocaust denial.)

5. He better be sure his smoke detector is in good order, and he probably should sleep with a fire extinguisher for good measure. Because in the event of fire, he wouldn't want to have to depend on a firefighter. I mean, he enlightened me that they were intent solely on protecting capitalism, racism, oppression and other ugly things when they ran up the stairs of the World Trade Center to their deaths.

6. His college alma mater is misspelled on his faculty web page. (It also doesn't exist any more, technically - but that is another whole opera. Probably one he did a lot of bitching about, before comparing 9/11 victims to Nazis became his 15 minutes of fame, and meal ticket.)

7. For a beacon of the truth, he watches an awful lot of TV.

8. If I was at his speech, I would ask, "Does being an American police dog make Sirius automatically guilty too?" Then I would give him the finger.

Blogger is acting funky. My archives are not appearing. I am making this post to see if creating something new helps. (I remember this is the frustration when journaling frequently, there are so many irritating bugs.)

I finished Surfacing a few days ago, a Margaret Atwood book I bought shortly before Christmas. It was her second book, written in 1972. The writing is great, as ever, a page turner, but I didn't care for the story as much as her later work that I have read (for instance the Robber Bride, Handmaid's Tale or Oryx and Crake). Could be that I didn't identify with the characters as much (too young?) or could be that she is a much better writer now. I have a book of short stories by her that I think I will tackle next.

Winter has really taken ahold!

The Olive Press has an editorial today that infuriated me. So I sent them the following letter to the editor:

To the Editor:
Your January 20 editorial so irritated me, that it is difficult for me to excerpt only a few sentences for comment, but here goes:

So let’s start with school taxes, and from the position that with respect to the large parcel bill, nobody’s got a corner on truth, justice, and the American way here. Olive has solid arguments about its unique situation and the historical price it’s paid for the reservoir that the other towns haven’t. However. It is fundamentally unreasonable that similar properties in adjacent towns pay wildly different taxes to support the same school system.

As I recall (and it can only be based on memory, as your online archives are all linked to the November 11, 2004 edition), in 2003 before the Onteora school board voted to hold off and wait a year then eventually adopt the large parcel, an Olive Press editorial expressed essentially the same sentiment, except perhaps the part about Olive having solid arguments. (I guess the reaction from Olive residents did influence your editorial position, if only just a little.) But I remember my irritation at that time at reading in one of your editorials that folks in Olive knew that paying lower taxes than the other towns in the district was unfair and inequitable, and probably should end.

I don't know your background, or who those friends of yours are, but my friends and family believe no such thing. Those of us privileged enough to be Olive natives, with roots that go back for generations, understand that the "historical price" you mention certainly does give us "a corner on truth, justice and the American way" on this particular issue. I write this not to insult town residents who were born elsewhere, and moved here later. It has been my experience that some who find their way to our town take a first look at the grave site (also known as the Ashokan Reservoir) and it speaks to them, too. They completely understand what you describe as our "unique situation." Sadly, there are others who cannot feel it, and they are clueless. It saddens me that one of the clueless is penning the editorials for the purportedly local newspaper.

That won’t fly in reasoned discussion in Olive, to say nothing of outside Olive. Unfortunately there is no way to compensate for what happened to our native civilizations, nor has anyone thought up, so far, just compensation for the armed robbery of most of the Town of Olive by New York City in the early 20th century. It’s done. The best we can hope for is fair tax remuneration from them.

Reasoned discussion? According to whom? I believe "outside Olive" are the two most telling words in this stunning quote from the "Olive Press." Maybe in the interest of really representing the town whose name you plaster across your publication, you should seek occasional input from some folks who are actually "inside Olive."

Gina Giuliano, PhD
Castleton & Samsonville, NY

Still freezing. I think it got up to the teens yesterday and that felt like a heat wave.

First week of the semester comes and goes. Wednesday was so hectic, I had to ask students who wanted to meet with me to tag along as I ran all my errands on campus, reserves to the library, grade changes to the Registrar, picking up lunch. I was exhausted Wednesday night, I wondered how I do it. But I know I will settle into the routine soon enough. After a month at home with animals for colleagues (even when they are barking they are calmer than people), plunging into the first day of the semester is a recipe for agoraphobia.

In today's Times Union, another local blog is mentioned.

This was a productive weekend. Cold, too, and snowy. I am back on campus on Wednesday, and I guess I am ready. I have been doing some thinking about journals. Not necessarily electronic ones, any kind of journal. Twice in my educational career I had teachers who assigned a journal. The first was in high school English class. The second was in my doctoral program in education. Those experiences made me an advocate for assigning a journal, and it is part of my classes every semester.

Most of the journals I receive are perfectly acceptable, if not inspired, exercises, some are kind of run-of-the-mill, mundane but OK, of course a few are pitiful, not serious efforts, but every so often, there is a student in class who really runs with the journal assignment, and hands in something heartfelt, that borders on creative writing.

I comment on the first half of the journals, and then return them, collecting them again at the end of the semester. A handful of students get them back after the class is over. Most do not care once the final course grade has been posted. I save them for a semester, then tear out the used pages and use the notebooks and binders myself. (I will never have to buy a spiral bound notebook again.)

Last semester there was a student who handed in a journal that was not only inspired - it revealed a lot of personal information (most of the creative ones do, but in this case, it was even more than usual). I soaked up the entries, and made positive comments, and looked forward to the second half of the semester's resubmission.

The second half was even more intensely personal. Some of the information shared was alarming. Not to the extreme of violence or suicide or anything, but the student had developed what seemed to me to be an unhealthy obsession with weight and diet. This student was in one of my on campus classes, and in my opinion, did not need to lose a pound. Given the other personal things she wrote, becoming anorexic was not out of the question.

She isn't one of the students who asked for her journal back, so additional comments would be pointless. The class is over now, the grades submitted. Whenever a situation such as this arises, I always wonder about my responsibility. College students are adults, even if at 20 they can be as vulnerable as kids. It's tempting to try to share some of what is learned from aging, not in an academic discipline, but in life. On the other hand, was is the proper role for a professor? Where should the line be drawn between helping, and it being none of your beeswax? Finally, with 250 students per semester, where can the line be drawn, realistically?

I suppose one can only hope that the exercise of journaling itself proves to be the gift, the healing.

Here are some gorgeous photographs of the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

I made a new tee shirt logo.



Oh, ejournals (what everyone else insists on calling blogs) were mentioned in today's TU. The local site focused on is here.

Horse theft may conjure images of the Wild West, but it is still a serious problem today, as you can see at Netposse.

My mother loves horses. I don't mean that in a passing way, not the way all adolescent girls like horses, or the way many people say they love horses, because they enjoy horse racing and saw or read Seabiscuit. I mean she really loves horses. She currently has seven, one morgan and six miniatures.

Several years ago she bred the miniatures, but she was never able to sell any. She's very fussy about the care they receive, truly an equestrian lover. The barn was bursting at the seams (and it is a lot of work), a woman she thought was a fellow horse lover was interested, so she lent two of her minis to this woman, with the understanding that the woman would return them if she could no longer keep them. Instead, this woman (allegedly) lent them to a man who said he would train them to pull a cart. He then took them to the auction, where they were sold together to a man in Massachusetts. They were again sold to a man in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My mother has been searching for these two minis for a year, and that's the latest information she has located of their whereabouts.

Here are the two beauties:



Fine 'n' Dandy Dixie Rose - 12 year old dark grey or brownish miniature mare. 32 inches tall

Fine 'n' Dandy Ginger Snap - 12 year old Palomino miniature mare, 34 inches tall



Both mares are AMHA registered in my mother's name. Law enforcement has not been much help. (The DA mentioned in this article wasn't interested. Regardless of his claims to the Freeman, I doubt he takes animal abuse cases seriously.) She is determined to locate her horses, and save them if that's what they need. Please keep watch for Dixie and Ginger and the other stolen and missing horses at Netposse.

From the TU, wow. My message to King: I knew better than to request a sabbatical when I wanted to finish my dissertation. I didn't need a memo to know it would be turned down. And I had worked there 9 years (not 12 days past being eligible) and had tenure. And I didn't earn a quarter of what he does. And I really did plan to do something academic. But I knew better. I resigned, and moved on. How clueless is the Chancellor if he didn't know that too? Then again, maybe it is simple greed that rendered him clueless. (To think I once joked [yes, it was only a joke] that I aspired to such a position.)

I thought I would give another meme a try (via Sya).

The Thursday Threesome

The Phantom of the Opera

Onesome: The Phantom--Pick one (or more!): Hey, have you seen it yet? Are you going to go see it? Have you seen it on stage? Read the book? What Phantom?

I haven't seen the movie, I will probably add it to Netflix when it comes out on DVD. I have never read the book. I saw the show on Broadway, in 1994. It was fantastic! It is a funny memory...from my days in math assessment. I traveled on the train to Long Island to make a presentation at a math conference at SUNY Old Westbury. The director of the similar Ohio program was presenting too. It was his birthday, and after the presentation, we ate lunch at a very ritzy restaurant on the way to JFK airport to drop off one of his staff members. I thought he was at least 35 years old - but he told me he was 28, five years younger than I was at that time.

We went to NYC and met Bob and the Ohio guy's wife, and then we went out to dinner at a Spanish restaurant. I then discovered why he looked years older than his age...he did not eat vegetables. Even the verde sauce on his steak was alien! We wrapped the night up at Phantom, and stayed in a nearby hotel - can't remember the name. Plush, but typical Manhattan teeny rooms. Then we took Amtrak to Albany, and Mr. non-vegan & wife returned to Ohio. He was a super nice guy. He left that job several years ago for greener pastures, but that program remains vital and survives (unlike "mine").

Twosome: of the--Of the sights and sounds and smells of Spring what are you waiting for the most? ...and what is the first sign in your area that Spring is on its way?

I'm not really thinking of the upcoming Spring yet, it is only January! True, today was incredibly warm - in the 50s - but tomorrow it is going to plummet, and this weekend it is supposed to be zero at night. There is quite a bit of snow on the ground, even after the warm day. Winter suits me just fine; in fact, I love all of the four seasons, glory in the different aspects of each. That they are fleeting makes them all the better. As far as my favorite sign of Spring in general, I guess it is the lilac bush in my backyard, even though that comes fairly late in the Spring. The first sign that Spring is on the way in this area? I think it is when the forsythia bushes bloom.

Threesome: Opera--Theatre? Stage? Local shows? Do you get a chance to visit any of these venues? Any recommendations on current items?

Not opera, but I often go to see live performances. There are all sorts of wonderful arts events worth checking out. In terms of theatre, I have seen many performances by high school and college students, local Capital District productions, traveling companies, off-Broadway, and a few Broadway shows. Most recently, I saw actors from the Park Playhouse sing show tunes at First Night. I currently have season's tickets for the University at Albany's college theatre; sometimes I go to Capital Repertory, or Proctor's. The last play I saw at UA was Tartuffe, in November; the last play I saw at Capital Rep was Dr. Faustus, last year; the last play at Proctor's was Rent, a couple of years ago.

We're having the first truly snowy week of the '04-'05 winter. Rudy, as always, is delighted. He was a little sick on Thursday, and had to go to the vet during the storm that day. It was one time I didn't mind the cost of having the truck. Also this week, Bob turned 45. We had a party for him at Jillian's, a big place in Albany with a game room in the basement.

I am not a fan of meetings. In my former life, as an administrator, meetings were a staple. They took two different forms; the first were staff meetings. These were small, mostly consisting of colleagues in the department. They could be useful (not usually) or a waste of time (meaning just boring, although occasionally tense and even, at rare times, a little exciting).

The second type of meeting is known as the conference. This type generally involves travel, and includes lunch, which is often the only perk, but can be a decent one. Long conferences involve other social time (with a cash bar, public funds are well spent on plane tickets and taxi rides but not on booze), and of course dinner, which is never any good and the price is too high - sitting through a keynote speaker.

I've used this description enough in the years of my freedom (by this I mean I now don't have to attend conferences) that it is almost tired - but it still remains apt. Five years ago I vowed never again to sit through another spring mix with raspberry vinaigrette and pasty chicken a la Marriot accompanied by a presentation on the styles of learning or transition to college or the nuances of Regents' standards or online learning transforming the galaxy or the sensuality of math. Sorry folks, cell phones ringing ain't a learning style, freshman will always party too much, even Commissioner Mills couldn't explain those nuances, transformation is no match for the academic galaxy, and math is not sexy.

Anyway, now that I am adjunct, forget conferences, I don't even have to go to department meetings. I get invited about once per semester, always to the last one, which includes a free lunch, and a minor speech that consists mostly of "thanks." Anyway, when food is involved, my price is fairly low. And, I usually feel pretty charitable at the semester's end, and this being the fall semester, festive over the holidays besides.

So, I went. The chair invited me to share on two subjects, (1) upcoming spring enrollment and (2) the program I took on last spring. So, (1) resulted in lots of faculty praise, especially from the not-yet-tenured; (2) resulted in me giving a brief history, interrupted when I got to the part about the graduate assistants who work on the two undergraduate courses with the question: "where do they come from?" followed by my explanation...and then a long tirade (not really related to my answer) from this German (not German-American) recently tenured faculty member about how indefensible, low quality and just generally awful the courses are. It was probably not intended as personal criticism for my efforts, but due to his less than warm and fuzzy demeanor (OK, that's an understatement, it was downright offensive, and if I was a man it almost would've warranted a punch...make that if I was a man without a PhD) it sure did seem like it...and it resulted in my feeling that I was on the defensive, even if I am an unwilling, and so weak, defender. My situation was not helped by the fact that I was in day two of a head cold, and I am an awful patient.

Of course his outburst sparked much discomfort at the table: the chair was nervous and embarrassed; the young faculty members sat frozen, staring at me with sympathetic eyes; one or two others were doodling in notepads, perhaps bored, or anyway they seemed not to be paying much attention; another parolee from my former place of employment and the retired former superintendent of schools turned faculty member were visibly irritated. The stage had been set; a discussion followed about the awful courses, and the concerns of the faculty. A few questions were directed at me, which I clumsily answered. That was the only time I had any chance to get to what I had intended to be the bulk of my remarks, about the good things in the courses, and the changes I have made since assuming this disaster (um, challenge). Sadly, I don't think I did a good job of explaining any of that.

Suddenly, my former dissertation chair came awake - up until this point, he had been among the bored, though not doodling - and said, in that testy way he sometimes exhibits, "I motion that we make a resolution [or some such word] to recommend to the Dean that she create a committee to investigate the program and these courses" and then the German guy snapped "I second."

I was floored, and the reaction at the table was electric. In administration, such outbursts are less common, unless the audience is tiny. Years ago, I saw a program on PBS during a fund drive. It was by a funny motivational speaker named Loretta LaRouche. She was describing uptight people; she said they have to hold a quarter in their butts at all times, so this is why they are so stiff and cannot express genuine emotion. That seems like a good description of what happens at administrator meetings. It isn't OK to get mad, or laugh too much, or be openly sad, or uninhibited, but my guess is that irrational behavior is the normal atmosphere of faculty meetings - though I don't know really. It is a new role for me, and this is only about the fifth time I have attended. But judging from the "literature," college faculty behave this way. (I am remembering, years ago I made a presentation at a high school meeting, where the reaction was similar. A few sentences into my remarks, a wild-haired guy jumped up and yelled, "I object to having to attend this meeting" and after several minutes of various people shouting, over half the attendees stormed out. Maybe it's me?)

I knew I had to do something, or lose it. I leaned forward and summoned as much assertiveness as I am able, without slipping into rage mode, and said "you can do whatever you want, but it wasn't my intention to spark the department to take some action on this - I was just sharing information - but I report to the Dean's office on this, and I feel I have to brief the associate dean on what happens here. I do not want to create the impression that I came to this meeting to complain about problems in the courses that somehow caused you to make this recommendation."

The desired result was better than I expected. A professor who is shared with another department said, "does anyone want to object to the motion?" and the fellow parolee said, yes, he did, followed by the former super. My former dissertation chair withdrew the motion, and instead they decided that the department chair would (reluctantly on his part, I think, though he was mostly taking notes and not saying a lot) recommend it for the agenda of a chair's meeting instead.

At this point, I had changed into my alter ego, from professional circumspect best to irreverent, borderline sarcastic. That was probably ill-advised, but it is my biggest reason for liking being a nearly invisible adjunct - unlike all others present, I am free, I do not play the game, I already cashed in, and I don't have to sit through these meetings once a month.

Afterwards, the German guy made a point of walking with me to the luncheon. I thought maybe - fantastically - unbelievably - he was going to apologize, though, being married to a watered-down 3/4 German-American I should have known that was wishful thinking. He was pleasant enough, in his cold way. I figured maybe he was going to at least bring it up in some way. But, he did not. Instead he peppered me with things about my other class. Later I realized it was under the ruse of being interested in online classes, but I suspect his real interest is somehow calling into question my competence.

At the luncheon, I sat with the other parolee, two new faculty members, the secretary who runs the department, and a professor who has now retired. Strangely, the retiree immediately asked me about the program I took over, and I responded, briefly, but much more in the way I had hoped to in the departmental meeting. The conversation centered around the campus presidential search, latkas (they were on the menu), the retiree's upcoming trip to somewhere exotic, one of the youngster's law student boyfriend, and the secretary's athletically amazing daughter (now a high school senior and college-bound soccer champ). But there was a bit of palpable tension surrounding me.

I left to go sew up one of the low quality, indefensible, just plain awful classes - it was about to be over for the semester, and on the way I resolved to blow both the meeting and the luncheon off at the end of next semester.

The latest on the Home Depot bird poisoning outrage. Oh, and surprise, surprise - they did not answer my letter on the subject.

Speaking of answering letters...I received only four responses to my letter about another outrage, although of a very different sort - the Large Parcel. That would be two emails: one from the sole "no voting" school board member, one from a "no voting" county legislator, one very brief paper letter from a state senator, and a phone call from a state agency (referred by the governor's office).

Grades are all - finally! - submitted. I even responded to the 50 angry emails.

Yes, the students missed the deadline. I had the grades for one class on Thursday - for the other yesterday (I was told they were ready last Monday, but no one bothered to email me the files, and I had to go to campus and retrieve them from a computer) but I took off Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then I needed some time to check them over.

By the way, my Christmas was great!

Well, I entered the grades for five classes in the online system. I would be officially done for the fall semester, except that two of the graduate assistants, each one for a different class, have not sent me spreadsheets with their evaluations. The deadline is 12 noon, although I can still enter the grades in the system later than that, but I have to call the registrar for them to be posted. Since both of the GAs are now teaching school during the day, and it is pretty clear that is the priority and the obligation to me is not, I am not optimistic that I will get anything until this evening. I am not prone to panic, but I am pretty irritated. I want to be finished and enjoy the holiday too! I hope I get something from them before the grades become accessible to students, and I am the recipient of 50 angry email messages.

Some brighter news, I received an email that a post I wrote about plagiarism may be printed in the letters section of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

I didn't mean to let so long slip by between posts. My cold is better. My discomfort over my last day of the semester on campus has faded. I may get a short story out of that episode. I am beginning to see daylight on end of semester grading; it is a good thing, because they are due at noon on Wednesday! (And rest assured I will be done at exactly 11:59.)

I had many things to write about, but was focused on evaluating students, and arranging enough space in the house so we could get a Christmas tree, which we did, on Sunday. A beautiful fresh cut Scotch pine. I tipped the two cute little boy scouts $1 each for their handiwork, and they skipped off, shouting, "we got a tip! We got a tip!"

It snowed a bit yesterday. Rudy is, as always, thrilled, that nine-year-old puppy of mine. Sophie and Edna are considerably less thrilled; the former because she has no hair! And the latter because cats hate getting wet. Now it's cold, cold, cold here.

One story I wanted to comment on that I heard on the news several days ago was that one of the local Home Depot stores hired Orkin to put out poisoned bird seed to kill the many birds that are always flying around those stores because some customer complained. I love those birds! They are the only good thing about Home Depot, they sure beat dodging forklifts.

Why do people hate birds? Case in point: the most obnoxious, stuck-up, conceited, plastic, shallow, fake girl in my high school class listed "birds" in the yearbook as something she hated. Why do I clearly remember this 25 years later? Because it happens to be one of the captions they chose to re-print on the program of the reunion last summer. And, in the three times I saw her since high school (10th reunion, 20th, 25th), she has only increased in being obnoxious, stuck-up, conceited, plastic, shallow, and fake. If she hates birds, then logic dictates that I must love them.

Next example. Every year, there are newspaper articles about some obnoxious, stuck-up, conceited, plastic, shallow, fake town, neighborhood or facility (like the race track or a golf course) with interviews of people who are complaining about crows, Canada geese or pigeons. Why can't people leave the birds alone? A murder (isn't that a delightfully descriptive word) of crows often flies around and perches in the trees in Castleton. The racket is reminiscent of the Hitchcock movie! I am fascinated when they arrive, and I rush outside to see (and hear) them. Canada geese are a common sight in Samsonville; sometimes in the spring they have adorable goslings trailing behind. How carefully the parents watch them! And I have always appreciated the pigeons in Albany, those scavenging city birds so many people think are disgusting. I wonder as I watch them, how would they like to be transplanted to Samsonville? But they wouldn't much care for it, I'm sure, as there are no McDonald's french fries to score. In Samsonville, our nuisance bird is probably the barn swallow. They build nests everywhere, and have batches of five or six that do make a mess. But still I love them, feel joy at watching those hungry little beaks, keeping the parents so busy.

About the awful Home Depot report. This isn't an isolated incident. My first wish: May a bird crap on that customer's head, repeatedly, every time he or she goes outside. My second wish: A massive boycott of Home Depot. There are so many reasons to do this, but the bird atrocity is the best yet. May the whole chain burn slowly in big box he-l.

Ugh.

I have a cold (picked up either from Bob [who came down with one last week] or at Cherry Hill, where I volunteered on Sunday. There were 189 visitors!).

I also had a very unpleasant day yesterday...professionally, although not student-wise.

It turns out that the student from the latest plagiarism case has a serious genetic disorder. However, she is not registered with Disability Services, apparently because she does not want to be labeled. I have a feeling that the student has had her symptoms managed in a medical way, but perhaps not received psychological counseling or academic assistance prior to this.

After reviewing her work, the judicial affairs rep (a great guy, btw) asked her how she has managed to get to her senior year, and write acceptable papers for her history courses [her major], and she reported that she has not had to do very much writing before this!

After meeting the student and consulting with her parents, the judicial affairs guy does not believe she intentionally plagiarized, although he said it clearly is a plagiarism case, and that if I decided to have the university pursue it, she most likely would be suspended. He shared with her parents my evaluations of the student's assignments, as well as her status in the class (missing almost all of the work, so that she is failing regardless of the plagiarism), and they agreed that is the grade she has earned, and they have no intention of disputing it.

I told the judicial affairs officer that under the circumstances, I have no objection at all to withdrawing my referral to them, but that I am concerned that the student is not getting the academic or emotional support she needs. He agreed with my perspective, and he is going to tell the student and her family that she has failed the course, but the plagiarism charge will be withdrawn, provided she registers with Disability Services. He is going to discuss the case with that office, and follow up to be sure that the student and/or her parents do this.

Strange how things work out. I feel bad for the student - the nature of her condition is heartbreaking. But I also feel that I did the right thing, both in terms of upholding academic standards, and in detecting a student who is in need of intervention, and immediate help. And, both the department chair and the associate dean agree.

Yesterday, the associate dean came to see me. The latest cheating student contacted him. She did not attempt to see me, and she also did not attend class. Then, last night, she sent me another email. There was no message, just a duplicate of something she had already submitted, her third written assignment. There were no changes, it also did not meet course expectations, and it included instances of plagiarism from at least two websites.

This morning, I received an email from her father, who apparently is an attorney (it was from AOL, but he had an e-signature with his title). He was seeking to meet with me tomorrow. I did not respond, but instead called the Judicial Affairs officer. We discussed the circumstances at length, and I decided to refer the case to his office. He explained that due to confidentiality, I cannot discuss the situation with her parents if she is not present, without written consent from the student. So I emailed the father and told him that I had referred the case to Judicial Affairs, and that the student should contact them directly.

I sent Judicial Affairs copies of all of the work, with my evaluations, copies of the various assignment guidelines, as well as links to the websites from which she cut and pasted the well-written parts. I went through my grading spreadsheet, and determined that she has missed 6 (of 23) classes, including yesterday's. She never handed in a journal, and she has not met expectations on any of the three written assignments. I won't be evaluating the groups until the end of the semester, but although she has been in class for many of the group activities, as far as I can tell, she has not been an active participant. (I use partial peer evaluation to determine group grades as well as a brief essay and my observations of student and group participation in class. Students hand in the written materials at the last class.) She has made no posts in the online discussion board (students are required to post 14 times throughout the semester).

Judicial Affairs understands that she is failing the course, even without the plagiarism. Although it is now a university matter, he said one possible outcome may be that he convinces her (and her father) to not dispute the failing grade, because otherwise, the result may be that she is disciplined with suspension in addition to course failure.

I am relieved it is now out of my hands. Too bad it has taken so much of my time, during the very busy end of semester.

Sunset in Samsonville

I caught another student plagiarizing today. This time, it was two assignments, which were mostly copied verbatim from websites. The student threw in a couple of atrociously-written sentences to join the cutting and pasting of beautifully-written, distinctive text from the Internet.

Remind me again why I like teaching?

What a week.

Tuesday
#1. 12 noon. Plagiarism girl (I'd write "woman" or even "womyn" but she has a lot of learnin' to do to earn the title) cries in my office when I tell her it is not as she perceives – a choice between me failing her or letting her get away with cheating by arranging for a “W” after the deadline for dropping, or extra work and an “I”…it is a question of failing her, or failing her and sending her to Judicial Affairs. I have never seen such tears, not even at a loved one’s funeral. And they were not accompanied by sobs or sniffling – but seemed more on cue…theatrical even? Or am I the meanest person on the planet? That is how I felt, afterwards.

Background for #2: an graduate student (let's call him "M") is teaching one section of the same class I teach. The chair is not 100% comfortable with the idea, because he is not a doctoral student, and he has a rep for being a little difficult. But, there are no other qualified candidates.

So, M is doing it, with supervision. Mostly mine, because the word "No" is not part of my usual vocabulary. (Actually my role is more informal, so I do not have the opportunity to wish I said No.) A few weeks ago M asked me if I have AV material. I do, a pretty extensive library, actually. (All personal copies, as I know better than to ask for departmental reimbursement.) I lend him a set of 3 PBS videos. Tell him I am showing episode 3 on 11/16, so I must have it back in time. Explain that I am doing a class exercise based around the model school in the program, and the video is timed so that the next class activity is built around it. Remind him our paths only cross twice per week. Wait ½ hour with my bags packed to retrieve them after evening class on Tuesday 11/9 because he didn't bring them in the afternoon. So...

#2. 1:30 pm. Moments after sending plagiarism girl on her way, I am in class, I snap in the video...and it isn't rewound. I rewind it (takes 10 minutes on the WW II relic VCR). I push play. It is episode 2 - apparently he mixed up the tapes when he put them back in the boxes. I run upstairs and retrieve the appropriate video. Back downstairs, I am getting a little nervous because I know there now won't be enough time. Class runs out when there is still about 5 minutes left of the model school portion. And of course there is the din as students pack up 5 minutes before that.

#3. 2:35 pm. After class several students wait. A book review is due this week, and the books are on reserve in the library (I bought multiple copies - once again, personal, no reimbursement - and put them on 48 hour reserve so students wouldn't have to buy them). Someone has taken many of the books and not returned them. I contact the library. They can't tell me who has them due to student privacy, but yes, they are missing and the fines are upwards of $50 per book (when you could buy them used for $5 on Amazon?). So now many reports will be late (and I hoped to use Thanksgiving break for evaluation of this assignment...)

Wednesday
#1. 12 Noon. Module 6 (that’s online lingo) group does not have their project ready to e-present to class at their deadline. And, of course, they are non-responsive to email.

Background for #2 and #3: Wednesday and Friday were big debate days in my two big, team taught classes. A few times per semester, two of the discussion groups debate the yes and no sides of an issue, a third group serves as the jury, and a fourth group functions as the debate managers. In the upper division class, Wednesday’s debate is about the merits of adding competition in the public school system, and Friday’s is about physician-assisted suicide. In the lower division class, the debate is about drug legalization.

#2. 2:35 pm. After class is over, a student from the group that is arguing for the “Yes” side in Friday’s debate approaches me to say that only four members of the group are willing to do anything, the others are on life support (and, this was my own private thought, should be calling for Dr. Kervorkian, if their side is correct). This debate was an add-on in the class (meaning I have to come to campus on a day when I never do) since the undergraduate TA for this group (which had lost an earlier debate) convinced me that it would be good for them to have another try. I didn’t really want the outcome to be another humiliating loss for the group in question, so I feel very sorry for the student and her three serious group mates. But I do my best to give her advice on a face-saving strategy.

More Background for #3: A recent problem has surfaced in these two GA-run classes. Each has two GAs; and in each class, one GA, both with excellent performance last semester, are December graduates and both have already accepted full-time jobs. This is causing strain on the other GA in each class. They are classes of about 80 students each, run by elaborate teaching and management collaboratives, they are almost bureaucracies. The strain is starting to create fissures up and down the structures.

#3: 4:45 pm. The jury has left the room to formulate questions for the opposing sides. This lull generally results in quasi-office hours, as I only attend class occasionally, most students don’t bother to email or come to see me otherwise, and who knows what is going on with the GAs.

A student from the “Yes” side receives his midterm back and freaks out over the (B-) grade. He approaches – attacks might be a better description – the GA who is sitting next to me. My attention is diverted, as another student is talking to me about his exam, and the other GA is a no-show. The student who is talking to me is reasonable – but oblivious to the fracas taking place not five feet away. I’m thinking the GA will be able to handle it, but the situation escalates – and the undergraduate TA for that group tries to intervene, unsuccessfully. There is a problem with the undergraduate TAs not being clear about their role – as part of the instructional team, or champion of their peers in group. Meanwhile the offended (and offensive) student has veins popping out of his neck, his face is all red, I am worrying that we may see a 21 year old succumb to a stroke or heart attack. Or perhaps he will lunge across the desk and choke the GA and we will have TV news coverage. Half the lecture center is watching, as this real conflict is much more interesting than the artificial one about smoking weed that I have set up.

Finally, I drag myself away from Mr. Center of the Universe and assume the posture of a middle school teacher. It takes me yelling to go and sit down, this is not the appropriate frame, twice, to put an end to the fight. The jury returns. The GA is shaking. What happened in class after that? I dunno.

Thursday
#1. 11:45 am. I am meeting with the undergraduate TAs for the two classes described above, putting out the fires. Some papers have been misplaced by the two GAs who now have allegiance to the 9-5 real world. There are scattered reports that the discussion sections are being dismissed (very!) early on a regular basis (to which one TA gives me a very smart mouthed response). Tomorrow, the GA will visit the discussion sections so that the missing paper situation can be sorted out.

Friday
#1. 12:30 pm. The GA visits the discussion sections, and all but one group have already been dismissed (1/2 hour early).

I caught a student cheating. It was another of those plagiarism deals, handing in an essay that another student wrote last semester for my class. She is now pleading her case to my mostly unsympathetic ears. She has even suggested I do what another student she knows managed to negotiate, being allowed to withdraw rather than failing the class. As if being among a community of cheaters helps her case! Little does she know what I am debating is not whether to fail her - it is whether to report her to Judicial Affairs and allow the university to sanction her in addition to my penalty.

I wonder how many times I have missed it? How many students are cheating but go undetected? The class from last semester happens to be my least favorite, the one where students whispered and giggled during class, impervious to being told to stop talking, and I suspect lots of students didn't do the reading. I guess it is no surprise that one of them would share their work with a friend this semester.

This semester is going well, or at least I thought it was. I changed every assignment, to make it harder to plagiarize. But they do it anyway. I love teaching - more than any job I've had in the past, way, way, way more. But this is one thing I absolutely hate about it. Hate it so much I could change paths again. Maybe someday I will be a full-time writer...and I can leave this behind.

We are having our first snow of the season today.

Yesterday was an irritating day. In my afternoon class, two young women were doing something with a cell phone, while giggling...taking my picture? Text messaging? Taking my picture then text messaging "what a dork?" I'm not sure. It was distracting as hell. I shot them a few glaring looks, which worked for about 30 seconds then they were back at it. Then I picked up my pen and pretended to make a note on my attendance sheet. That worked for about a minute.

On the advisement side, for some reason several students decided to rise up on the same day, and give me a hard time about Spring registration. I did my best to stay calm in the face of obnoxious behavior. It wasn't easy, but I do have a lot of practice in dealing with the sometimes unreasonable public.

Then, I am having some trouble with the GAs. Two are as very conscientious, but the other three have too many irons in the fire and the GA responsibilities wind up getting short shrift. I understand that writing a thesis and classes take priority - but working at other jobs seems to be what is actually driving this. I know I am probably an overly responsible person - as well as being somewhat over committed - but I am remembering that this is the hassle of being a supervisor. Others often don't live up to their obligations, and "the buck stops here." Oh well. Only about four weeks left of the semester. But Spring is usually more difficult. I'm going to need that winter break.

Yesterday we went to North Adams, MA, to vist my nephew who is a student at MCLA. We went to Mass MoCA, something we have wanted to do for a while. Interesting art there, to say the least, but I always wonder what is the utility of art that can only exist in a large museum space? What happens to it in the future? Will it be just a memory, perhaps captured only in photographs?

Something I forgot. After a long break (I think of about a year and a half) I volunteered at Historic Cherry Hill again. Since it was Halloween, they had a special tour about the murder that took place there. I forgot how much I enjoy helping out there. They called today to invite me for another special event, on December 5, and I'm going to go.

Still no word from the publisher about the Mimmie book. I am impatient (though I have little time to work on it until January regardless).

How is it that (according to the media outlets that have not already called it) Ohio is too close to call when Bush leads Kerry by 136,221 votes (100% precincts counted), yet Pennsylvania, a slightly larger state where Kerry leads Bush by 121,818 votes has been called for Kerry (with 99% of precincts reporting)? Another example, although in this case it is a slightly smaller state: Michigan was called for Kerry. With 96% of precincts reporting, he leads by 146,704. Yet another example, though this time a much smaller state, Wisconsin. Kerry leads Bush by only 13,293 votes, with 96% of the vote counted, yet that state also has been called for Kerry already. As my mother would say (inspired by a TV commercial), "something stinks and it's not the litter box."

But leaving Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin alone, and giving Kerry the rosiest scenario possible, from the data that has been thrown around, if there are 175,000 provisional ballots, and 90% of them count, that's 157,500. If they break the way Kerry's strongest county did (67% to 33%) that's 105,525 for Kerry, 57,750 for Bush. Assuming the bleakest scenario for Bush, that there are no absentee ballots at all - which is known to not be true - Bush still wins Ohio by 88,446.

And, why are members of the media who have called Ohio for Bush not calling Nevada for Bush - while those who have not called Ohio for Bush yet, are calling Nevada for Bush? What gives? Is it because if they call those races they would have to declare Bush the winner and they cannot accept that outcome? Or are they just trying to give Kerry time to wake up and smell the coffee?

Can you say "bias," "ratings" and "loser denial?"

Well, they may have an agenda, but I am going to be bold. Bush has won.

The networks are bad, but my thankfulness for not having cable grows.

Oh, did I mention that I hate lawyers even more than I did before?

We had 25 trick-or-treaters tonight. All those kids in costumes taking away candy is very upsetting to the dogs.

We saw Team America on Wednesday night. I have never liked South Park, as the animation is crude and I find the voices irritating, but ever since I was a kid, and my father put on puppet shows with Pinocchio and Geppeto, I have loved marionettes. The puppets in this movie were amazing. As a movie it is an outrageous, in-your-face, over the top satire, not at all PC, also vulgar and violent (although since it is puppets that was tolerable), and I think it is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. There were some scenes that were just hilarious, and everyone in the theatre seemed to agree. Plus, the portraits of loudmouth Hollywood stars - Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Michael Moore, etc. - cannot be missed.

Well, this isn't a surprise. But it is a sad day.

Today, I saw in the Daily Freeman that the county legislature is going to take up the issue of the large parcel. So, I emailed all the legislators who have email addresses. I received one response, of course from one legislator who is against it. He says it is likely it will pass, as the votes just aren't in the Town of Olive. Sigh. Why is what is right not as important as what is popular?

I guess I must be used to my heavy teaching load since this is the second semester, and I am finally! getting to my personal to do list. I wrote to the publishing company that has my proposal to ask about the status...they have had it way too long. I anticipate this will be my fourth "almost, but no." That's the outcome I want, actually, because I plan to self-publish the Mimmie book, print-on-demand. Funny, just when I want a "no," or at least don't care, it may be a "yes" instead (oh, probably not).

Someone from a State agency - real property assessment or something - called me yesterday to talk about my school protest email. He was nice enough, and we had a long chat, but there isn't much he can do. He suggested pressuring the assembly and senate with a letter writing campaign, and the school board, by hassling them at every meeting they hold, if necessary.

I think OJ will be scarce this winter - the Florida crop was damaged by the hurricanes, but not to worry. There will be plenty of NYS apple juice to accompany breakfast. I have never seen such apples!

I received two responses to my letter. One was from the newly-elected school board member who was the only one to vote "no" on the large parcel. The other was from another tax payer in the district, asking me to serve on a committee of some sort. I'm not big on committees, and it is a little hard when you spend all weekdays and some weekends 75 miles away, but I am willing to help in whatever way I am able. My letter is in this week's Olive Press.

9/26 Update: When I got to Samsonville on Friday night, I read the Olive Press, and discovered that the town clerk (isn't she great?) had put in an ad with all the school board members' contact information (this wasn't available on the school website). So, I sent this to the entire board.

Today, I sent this letter to the Governor, Commissioner of Education, Chancellor of the Board of Regents, three senators, three assembly members, the school board president, and the local paper:

I am writing to you to about my concerns over the “large parcel law” that was passed last year by the State Legislature. I realize this is a long letter and I appreciate the time you or more likely, your staff members are devoting to reading it.

How ironic that a reservoir picture appears on the school's homepage. [The italics sentence was only in the letter to the school board president.] When the large parcel bill was passed, we learned that the new law would include NYC reservoirs, and if the school district decided to adopt it, it would cause a huge increase in taxes in the Town of Olive, the town that contains most of the Ashokan Reservoir lands. Olive is in Ulster County, and is a member of the Onteora School District, along with the Towns of Woodstock, Shandaken, Hurley, and small parts of Lexington and Marbletown.

The School Board conducted a couple of public hearings that were well-attended; the majority of folks in attendance, besides elected officials from the various towns, were from the Town of Olive, and of course all were opposed to adopting the large parcel bill. However, the school board decided to adopt the bill this year, and when the school tax invoices arrived, Olive residents were hit with a 56% increase. To someone who attended those meetings, is a graduate of Onteora High School and has roots that go back to 1790 in the Town of Olive, it comes as no surprise that the school board adopted the large parcel provision. It was clear from the demeanor of the board at the public hearings that their minds were made up, the public hearing were for show only. It seemed to me they regarded the Olive residents who attended the hearings as ignorant, non-elite, and rather scary. At the same time, they believed the large parcel somehow corrects “inequity” between the towns – oddly, given the situation, between expensive, erudite Woodstock and cheap, low brow Olive.

I am an education professor, and these issues are not unfamiliar to me. Equity is much in fashion in education circles. Rumor has it that NYC and the problems of school aid equity created most of the State budget delay. It is a term bantered around when discussing resource distributions between suburbs, cities and rural areas; upstate and downstate; poor schools and rich schools; the list goes on and on. I always wonder when I hear these discussions how far one should push the concept. It is nice in idealistic terms to strive toward equity -- all in the education field see it as a worthy goal -- though it is somewhat hard to achieve in a capitalist society – but does it extend to equity from student to student within the school? Does Olive have fair representation on the athletics teams? Are Olive kids equally represented in advanced classes? On the cheerleading squad? On grading distributions? On receiving graduation awards? I’m only going from anecdotal evidence – I guess if I FOILED I could find out for sure (I suspect the Board will never voluntarily give out the data) -- but from my experience, the answer is “probably not.”

Olive is my hometown, and nearly all of my family lives there, and has lived there, for generations. For 100 years Olive has given water to New York City. Our ancestral lands were stolen from us to make way for the Ashokan Reservoir. Today, we live with that beautiful artificial lake; it is both a blessing and a curse. First, we still mourn, in vivid memories passed down from generation to generation, the loss of our lands and the decimation of our history. It is the breathtaking and bittersweet watery grave of our past. Second, there has been less development in Olive than there might have been had the Esopus Valley been left alone, to take its natural course of growth. To be sure, we enjoy the pristine environment that the Reservoir and its land restrictions have protected. At the same time, this has prohibited much business from locating in the town, and although the Reservoir has created some employment, it has taken away many more jobs. As a result there is not as big a tax base as our neighbors have. Third, we confront, on a daily basis, closed roads and detours, because of threats to the watershed in the aftermath of 9/11/01.

These inconveniences are hardly a new thing. Never a morning person, I still remember the long detour of my high school bus that happened more than 25 years ago. That time it was for a more benign reason than terrorism, though it was still a dangerous situation. The Traver Hollow Bridge on NYC's Route 28A, which links the hamlets of West Shokan and Boiceville, had to be closed because pieces were falling off, something that was discovered after a school bus went over it. My three mile trip transformed into 20 miles. Several times our bus was sent back home, because we left West Shokan so early, and arrived at the school after the determination was made to close due to snow. New York City was in dire financial circumstances at that time, so once again no one in power cared about the rural folks in the Town of Olive. It took three years and a lawsuit by local community members before the bridge was rebuilt and my short bus ride was restored.

I have a house in Samsonville in the Town of Olive, built on land my parents gave me. It is a weekend residence, as I must live in the Capital District to find appropriate professional employment. Obviously, I am a fortunate person, and the absurd tax increase will not bankrupt me, although I still must dip into hard-earned savings to pay for it (and with the recent increase, my school tax bill for Onteora is now more than three times as large as in Castleton, where I'm proud to say my district is Schodack Central Schools in Rensselaer County). But I know many Olive residents who are not weekenders like me (albeit a hometown weekender). They may not be writing to you as I am, but I want to be their voice. There are senior citizens on fixed incomes. There are couples with mediocre jobs struggling to raise families. There are old timers who are land rich but cash poor who face astronomical tax increases. Why should they have to move entirely or sell some of their land to developers (and non-native weekenders) to pay for the outrageous school taxes? Is not intact land in rural areas something worth preserving? Don't local people deserve to stay in their hometown? Do Town of Olive residents have to take another indignity because they are host to a NYC reservoir? Why does the biggest beneficiary, Woodstock, or any of the other towns deserve to benefit from having the reservoir in the district? What have residents of their towns given up as a result of its presence? What was the legislature thinking when they passed this unfair law, and allowed a biased school board to make this important decision?

I have not addressed the other issue, which is not really related but adds to the indignity of this enormous tax increase. In 2001-02, on average OCS spent 23% more per student than did all NYS public schools ($15,090 to $12,265). In 2002-03, an article in the Kingston Daily Freeman reports that OCS spent $15,538.15 per student. District Business Administrator Snyder is quoted: "We are the second largest geographic school district in the state and you have neighborhood schools, which means they are spread out." He doesn't directly state that as being the cause of the high costs, but the article follows his statement by reporting that Onteora's costs for transportation are $1,090 per student, which is the highest in the county. Even in the unlikely event that OCS has transportation costs of $1,090 and other districts have a cost of zero, that still leaves more than half of the difference in expenditure unexplained.

For help the article turns to School Board Trustee Eisenberg. He is quoted: "I actually like where we're spending our money as opposed to where we're not spending our money. We [sic] much heavier on the instruction." So then I guess he is saying the higher costs are not from transportation? Let's return to the data. In 2002-03, according to NYS Education Department School Report Cards, per student instructional costs at OCS were $8,068 for general education and $24,906 for special education, compared to $6,649 and $15,575 at similar schools, or $6,968 and $15,712 at all public schools in NYS.

How about at three Ulster County peers? At New Paltz, they were $6,801 and $16,274; at Rondout Valley, they were $7,171 and $17,547; and at Saugerties, they were $5,945 and $15,816. So, yes, instructional costs are higher. (Duh.) But why? Is OCS better than the peers? Better than NYS Education Department-defined similar schools? Better than all public schools in NYS? Or even somehow different?

I looked quickly through comparison data to see if any numbers jumped out at me. OCS has a limited English proficiency population that is 1% of the students. This compares to .8% at Rondout Valley, 1.7% at New Paltz, .5% at Saugerties (statewide, 6.8% of students are LEP). OCS has a free-lunch eligible population of 14.4%, compared to 11.4% at Rondout Valley, 13% at New Paltz, or 13.4% at Saugerties (statewide the figure is 37.7%).

The attendance rate at OCS is 93.3%; it is 93.4% at Rondout Valley, 94% at New Paltz, or 94.5 at Saugerties (statewide: 92.3). The suspension rate at OCS is 1.7%; at Rondout Valley it is 8.4%; at New Paltz it is 6%; at Saugerties it is 3.9 percent; and statewide it is 4.7%. At OCS, 3.7% of students dropped out of school; at Rondout Valley 4% did; at New Paltz it was 1.8%; at Saugerties it was 5.4%; statewide it was 7.3%. The proportion of students classified as having disabilities was 14.6% at OCS, 11.8% statewide, 16.3% at Rondout Valley, 13.9% at New Paltz, and 9.8% at Saugerties.

Tentative conclusions I would draw from these proportions are that students at OCS and the peers are not as needy - they are much less likely to not be proficient in English, or to be economically disadvantaged, and so eligible for a free lunch, than students statewide. Also, OCS is less likely to suspend a student, and Rondout Valley and New Paltz are more likely to suspend a student than schools statewide. (Whether this is because all the students at OCS are angels or because the school tolerates inappropriate behavior is not answered by the data.)

Regardless, these numbers do not answer what might be driving the higher instructional costs. Here is another data category: in terms of a breakdown of staff, OCS had 352: 60% are teachers (211), 9% are non-teaching professionals (34) and 31% (110) paraprofessionals. For Rondout Valley, the total is 340; 64% teachers (217); 11% non-teaching professionals (36) and 87 paraprofessionals (26%). For New Paltz, the total is 261; 67% teachers (174); 11% non-teaching professionals (29) and 22% paraprofessionals (58). For Saugerties, the total is 306; 70% teachers (215); 7% non-teaching professionals (20) and 23% paraprofessionals (71). Statewide, there were 217,739 teachers (64%); 40,823 non-teaching professionals (12%); and 84,072 paraprofessionals (25%).

Assuming that paraprofessionals mean teacher's aides, a part of those higher instructional costs are coming from the larger proportion of "paraprofessionals" at OCS than at the peers or statewide. Which, I guess, is explained in this quote from the article: "Trustees also said special education costs, at $2,590 per student, include work that provides assistance in regular classrooms as part of long-term planning in the district." The problem with this quote is that the number $2,590 is wrong, by a lot. It is probably just an editing error, but who knows. The actual figure for special education costs, per student, was $24,906 in 2001-02.

Then Pupil Personnel Director Boyce is quoted: "The consultant teachers and teaching assistants offer support to the students without disabilities. They maintain a high level of instruction." No facts are given in the article to support the district's and Ms. Boyce's assertions, and unfortunately, I have only anecdotal evidence with which to evaluate the information. But, based on conversations with regular education students in the school, and also from my educational background, I think this is stretching the truth. Sure, having one or two or a few extra adults in the classroom probably helps the teacher, that's a no brainer. But how much regular education students actually get out of aides that are hired to help students with disabilities is debatable.

And, sadly, how this justifies OCS spending $9,331 per student more on special education than at similar schools in the state remains unanswered. Simply put, this is a very out-of-touch school board and administration. The district dealt with two divisive issues recently: closing the West Hurley Elementary School and the large parcel law, given those decisions and these figures, is it any wonder that the school budget was voted down twice this year, and one incumbent board member was resoundingly defeated?

I attended town meetings, and I apprehensively watched the events as they unfolded in the newspaper. I cannot register my disapproval by voting on the OCS budget or in the school board election, since my legal residence is Castleton (is that taxation without representation?), but I am not willing to sit by and watch while Olive's land is stolen once again. No one has the right to take money from the pockets of Olive residents and call it redistribution or equity. In my world that's called theft, and by any definition it is a crime. I am left with no choice but to refuse to pay my Onteora school tax bill this year.

Sincerely,

Gina Giuliano, PhD
37 Green Avenue
Castleton, NY 12033
518-732-7659
and
20 Jomar Lane
Olive Bridge, NY 12461
845-657-7232
howzerdo@aol.com

Happy birthday to me (well, it was on the 18th). But if Elwyn could have a birthday month, I can have a birthday week. One great thing (besides having the best chocolate-peanut butter cake) I did on my birthday was see the Civil War Balladeers at the restored Old School Baptist Church. There are no "services" in the church -- it is authentic 1857 -- so we watched them (and they played) by the light of kerosene lamps! A cozier scene could not be imagined.

Also, I met Mandy.



Isn't she gorgeous?

We closed the pool. Welcome, fall.

Rudy turns nine today. I don't want him to get old, I want to have him forever. But at least he still seems young. Happy Birthday Mr. Wuja!

Long delay in posting, even given my recent once a week track record. Well, the beginning of the semester is tiring, and I don't use the computer that much on the weekends. I expected to write today that I had my last swim of the season yesterday, but Bob couldn't bear to put the winter chemicals in and the cover on when we are having the nicest stretch of weather we've had all summer. Incredible to think that this is at the same time that Florida is getting clobbered.

Mimmie was born 100 years ago today! I am going to work on the book proposal at the end of this week because I am only on campus one day. We have a short break starting on Wednesday.

Last week, we were eating in Smokey Bones in Colonie, it is one of the Darden chain (which includes Red Lobster, Olive Garden (yuck, ugh, I could puke), and another restaurant or two that are mostly, or maybe only in the south - I think one is called Bahama Breeze, something like that? Not sure). I don't like big chains like that with a few exceptions, and Smokey Bones is one. The rustic almost seems real. Sort of Disney lite. Anyway, when we were almost ready to leave, but had not yet paid, the fire alarms went off. After a very short time, Bob and I got up and went outside, but everyone else did not react. Very few were even looking around, although the sirens were more annoying than a car alarm, if that is possible. They just continued to eat their dinner, talk, and drink at the bar. When we got outside, one other person had exited too. Quite a while went by - it is hard to estimate how long or short - but it seemed too long, especially since the alarms kept ringing - and finally, the crowd inside, including the staff, came out.

Emergency vehicles arrived, fire trucks, police, paramedics, etc. The firefighters went in, came out after a while and got different equipment, including fans, and went back inside. While they were inside, it started to rain. The staff and customers were huddled under the building overhang. Some patrons went to their cars and left. Some new customers arrived and wondered aloud what was going on. The only thing we had to do was pay our check (and retrieve some leftovers). All the while the multiple TVs inside (always the most annoying thing about Smokey Bones and other such places of that ilk) broadcast images to no one. It was surreal.

Finally the firefighters left, and we were allowed back inside. The server said it was a false alarm, but the kitchen was shut down. (I guess they needed the fans to clear out the siren noise). She asked if we were upset, and wanted to speak with the manager. We told her we weren't upset by anything except that no one except us and one other person exited promptly. We asked if anyone had skipped out on the check, and she said one table had. (It was four guys who had been seated across from us.) I think there may have been more, judging by the number of people who drove away while we were outside in the rain, but I could be wrong. Bob asked if talking to the manager would mean we would get a discount, and she said no. So, he whipped out our gift certificate ($5 off came with a shareholder report), paid our check, we took our take out, and that was that. I'm thinking that as a shareholder (even if a miniscule one) I should write to the company about the experience. I think that for goodwill purposes, some sort of discount should have been given automatically to customers, and it shouldn't take the patrons having to whine to or yell at the manager.

A contrasting experience, on Saturday we went to the Country Inn, a small restaurant 1.3 miles from our house in S'ville. For some reason, we both ordered steak - I rarely eat beef, and can't remember the last time I ordered it in a restaurant. (It is always a mistake to eat steak when you are not used to it, but that is not really related to this story.) When they came out, Bob's was cooked perfectly, but mine was not done enough. The server took it back and had it cooked more, and when it came out a short time later, it was perfect. They also gave me another serving of al dente spinach, since the steak was served on a bed of it, which I loved.

After we were done eating, the server asked if we wanted dessert. We said no, but she said it was on the house because of the steak. I was so surprised, said that really isn't necessary, but she insisted. (I didn't feel it was necessary because what I feel is medium-well may be what someone else feels is well done.) Anyway, we both had dessert, and when the check came, not only was mine complimentary, Bob's was too!

Just one reason in 100 for why I prefer small businesses over chains.

Verizon DSL rocks! I have been having a problem with my university MS Outlook account when I access it over the Internet from home. All I called had no clue what might be causing it, but support at Verizon - even though it isn't their problem - helped me to figure out that it is because Outlook doesn't like router MTU settings over 1400. Wow! They actually hire people who know something about computers and don't fall back on the usual advice to call someone else - the PC manufacturer, some other software company, etc. If you can get Verizon DSL - and aren't adverse to paying for Broadband - do it!

The school tax bill came - the increase is $500. I feel like the School Board is stealing my money to give tax relief to others in the more populous town of Woodstock. And since I cannot vote on the budget or board election, I don't even get representation for that taxation. It is an outrage.