We are studying philosophy of education in social foundations. Students took a quiz to help determine which of five major philosophies they prefer. In the day class, about half the students (there are 39) favored progressivism, and the other half favored essentialism. I think there was one student who preferred existentialism, and one who was about evenly divided in terms of essentialism and progressivism. In the night class (37 students), one student was evenly divided between essentialism and progressivism, two students preferred essentialism, one preferred behaviorism, and all the rest favored progressivism. In the online class (17 students), it is harder to determine, because even though the quiz is available and there is a discussion question about it, not all students choose to address that question. But, so far, the students who are sharing thoughts about educational philosophy seem to favor progressivism.

All of which got me thinking. Sometimes in class I despair about the lack of discussion and participation, and it seems that chalk-and-talk is way too dominant. Then there are classes when the students are so involved that it is not possible to cover all the planned material. It varies from semester to semester, and class to class. The night class is very interactive, The day class is quieter, and I spend a lot of time thinking about how to encourage participation. After the quiz results, I was thinking, the greater number of essentialists than usual in the day class means that for at least half of the class, lecture is preferred much of the time. On the other hand, the strong majority of progressives in the night class means they are probably less satisfied on those days when I "deliver" a lecture. Something to keep in mind.

I agree with this article, I definitely get less telemarketing calls since I signed up for Do Not Call. I signed up for the New York list when it first came out. That was quite a while ago, and although it took a little while, it was effective. I guess now it has been converted to a Federal registry, I know it was automatic if you were already signed up at the State level.

In terms of spam, I am not sure. I still get too many, but I think the number may have decreased. Whether that is because of the registry, or spam blocking features in email, who knows?

I should sign up for paper junk mail elimination too, although I think that is still cumbersome, not an easy website process like Do Not Call. Hmmm. Something to investigate. Every two weeks we have curbside pickup of paper for recycling, and I can never believe how much of the bin is junk mail, especially annoying credit card offers. Such waste!

I am teaching right now...actually the students are working in groups on a project so I decided to run up to my office rather than pace the classroom, my other alternative (and usual method).

I often wonder about the dynamics of groups - not just the small-ish ones that are working in my class, but the entire cohort, the night class compared to the day class compared to the online course, compared to last semester's, compared to summer session, compared to last year. My night class this semester is so interactive - if I lecture for two sentences - hands are up, questions asked, comments made...if I ask a question there is a field of hands in the air. If we do a group project, during the reporting out session, we barely cover half the material because there is so much discussion.

Then there are cohorts where row after row of students sit there with blank stares, or closed eyes, or fidgeting, hoping to get out five minutes early. What gives, it is the same instructor, similar curriculum, just the times of day and delivery mode differ, and it is never the same cohort that is engaged (sometimes it is the online class, sometimes it is the day class, sometimes it is the night class). I speculated that course size has something to do with it, but that doesn't seem to account for it either. I conclude that peer influences are very powerful. Several engaged students lead and that translates to a good class -- on the other hand, several bored students drag it down and that makes for a poor one.

Back by popular demand? After an eight month hiatus, there is a new virtual museum over at Gully Brook Press.

When I was updating the pages, I decided to delete the references to a tracking service I added last year. It was more hassle than it was worth, I hated the banners it inserted, and I can't even remember the password - it wasn't something of my choosing. I only removed it on a couple of pages, I will get to the rest eventually. Anyway, in the process, I deleted the background colors. But I may keep it transparent - I so rarely make changes, that this one, although unintentional, is refreshing!

We saw another DVD, "Frida," and cut short the recent loser movie trend. It was interesting, as are most artist-biographies.

Almost forgot! The next movie up was "Confidence." Another loser! It was terrible.

Two weeks ago (a long time in the land of ejournals), I promised over at Sya's to get to this eventually, and finally, I am.

Two writers shared different perspectives on the following question asked by prospective students:

"Should I get a PhD?"

The original comes from an English professor, who believes the response is in three parts; the follow up is from a biology professor. Both agree that the first part of the answer is "probably not."

I say, the answer is completely individual, and you shouldn't let anyone extinguish your dreams. You can consider the source of this perspective; I'm a former academic administrator, currently an adjunct in the education field, and in that role one of my duties (besides a significant teaching load) is advising prospective and new graduate students. Once I finished my bachelor's degree, I knew that someday, I would get a master's degree. Then, after that degree was in hand, my new goal became a doctorate - eventually.

Did I link that up with some sort of economic calculus? Only in the most general way. I do encounter students for whom that is the only consideration, the "I must get an A or my future is ruined because I won't be able to go to the best graduate school, which means I won't get the job I want," type, and I shake my head. (I understand in some places such a calculation is taking place at the nursery school level. Sad.) I think it's great to get an A, if it is a gauge of your level of learning. Otherwise, what is the point?

Now, this is not to say that graduate school - and the dissertation stage of getting a doctorate - is easy, or always pleasant. Sometimes it is awful, mostly it is tiring, and it seems endless. There will be years of missing television programs (not a bad thing, actually), social events (including important ones), and pleasure reading. Holidays arrive, and instead of being enjoyable, they are one more task to get through. Laundry and dishes pile up, and money is often scarce. But you know what? Eventually it becomes a pleasant memory. It takes a while, but it happens.

On the next part of the answer, there was some disagreement. The first professor believes "before you get yourself into a PhD program, go get a job for a year or two." The second professor has mixed feelings, among them the thought that "it takes a long time to get where you're going [in academe], and putting it off for another year or two to work on something else just means you'll be a year or two closer to geezerhood..."

Hmm. I guess I have mixed feelings about this too. It is another personal decision, there is only so much a mentor can tell you. Some people are able to breeze through undergraduate, to graduate, and be done in a remarkably short time. Others don't have that inclination - or that financial support (or desire to shoulder that level of loan burden, or that much delay in the accumulation of material possessions). On the other hand, life is a process, and a journey, not a destination. So what's the hurry? (A geezer or a sprout, who cares?)

I think it is always a good idea to get a job for a while, but unlike the first professor's view, whether that job requires a college degree doesn't matter so much. I think nonprofessional jobs can have important lessons to teach, as well. And I don't think it is necessary to take time off from school to do it. Working while going to school at the same time is valuable. It raises the appreciation for the luxury of just working, or just going to school. It makes me think of something my father said to me when I complained about a fairly good job I had years ago: "it's not a bad way to make a living." I remembered waitressing in a bowling alley, and working as a temp secretary in an insurance company, and a stint at Burger King (yes, I did all three and more), and I knew what he said was true. Juggling translates to the development of wonderful time management and organizational skills. I've done school part-time and full-time, I worked between my bachelor's degree and master's degree, and I worked full-time while in the Ph.D. program, until I was at the dissertation stage. Twenty-two years after I stepped on a college campus as a freshman I walked across a stage and received my doctorate. Was it worth it? Yes.

For the third part of the answer, the first professor admonishes to "remember the laws of supply and demand," while the second professor warns about having to yank up roots while wandering around the country for jobs.

Both of those things are true. Most academics do nationwide job searches, worried about finding a position at all, and land in places they may not have chosen if the market was more open. I have deep roots in upstate New York, and I am not leaving here. That decision - well, I guess it wasn't a decision, because it was never on the table - but that life choice did not stand in the way of me doing what I want. I have never found a shortage of opportunity. You just need to know what is important to you, and how to get it. That long 22 year journey, from 16 year old college freshman to Dr. Gina clarified a lot of things for me. I'm simply not willing to rip up my roots. There is such a thing as "enough money." At the same time, I have not had to resort to working in a job I did not want, or that did not require a doctorate, to stay here. And believe me, I have plenty of material things - actually, much more than I really need.

I love learning. I love teaching, and I really, really like college students. I like to wear many hats, and I like not being too tied down to a position. I did that, as an administrator, and it was enjoyable for a while. Then I got tenure, and shortly afterwards, I resigned! Now I am an adjunct, somewhat, but not completely invisible. And guess what? I love it!

So that was my take, for what it is worth (about three cents).

I am caught up for the moment!

Except for a couple of (very) minor details, the education book is a wrap today. The classes are going OK - I think I will wind up being on campus three days per week, and at home two. And I think every so often, I might be able to do my old schedule of two days on campus, three days at home. It is interesting to see how big classes run - the last time I was in a lecture center was when I was a freshman in college. Even then, I only had two classes that size: biology 100, and an intro. history class. I hated both.

These education classes aren't in the biggest of the big rooms - I think the assiged LC holds 120, and there are about 70 students enrolled. But that is twice as big as my usual class when at its peak size (most semesters I have had about 30). I want it to be a good experience, and I'm hoping that is possible in a class that size.

I'm wondering, what do I do with a caught-up afternoon? Wash dishes? Read the Sandra Dallas book I have chosen as next in line? Watch a DVD (we have now seen Nicholas Nickleby [which was great!] and Sweet Home Alabama [which was awful!]). I think "write a query letter" is the winner. I have a wonderful idea. Stay tuned.

Well, this is going to be a very busy semester, but I think it will be less hectic once the details are ironed out. On the first day of classes, the online registration system crashed -- meaning not only could students not register, there were no class rosters either. That might not have been so bad if my classes had space available -- but as far as I know they are all closed and there were about a dozen desperate students at each, asking to get in. Now, since I have taken on a lot this semester, I really cannot go any bigger than they are already, there just is no time -- and I don't care for huge classes anyway, but I don't like turning students away either. However, without access to the system, there was no easy way to tell who is in the class, who has dropped, who hasn't shown up, whether the room is big enough or needs to be changed. So that was a nightmare!

On a very good note, all the students who I supervise are top notch, very impressive, and that takes a huge burden from me.

On another subject, some time ago we got a DVD player - we both like technology but in the entertainment arena it usually takes us a while to jump on the bandwagon. Bob finally hooked it up several weeks ago (this involved completely reworking the entertainment center, it was quite a job and a tangle of wires). Then we joined netflix, which is a wonderful service! No more video stores, and more important, no more late fees. So far, we have rented Chicago, Gangs of New York, Terminator 3, A Mighty Wind, Bend it Like Beckham, Real Women Have Curves, and Living Outloud. Turns out we had already seen Living Outloud, and just didn't remember - which says it all. It was OK, but not all that memorable. All the movies we chose so far were enjoyable, but my very favorites were Bend it Like Beckham and Chicago, with A Mighty Wind and Real Women Have Curves running a close second.

A few days ago I wondered why I wasn't having an anxiety attack over all the undone work. This hasn't been much of a "break" and still it seemed like it wasn't enough time to prepare. However, as the weekend approaches, I am beginning to think I will be ready for the semester when it starts on Wednesday. It will be a combination of winging it and having it together, but I'll manage.

We have been in the deep freeze. With diligence - fawcets dripping, supplemental heaters going, closet doors open - we have managed to preserve the pipes! It is supposed to be a little better this weekend, which means we may actually get to spend at least some of it in Samsonville.

More on the recent train accident.

After spending the day on campus, Bob and I stopped at Stewart's - our much-appreciated local convenience store - on Main Street in Castleton. There were cops everywhere, an ambulance, and several television trucks. It turns out that a man was hit and killed by a train. He was the same age as Bob. Such tragedies happen every year or so, as Amtrak runs next to the Hudson River, only yards from buildings on Main Street, and when it goes through Castleton, it is at speeds of about 100 miles per hour, and more.

I am a big supporter of train travel, and so I rarely criticise the trains that whip through the village, but while following the story, I have learned that of the communities near the Hudson between Albany and New York City, Castleton is the closest to the tracks. In Westchester County, the train slows to 60 mph when it cruises through Croton.

PS Today is my mother's birthday; happy birthday Ma!

Happy New Year! Hard to believe that number, '04. I remember looking ahead to Y2K, and it didn't seem possible that the 19s would be over and 20s would be here. Mimmie was born 100 years ago this year, at the beginning of the 20th century. I had planned -- hoped -- to get some work done on that book, during this intercession. But I have so many things pending, and it really isn't easy, getting back into routine. I have a long list of things to do, and I think I should start with reorganizing my office.

We did First Night in Albany for New Year's. I think it was the fifth time we did it? Last time was '99 turning to '00, and it wasn't that great, compared to the other times we participated. Everyone was in such a panic about the change in the year, and what it would do to the infrastructure. But this year it was good, with warmer weather than any other year when we did it, I think. We managed four events, in addition to dinner out: the Van Trapp great-grandchildren singing at the Palace theatre, the Adirondack Baroque concert at St. Mary's, an improv act, Mission Improvable, at Capital Rep, and a dance troupe, Bamboche Lakay, back at the Palace.

Today is Bob's 44th birthday. He says he wants to have it changed, to not be so close to Christmas and New Year's.

Back from Samsonville yesterday. It was a wonderful Christmas, hard to imagine better. We made it to Samsonville in time for Christmas Eve at my sister's. Bob and I went to midnight mass. Christmas Day was at my parents', and on Saturday we hosted Bob's family at our house.

Getting back into the working groove will not be easy. I didn't use the computer very much, and so I had about 100 emails, and only a (relatively) small proportion were spam. Answer them is all I did today, tomorrow it will be back to the other stuff. Luckily, I made the grading deadline on the 23rd, so there is no student evaluation still pending. Of course, there were two emails from students asking "why did I get this grade, I deserved better?" (Which always makes me think, why didn't I ever think to ask that question of faculty when I was a student?)

I got a nice new digital camera, which probably means I'll be using more pictures here. Eventually, that is...when I figure out how to use it. I didn't take even one picture in Samsonville, and we already took the tree we had there down!

I got many books this year...several novels by Margaret Atwood and Sandra Dallas, and a calendar with William Wegman photographs. And a silly little cat and dog joke book.

The tub drain in our Castleton house refuses to be tamed. Sometime in about 1948 someone got the idea that the house needed indoor plumbing. The kitchen was moved to the basement, and as a part of this renovation, a small addition was built for a bathroom. Problem is, this little separate room has to withstand the elements without much help from the main house. Then, in the 1970s or early 1980s, it suffered the indignity of a car driving down the hill, and crashing into its side. The collision knocked the tub across the room. Maybe as a part of the repair, the old clawfoot tub was replaced by a more modern variety. So now the second problem is, the tub has an under the floor trap and drain, which often freezes.

The tub had heat tape around that difficult pipe when we moved in, which we promptly removed for safety reasons. The bathroom has been extensively renovated in the years we have lived here, and even the tub drain pipe has been replaced, but the under the floor design is the same. We've insulated, fixed cracks, replaced windows, and added new heat. It is better, but still, any time it gets below 10 degrees or so the risk of freezing is there.

Generally, we get one freeze per winter -- then we never forget to leave the fawcet dripping in the tub any time the temperature drops. It is a wasteful solution, that works. On our long to do list, is replacing the tub with one of the antique clawfoot variety (which we have in Samsonville, and we might get new there and use that one). But there are quite a few projects ahead of that one.

We've been lucky this year, for although there has been plenty of snow, the temperature has not been too bad, and there have been no freezes. Unfortunately, we learned this morning that a bit warmer than 10 degrees will freeze it, if a few days pass without the tub being used. We spent Saturday night in Samsonville, and so there were no Sunday showers in Castleton. Bob informed me of the situation this morning, as he left for work. "Will you unfreeze it today?" he asked, for he was probably already late.

I protested. Couldn't it wait until evening, and we could both work on it? "Did you bail the bathtub?" I woke up enough to ask. "No," he said. Ugh. So if I wanted to take a shower, I'd have to bail that water first, or defrost the drain. "I thought maybe the warm water would melt the ice in the trap," he offered on his way out.

I dragged myself down to the bathroom after he left, took the ceramic cube heater from the closet, set it up in the bathroom, and (though I knew it was futile) hoped that would do the trick. After two hours of the cube on full blast in the bathroom, sort of pointed at the tub drain area, the room was like an oven (because it is not all that cold outside today) but it did nothing to the tub ice jam, and the foot of water in there now was ice cold. Even though it was above freezing outside, it needs to be really warm to unfreeze the drain once it has frozen.

Unfreezing the drain involves putting the ceramic cube heater in the crawl space under the bathroom. There is a small door to the crawl space in the foundation, on the other side of the fenced area. I debated my options over coffee. If I waited until evening, it would be dark, and colder outside. So, I hunted, cursed, and finally found (actually with less difficulty than usual, as we have gotten fairly organized) and gathered all the needed elements, suited up, and went out there. Discovered that the gate is snowed shut and cursed some more. Considered going down the stairs near the garden and getting there from the other side - discovered a mountain of waist-deep snow all down the stairs. Cursed some more. Then I chopped the gate out with the snow shovel and got over to the crawl space door.

I opened the crawl space. It wasn't that bad - I mean there were a lot of awful looking dead spiders (and I even saw one live one), there were a few tiny mouse turds in the insulation, but not that much evidence of rodents etc. and it was dry, and not too dark, improved even more by a flashlight. The pipes themselves looked fine. I really couldn't get very far into the crawl space - there is too much snow to kneel in it for very long, laying down was out of the question, and I am not all that limber any more -- although I couldn't remember how far I used to go in, maybe not that far? Anyway, I set it all up, went inside, and fifteen minutes later the tub drained. When I was retrieving all the junk from outside, the phone rang. Why does that always happen? It was Bob, wondering if the warm water in the tub had melted the ice jam? Umm, no.

So I hosed off the dead bugs from my hair, and ran the hot water in the tub for a while, and we're back in business. And I learned that we will absolutely have to shovel the gate at least a little after future snowstorms, also remember to leave the fawcet dripping when we will be away overnight in the winter - even if it isn't that cold. Maybe the tub project should move up a few notches on the to do list?

A friend sent me this link. Usually I find this sort of site kind of hokey, and I am not that into circulating "FWD" emails (not that this was a FWD, this was sent just to me). But this is a beautiful, thoughtful, well-designed and tasteful site. Happy holidays!

Another nor'easter arrived today. The snow is heavy, almost the consistency of sand!

Here are two charities for animal lovers that are worthy of donation: The Catskill Animal Sanctuary rescues farm animals. The North Shore Animal League is a large no-kill shelter for cats and dogs.

I found out today that I got the new assignment. Hooray! So this means I'll be teaching 5 classes plus graduate student advisement in the Spring. I don't know why I'm so happy, because I will be so busy! The life of an adjunct...but I do know why I am happy, it is new, and interesting, and a challenge. And I will have 4 graduate students and 20 undergraduate students to help with the two new classes (I'm guessing the enrollment must be fairly large).

My sister's latest creation, Cold Feet Santa. I want him!

Yes, the snow came, and the total: somewhere around two feet. Rudy rolled in delight at 6 inches, but once there was more than a foot his enthusiasm waned. He resumed rolling after we cleared the patio a little, once it stopped snowing.

Our teenage neighbor spent all day Saturday shoveling, the storm had mostly tapered off by Sunday afternoon, Troy didn't cancel the event, so we retrieved the truck from off-street parking and went to the Victorian Stroll. The roads had been plowed and weren't terrible, but it still was great to have 4WD.

The Victorian Stroll was great! All that snow made it even better. It was beautiful, it slows everything down, and it brings out the best in everyone. We visited the craft fair at the Atrium, the greens show at the Rensselaer County Historical Society, and the tree lighting at City Hall. There was a silent auction at the Historical Society, and we got a beautiful wreath. Afterwards we ate dinner at Monument Square Cafe, where Santa was playing the sax! His picture is in the Times Union story. I took a few pictures too, and I'll post some eventually.