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now what?
i turned in my grades yesterday. today i'm feeling crappy...sneezy and tired. little cold bug? allergies? i'm not sure, but i slept like a log last night, woke up late (for me--it was 9:30am), and now it's 1:30 and i still haven't lost that puffy-sleepy eyes feeling.
i accepted a job working as a TA for an upward bound class. the pay is decent, it's 12-15 hours per week, and lasts 5-6 weeks (from june 27-august 2). the class meets every day, but due to the 4th of july holiday and the two friday field trips the students will be taking, there's only one week that will meet for 5 solid days. there will be a total of 23 instruction days. it seems like a good gig. i'll earn some extra money, and i'll get some new, interesting teaching experience. upward bound students are high school students from local schools with low college attendance and completion rates. i'm nervous because i've never taught this age group before (14-18 years old), but i think it's important work, and i'm excited about it.
every day from 8:30-9:30 the whole group of students (and TA's) will meet for a large lecture class; then from 9:40-10:40 the quiz sections will meet. i'll be expected to attend lecture and lead one of the quiz sections, in which my goal will be to support what happens in the lecture. i'll also be paid for one hour of prep time per instruction day. this class is being taught by a woman who recently (?) finished her ph.d. in english (literature) at the university of arizona, with a primary focus in native american literature. she is also an upward bound alumnus, and is moving to seattle to take a tenure-track faculty position at seattle U. i'm excited to meet her and the other TA's, and to see what we'll be reading, how we'll be approaching the material, what kinds of activities we'll be doing, etc. i've been told that the course theme is "monsters in literature." LOL. it sounds like a blast.
but i have this lovely, lovely expanse of 2 empty weeks before that job kicks in. it feels so luxurious. i'm planning to crank on some dissertation work. but not today...today is for lolling...though i do have a strong urge to bust out some books i haven't had a chance to look at yet. also, in today's NYT there is an article about dog genetics that is giving me new ideas for one of my chapters. here's a provocative excerpt from the first page of the article:
Free of most of the ethical concerns — and practical difficulties — associated with the practice of eugenics in humans, dog breeders are seizing on new genetic research to exert dominion over the canine gene pool. Companies with names like Vetgen and Healthgene have begun offering dozens of DNA tests to tailor the way dogs look, improve their health and, perhaps soon, enhance their athletic performance.
But as dog breeders apply scientific precision to their age-old art, they find that the quest for genetic perfection comes with unforeseen consequences. And with DNA tests on their way for humans, the lessons of intervening in the nature of dogs may ultimately bear as much on us as on our best friends.
“We’re on the verge of a real radical shift in the way we apply genetics in our society,” said Mark Neff, associate director of the veterinary genetics laboratory at the University of California, Davis. “It’s better to be first confronted with some of these issues when they concern our pets than when they concern us.”
i accepted a job working as a TA for an upward bound class. the pay is decent, it's 12-15 hours per week, and lasts 5-6 weeks (from june 27-august 2). the class meets every day, but due to the 4th of july holiday and the two friday field trips the students will be taking, there's only one week that will meet for 5 solid days. there will be a total of 23 instruction days. it seems like a good gig. i'll earn some extra money, and i'll get some new, interesting teaching experience. upward bound students are high school students from local schools with low college attendance and completion rates. i'm nervous because i've never taught this age group before (14-18 years old), but i think it's important work, and i'm excited about it.
every day from 8:30-9:30 the whole group of students (and TA's) will meet for a large lecture class; then from 9:40-10:40 the quiz sections will meet. i'll be expected to attend lecture and lead one of the quiz sections, in which my goal will be to support what happens in the lecture. i'll also be paid for one hour of prep time per instruction day. this class is being taught by a woman who recently (?) finished her ph.d. in english (literature) at the university of arizona, with a primary focus in native american literature. she is also an upward bound alumnus, and is moving to seattle to take a tenure-track faculty position at seattle U. i'm excited to meet her and the other TA's, and to see what we'll be reading, how we'll be approaching the material, what kinds of activities we'll be doing, etc. i've been told that the course theme is "monsters in literature." LOL. it sounds like a blast.
but i have this lovely, lovely expanse of 2 empty weeks before that job kicks in. it feels so luxurious. i'm planning to crank on some dissertation work. but not today...today is for lolling...though i do have a strong urge to bust out some books i haven't had a chance to look at yet. also, in today's NYT there is an article about dog genetics that is giving me new ideas for one of my chapters. here's a provocative excerpt from the first page of the article:
Free of most of the ethical concerns — and practical difficulties — associated with the practice of eugenics in humans, dog breeders are seizing on new genetic research to exert dominion over the canine gene pool. Companies with names like Vetgen and Healthgene have begun offering dozens of DNA tests to tailor the way dogs look, improve their health and, perhaps soon, enhance their athletic performance.
But as dog breeders apply scientific precision to their age-old art, they find that the quest for genetic perfection comes with unforeseen consequences. And with DNA tests on their way for humans, the lessons of intervening in the nature of dogs may ultimately bear as much on us as on our best friends.
“We’re on the verge of a real radical shift in the way we apply genetics in our society,” said Mark Neff, associate director of the veterinary genetics laboratory at the University of California, Davis. “It’s better to be first confronted with some of these issues when they concern our pets than when they concern us.”
no subject
One of my friends was granted his PhD because he was able to identify the gene causing 'Ceriod Lipofuscinosis'and from what i remember they were getting heaps of samples turning up from all over the world to type DNA...My other friend is researching Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome in dogs...
Its marvellous when you can find the gene causative of a particular disease trait, but it is quite alarming when some scientists start thinking about parts of the dog genome they want to alter such as colour, fur etc, which shouldn't be tampered with for novelty sake.
no subject
As per transcaninism... interesting... seems to fit some of my interest areas as well... we should talk sometime. :)
no subject
indeed, we should talk! will you be around this summer? want to get coffee sometime?