Where the Hell Has She Been?

You may be thinking that.  But I’m thinking “Spring break?  What spring break?”

It has been absolutely crazy this week, not the least of which is because we are in the middle of graduate school admissions.  I’m the chair of the graduate admissions committee for the master’s students this year, and it has been both thrilling and nerve wracking.  I just found out yesterday that due to our amazing applicant pool, we are now considered one of the top three most selective programs in the country.  The. Country. 

That’s amazing and an incredible source of pride for the faculty, our current students and our alumni. 

Tomorrow is recruitment day where we dress up ourselves and try to woo our potential students to come here.  I hate to sound all patronizing, but I am so proud of what our current students are doing to prepare for the new class.  They have really stepped up to the plate and I can’t imagine that any student who meets them is not going to want to be a part of our program.  

I’m looking forward to it but I know that there is going to be probably 2 to 3 more weeks of work until all the students have made their decision. 

Also, this week, I was evaluated in my teaching.  Despite the fact that I’ve been teaching for years and I generally get good evaluations, it always freaks me out to be observed.  The evaluation went well, but I’ve been laughing at myself all day.  The main constructive feedback was “you’re pretty energized up there teaching....maybe a little bit too much.” 

It’s so damn true.  For one thing, I’m teaching research methods which can be an incredibly dull subject, so I have to get really, really jazzed for the students to work themselves up out of a coma to pay attention.  But in general, I’m quite the enthusiastic teacher.  I have actually had students request that I not drink coffee before I teach because (and this is a real quote), I “frighten them.”  Ok.  The real quote was “Dr. Blanchard, please don’t drink coffee, you’re scaring me.”  I know it’s true.  I actually try to plan my classes so that I teach during times when I’m normally tired so that the burst of energy I get brings me to a normal level of energy.  Well, how about this, a level that doesn’t frighten most students. 

And I hope you don’t think that was critical feedback in the bad sense.  It’s a truthful comment that I’ve heard over and over again. 

And I hate to tie everything back to my newly diagnosed chronic sinus infection.  But I have to think that if I didn’t have this ability to work myself up into a frenzy, I’d be flat on my back exhausted.  Because I’m starting to admit that a good bit of the time, I’m really, really tired, too.

8:56:29 PM