A few months ago, I posted the OAH (Organisation of American Historians) guidelines for treatment of adjunct and contingent faculty. At the most recent meeting of the AHA (American Historical Association) Council, June 4 and 5, the AHA adopted the OAH guidelines. I don't know that it will have any effect, but I can hope. I have been a member of ( Read more... )

 It's good to be home ( Read more... )

( Lots of pictures behind the cut )

 So, today I got to tour the city a little with a guide. It's not as flat as I thought, originally, and there's lots of neat stuff. We drove through the Market District (Which was crowded - exactly like Byward Market in Ottawa, but a little bigger) and we looked at the new performing arts center (Which looks a little like the Sydney opera house) . ( Read more... )

 It's a totally different world out here in Missouri. I noticed, wandering around the other day, that lots and lots of businesses have signs up - the "no, you can't do that here" type signs; the circle with an slash through the middle, and an icon of the undesirable behavior in the middle - no smoking, you know. No ghosts. Well, here, the signs are ( Read more... )

 Albert Cole was elected as major of Lynn, Massachusetts in 1945, while serving in the military in the Pacific (he applied for an early discharge as a result, which is how I know) - how do you run for mayor when you're in the Southwest Pacific and the town you are trying to be mayor of is on the East Coast of the US? This is, of course, before the ( Read more... )

 Got in at 9:45 yesterday morning. On both planes, I was crazy lucky, and got a seat, and a seat next to me - not planned that way or anything, just worked out. The plane out of Binghamton was full, except for the seat next to mine - the flight attendant came and looked for a missing passenger who, I guess, never showed up. So, that was nice. I had ( Read more... )

 Ran into a student today at the store - he got a poor grade because he did not hand in his paper - he stated that he would not complain because he knew it was his fault. Miracles DO happen!

 the whining has begun. "why did I get a B???"

 So, this has come up in a couple of places this past week, and classes are done, and my grading is done - I have time to field it now.

First, Slactivite FormerConservative posted an interesting take-down of a home schooling blogger's reasons for home schooling. Since those reasons were absurd, and heavily informed by religious ideology (and a ( Read more... )