Professor Issues

I’m sitting here at my carrel in a corner of the library with a view of the surrounding region, grading map quizzes and assignments (that I had forgot about until today), but thought I would take a little break (I need to finish some readings before tomorrow as well, but I’ll get to them eventually).

Well, our classes end at the end of this week, and our finals end on May 9. I just have one take home final (quantitative methods in geography - i.e. statistics), but I have to give a final in geog 101 (on May 9 of course) which will take a while to grade. I'm working as an usher at the graduate student graduation on May 11 (they pay pretty well for that short amount of time). After that, I really don't know what will happen - it all depends on if they get my thesis back to me so I can start revising it. I'm so exasperated with him (my advisor) for this whole mess. I met with him yesterday afternoon and all that comes out of his mouth is one excuse after another for not having looked at my thesis or my comprehensive exam yet (which I took almost three weeks ago! and which I found out my other two professors have already read). He's certainly not any more busy than any of the other professors who don't seem to have problems getting stuff back to students in a timely manner. Also, don’t overlook the fact that he only advises 3 or 4 students, while some of the other professors (particularly the physical geographers) may advise 15 to 20 graduate students. This next thing is really what set me off: he said he doesn't look at any graduate student stuff after May (during the summer) because "they don't pay him to do that in the summer - they only pay him to teach one class". That really enraged me because he is also the one who told the graduate committee not to give me funding in the fall because I would be finished by August (another story – why would they not have extended me an offer to renew funding? I’ve done a hell of a lot more around here and academically, finishing my thesis when others have yet to start on a proposal, attending and presenting at conferences, running extra activities, etc., than most of the other people in the department who have really only just messed around?). Well, some wheels really need to start spinning in order for that to happen because certain deadlines are quickly approaching. He said those deadline dates really don’t matter since they don’t pay advisors to advise graduate students during the summer. I mean really, it is just one contradiction after another. I told him I need to start applying for jobs to start in the fall since I won’t have funding now (or insurance). He said I should go ahead and do that at least. (again, another tangent – where and what should I look for to work at for a year? I’ll try to put into words my thoughts on that after I finish this segment. I suppose I’ll start applying for Ph.D. programs this fall to start in fall 2007). The class he must teach in the summer is geography of the American South – his specific specialty which I’m sure he doesn’t have to spend a lot of time preparing for. He won’t have any TA’s in the summer so he’ll have to do all the grading himself (probably no more than 30 students), bless his heart. Additionally, he is still working on reading another student's thesis (she gave it to him last December! – and she has been here for five years working on a masters degree.). There is also another student he advises who is also currently on year number 5 of working on a masters degree (of course, her thesis is over 200 pages and she just needs to quit writing and turn it in). Five years on a masters degree! Seems a bit ridiculous to me, especially when most people can obtain a Ph.D. in the same amount of time. I then went and met with another one of my committee professors and she had some good positive advice and encouragement - and suggested I meet with the department head (who is out of town all this week for some conference though). Well, the whole thing is just so frustrating and vexing, I've about had it!! I finished writing the thing in February and he is still flouncing around the issue! Is it too much to ask for someone to at least do part of their job that they get paid to do?

As far as applying for a job to start this fall – regardless of whether or not I get my degree in August apparently – I repeatedly feel drawn to attempt to get a job teaching English in another country for a year before returning to start a Ph.D. at some university in the South. I don’t know what it is but things keep turning up, different unrelated things that seem to point in that direction. Things some people say, things I inadvertently read about or see, feelings of excitement at the prospect. Maybe it’s just my affliction with wanderlust – I don’t know. Yes, I would miss people here, certain specific people very much so, but it would only be for less than a year really. And the way communication technology has come along these days it would still be easy to communicate on a very regular basis – perhaps even daily. I just feel that it is something I’m supposed to at least attempt to do – whether or not I do end up doing something like this. If I don’t it will be something I will always wonder about my whole life. I just feel I should take time to contribute something to other people rather than continuing a focus on myself in school (even though my research is ultimately an attempt to understand people I guess). Yes, I suppose I could do that right here, but different people feel led to do different things I suppose. It would be a big decision, not one to be taken lightly, but I have given it considerable thought for quite a long while now. On the other hand, there have been some people who seem to question why the thought would even occur to me or why I would even consider the possibility of working elsewhere, if ever so briefly, rather than just settling down and working here. Granted, these are also people who never have traveled themselves, or don’t like to travel, or don’t seem to have an innate curiosity about everything (or anything), or seem to throw black cloud over anything someone else gets excited about. Well, I can’t explain why I feel this way, I just know somehow that it is something I should try to do now.

Well, I guess it is time to get back to work. Perhaps more thoughts on this will occur to me later.