clevermanka: default (secretary)
clevermanka ([personal profile] clevermanka) wrote2011-03-29 10:36 am
Entry tags:

I don't get paid enough for the quality of my work

This went out to my grad students this morning

All,

I have ready the permission codes for Summer and Fall 2011. They are now ready for the eagerly enrollment-minded among you. Please keep in mind a few things:

1. All English department courses numbered 700 and above require a permission code, which you get from me. You get from me all permission codes, which are required for all English department courses numbered 700 and above. If a course is numbered 700 or above, and is offered through the English department, it requires a permission code, which I shall give you. Neither advisors nor instructors can give you these codes, which are required for all English department classes numbered 700 and above. Please email me, call me, or come by my office to get your codes for all English department classes numbered 700 and above.
2. Request your codes as soon as possible. We track enrollment through the distribution of permission codes, and if a class doesn’t appear likely to make minimum enrollment, department administrators will cancel it. On the opposite hand is the possibility of classes filling up early. Most graduate classes are limited to an enrollment of twelve students. Requesting codes early never hurt anyone, but requesting codes late (and being denied entry to a class) can sting a bit. Or so I’ve heard.
3. Because we track enrollment through the distribution of permission codes, I need to know immediately if you are not going to use a permission code, or if you drop/switch a class. Secreting away the fact that you have decided against taking a class only annoys those of us in charge of managing enrollment and does not in any way shield the spurned course from crushing disappointment. Pull yourself together, and just let me know you changed your mind. It’s no big deal. Really.

Thank you, and don’t forget to enroll early and enroll often.

Chernobyl Red
Graduate Secretary

You would not believe how many students will still ask me "Do I need a code to enroll in 801 (or whatever)?" *sigh*

[identity profile] tessagratton.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:39 pm (UTC)(link)
<3

I laughed so hard at point 1.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I almost blind-copied you on the letter, but then decided to just post the thing to LJ so everyone could share.

[identity profile] saffronhare.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
WIN. That is just brilliant.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks.

Believe it or not, I send something along these lines every semester. And still some people just don't get it.

[identity profile] redheadfae.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)

Perhaps alas, people do not get any less clueless as they get older.

[identity profile] redheadfae.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)

Hahahah!
Srsly, This o_O me not.

I'll bet you get this, too:

WHAT'S A PERMISSION CODE?

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Most people know what a permission code is by now, but some of them can't wrap their brain around the fact that they need them, even for classes they don't want to take.

[identity profile] redheadfae.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I totally understand.

We get clients that hate to sign forms, even the ones we need to work on their cases.

[identity profile] solan-t.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
When I wasn't giggling at this, I was out right gaffawing. And people STILL don't get it? Perhaps they can't actually read?

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Reading for content and comprehension is not a requirement in higher education these days.

[identity profile] solan-t.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
The irony that you work in the English department is not lost on me.

[identity profile] nataliesee.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Brilliant. And you can just copy and paste #1 when they ask.

I've resorted to bullet points and notes at the tops of my emails that say "please read the entire email carefully." Doesn't always help.

Grad students will be oblivious.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Grad students will be oblivious.

I have noticed this problem with faculty members, as well.

[identity profile] fairgoldberry.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Shouldn't people studying English have been required to learn to read it first?

Of course, the whole thing was made funnier for me by a unique rewiring of my brain that invariably causes me to read 'permission' as 'persimmon' the first few times through.

Apparently, persimmon codes are a Big Deal in your world.

Love,
Rowan

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, man, I love persimmons!!!

[identity profile] fairgoldberry.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I can tell this from your e-mail...*grin*

(by the way, I am sorry people are clueless in your world. I will offer my father's advice: "Dress them in overalls and hang them on a hook.")

Love,
Rowan

[identity profile] curieuse.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Perhaps you need another bullet point, about how 801 is more than 700. They're not MATH students you know. ;)

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I used that point in last semester's letter. Srsly.

We think too much alike. You poor thing.

[identity profile] curieuse.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I have to admit your note reminded me of too many I've written myself lately, without any trace of humor. :-|

[identity profile] stuology.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
#1 is awesome. I can hear it being read by Eric Idle. I'd even have to say #1 verbatim in a British accent if I was asked about the permission code ofter sending out the e-mail.



[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I can hear it being read by Eric Idle.

Yay! I'm so glad someone else does.

[identity profile] annamatic.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
Thirded, lol. But perhaps John Cleese.
Edited 2011-03-30 00:25 (UTC)
ext_12541: (Default)

[identity profile] ms-danson.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Super Secret PERMISSION CODES avaliable NOW! Only 700+ level courses eligable for SUPER SECRET PERMISSION CODE PRIZE! Act Now! Time Limited!**


**Note: Some requirements may apply. Skill testing question. Limited time offer. Do not feed to your gerbil. Stupidity may result in headache. Quality bribes appreciated.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I put a line about bribes in there one year, and someone actually brought me a bottle of wine.

While amused, I also kinda felt bad. Grad Students = Flat Broke. =\

HA! :)

[identity profile] the-themiscyran.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I love this letter. :) It reminds me of the days I spent admin-assisting in Fine Arts. :)

Step One: Post general notices in art locker hallways a month in advance, notifying students that said lockers must be emptied by the end of the semester. If not by them, then by the office.

Step Two: Post individual notices on lockers one week before deadline.

Step Three: Have student assistants clear out lockers that are still full of $100s worth of art supplies the Monday following the Friday deadline. (See, we even gave them the weekend!!!)

Step Four: Hold the items in the store room until finals are over, just to be super-nice to any panicky, broke art students. (Sometimes, 1 would show up.)

Step Five: Distribute art supplies to anyone who wants them, donate or dumpster the rest. Wait to explain to students who show up three weeks after the end of the semester that their stuff is gone for good.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Man, I gotta develop some better relationships in Fine Arts. I'd be up for free art supplies every semester...

[identity profile] the-themiscyran.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Srsly.

[identity profile] apocalypticbob.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
So much laughter over here. Not over the fact that you will have seriously clueless students still give you crap, but over the humor you've retained. Gotta laugh or you'll cry when dealing with the obtuse.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I also do it for the students who appreciate the jokes. =)

[identity profile] geekmom.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
So I was wondering, would I need a permission code to enroll in RandomEnglishClass 850? I've met all the requirements, and I'm a grad student, so everyone should just know all that and let me into the class, right? Also, I thought I might enroll at the very last possible second and get cross if there are any technical hurdles to enrolling like say a hold requiring a permission code. I'm not likely to run into that problem am I?

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, you've pretty much got it.

[identity profile] geekmom.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Did I mention how faculty were all at one point grad students? ;-)

[identity profile] mckitterick.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
Hahahaha! Excellent point.

[identity profile] kalimeg.livejournal.com 2011-03-29 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I can see that happening a lot.

[identity profile] frugurl27.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
I have a theory that the further people progress into academia, the less they understand actual language. Perhaps speaking in the native language of academics (read: bullshit) would help.

For your convenience, here is a helpful list of words to incorporate into your future e-mails to attempt to appeal to the academic crowd:

□ Discursive
□ Conflate
□ Heteronormative
□ Appropriate (v)
□ Intertextual
□ Subjectivity
□ Nuanced
□ Praxis
□ Trope
□ Reify
□ Hegemony
□ Dialectical
□ (Meta)discourse
□ Agency
□ Gendered
□ Socially dictated
□ Semiotic
□ Semantic
□ Methodology
□ Hermeneutic
□ Institution
□ Phenomenology
□ Criticism
□ Stratification

(Yes, I am keeping a list of these in a word document on my computer. Yes, I occasionally use this list as a drinking game at department functions.)

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 01:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, man. So keeping this for future letters. Thank you!

[identity profile] philrancid.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
We had a great laugh at this.

[identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2011-03-30 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
My work here is done.