I don't think I ever had specific fantasies about what the life of a professor would look like. When I was in grad school, I wasn't sure enough that I was going to get a job--and although I hoped I would, I guess I figured that I couldn't afford to imagine its specifics, lest I be disappointed. But spending a Sunday afternoon reading on the sofa, in front of a roaring fire, is probably someone's professorial fantasy. The reality isn't half bad either--though I suspect that, in the fantasy, the reading isn't mediocre student writing.
5 comments:
Hmm, maybe that's my problem ... I keep fantasizing too specifically?
Love the idea of being curled up in front of that fireplace! Preferably with a good novel instead of grading, though.
Pipe and sherry? Or a 21st century addition of a tablet/laptop? Personally, I'd add a dog or cat to the picture - and something appropriately esoteric in the matter of reading. String theory?
I love that time of year when we can start a fire and all curl up on the sectional sofa in the family room. But the pile of occasionally disappointing marking isn't an ideal part of the picture, you're right!
Belle: oh yes, there was a cat just out of the frame (and another one freaked out by the smell and the noise who refused to enter the room the whole time the fire was going). And eventually some whiskey!
Janice: I've been really dreading winter this year--ours aren't terribly cold, but they're snowy and gray and last forever--which has been affecting my usual enjoyment of fall: it's hard not to remember what's coming up next.
But having a fire the last couple of days has made me so insanely happy that I've decided that's what's going to get me through: a fire in the fireplace, at least a couple of days a week. Maybe in future years I'll even look forward to the weather getting colder.
Perhaps I should download a fireplace app? I've shifted everything to an all-digital workflow. Reports are submitted via dropbox, and I correct and comment on them all via a PDF annotator on my iPad. When I'm done, grades are recorded in Excel, and then re-uploaded back to the student's folder on Dropbox. I never touch paper anymore, LOL.
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