Graduate Teachers' Union Continues Work

Contact GTAC at gtac@kugtac.org or www.kugtac.org

When Kristin sent out flyers asking for teaching tips, I didn’t think I had anything to contribute, and I don’t know that what I have to offer is a tip so much as a hope. I am already finding myself frustrated with my 101 students this semester, and it’s a bit early for that even for someone as impatient as I am. However, I’ve been running into my students from past semesters a lot recently. Some of them were excellent students when I had them, others not so much—frequently absent, wrote papers without carefully reading the assignment (or, I suspect, without reading it at all), disorganized, etc. What amazes me about these less than stellar students is that they’re doing well now, for the most part, and I was sure that some of them would not make it.

This, combined with applying to Ph.D. programs, has forced me to reflect on my own academic career, which has also been less than stellar. I have realized that I must have had many GTAs my first year who thought I, too, would not make it; I enrolled in 24 hours and only passed 15 of them that year. I went to a TA and asked him why I wasn’t doing well in his class; he said, “Because you don’t come.” What I’ve realized is that I was one of those students, one of those students who makes me want to tear out my hair, one of those students who makes me review the University’s policy on corporal punishment.

Perhaps this is some kind of karmic justice. But I must say that I’m glad I am getting what I deserve, at least in a big-picture sort of way. It reminds me that while every semester I get a new group of students that present the same challenges as the students from the previous three semesters, making me feel like I’m beating my head against the same wall and making no progress, that some of those students will go on to succeed in ways that I never imagined possible. And maybe I will have played some part in it.

I hope this makes you feel a bit better, more hopeful, about the student that arrived late to class to sit in the back and read the paper, but if not, I find bribing students with candy to be very effective; even those students like candy.

It never fails to happen. Any time I visit my relatives, or make a new acquaintance, the question invariably occurs: “What on earth are you planning to do with your English degree?” Why, teach at the college level, of course (that is, if the professional student thing doesn’t work out). But as I talk to the graduate students around me, I learn everyday that there are so many more things that one can do with an English degree. Over the next few issues of SAGE Advice, we will explore the myriad of possibilities available.

Last fall, Anjali Nerlekar began teaching literature to inmates at the Douglas County Jail.

Why did you decide to become involved in the program?

I taught at the First step (a Halfway House for women for substance abuse) the year before and that experience was so fruitful for me as an instructor that I decided that I would continue to read literature with women outside academia as long as I can.

What are some of the differences that you've noted between teaching at KU and teaching at the jail?

The biggest one is the constant turnover. This class is a voluntary sign-up—moreover, the inmates are there for varying periods of time. So to pick out topics and texts for a class that might or might not be comprised of the same faces—that is a challenge that I am still trying to overcome.

More significant though is how much the women value the written word. They are people who have very limited methods of communication or entertainment and therefore this class and the reading that we discuss becomes an important way for them to connect with others and with themselves.

Could you offer an anecdote about teaching at the jail?

On my first day there, I asked the women why they had signed up for this class and one woman said, “So that I do not kill others or myself.” That is how important they consider the ability to write.

How has teaching at the jail affected your ideas about teaching?

Teaching there has shown me the value and importance of what I do. I sometimes tend to question the significance and meaning of my role as an instructor at KU. But teaching at the Douglas county Jail obliterates all such doubts. It showed me the unarguable relevance of my work and interest in literature.

In more practical terms, I learned to involve more of personal narratives in my teaching—since they were the most effective tool of teaching/writing at the jail.

Are there other comments that you would like to make about teaching at the jail?

I have been asked why I choose to work with “criminals”. But the women I met there are real women like you and I, and for the most part, very sensitive, very thoughtful and very perceptive about literature and life—and this is not something that one gets that often as an instructor at KU!

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Do you have any extra books laying around the home or office that you are looking to donate to a good cause? SAGE has two opportunities. First, the Douglas County Jail is in need of books for its inmates. They do not have a lot of room; however, the director is currently putting together a list of books that the jail would appreciate receiving. The list will then be distributed to the department by Kristin Bovaird-Abbo and Anjali Nerlekar, who will be more than happy to collect any donations (Email Kristin at kabbo@ku.edu or drop books off at 1079 Wescoe). Second, SAGE will host its annual Book Sale this March; all proceeds go towards funding SAGE activities (I.e. renovating the SAGE Lab; providing travel funds; buying videos, etc., for the classroom). More details will be provided in the near future!

Before beginning her graduate studies in English at KU, Jennifer Balke taught at the high school level.

During my three and a half years, I taught 9th, 10th, and 11th graders at different times. At the high school at which I taught, the students did not have a choice of English electives so I taught the standard English, which consisted of American Lit (10th graders) and African-American/Multi-Cult. Lit (11th graders). I also was the newspaper advisor.

My love of English and my desire to work with/help young people. It also didn’t hurt that my mom was a junior high English teacher, so it seemed like a natural fit.

Working with “my kids”; having my students understand that I really cared and wanted to see them succeed

If you can believe it, the maturity level! Overall, my freshmen here at KU have been more mature. Another difference that I’ve noticed is that my freshmen here at KU harass me a lot more about grading!!

During my first year teaching, my “adopted” son Bryan told me that I needed to have more backbone with these kids. However, when I tried getting tough with him and told him that he said I needed to have backbone, his reply was, “I didn’t mean with me!”

Also, if you are considering teaching junior high or high school, unless you are really, really hard up for money, never take a teaching position in the middle of the school year after the students have had long-term substitutes almost all year!

It has given me more insight into what is expected in terms of writing skills for students entering college. It really is one thing to know as a former student and another to know as a teacher. It has confirmed for me that I really do enjoy working with young people and helping them to become better readers and writers.

Although I was ready for the change that I’ve made, I really enjoyed teaching high school. I loved working with my kids and showing them that someone cared about them and about what happened to them even when they were having tough times. Also, it is interesting, though not really surprising, how much college freshman are still like high schoolers. It has made the transition much easier for me.

Our third and final candidate, Rebecca Curtis, arrives early in the week of February 3rd; flyers and itineraries have been placed in departmental mailboxes. She will read on Tuesday, February 4, at 4:00 p.m. in the Big 12 Room of the Kansas Union. A reception will immediately follow the reading at the home of Professor Doty. On Wednesday, February 5, SAGE will be hosting an Open House for Professor Curtis from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in 3132 Wescoe.

The meeting to discuss the three Fiction Writing candidates, Lucy Corin, Deb Unferth, and Rebecca Curtis, will be held on Thursday, February 6, at 4:00 pm in 4019 Wescoe. The Voting Department meeting, which will begin at 4, is open to anyone who would like to comment on the three candidates. This meeting will then adjourn into a Senior Staff meeting, where a vote on hiring will be conducted.

As we dive into the new semester, we hope to begin renovating the SAGE Lab. While we can’t afford to update the computers this year, we are looking into having a nesting station put into the room as well as clearing it out and making it a more inviting environment. We plan to use money from our GSA funds for the renovation. And we hope that the renovation will continue next year, allowing us to update the technology. Any suggestions for the SAGE Lab (perhaps, a name change) would be greatly appreciated, particularly from those students who do not teach and who use it the most.

I’m also happy to announce that poet and spoken word artist Alonso Menendez, who was recently featured in Big Bridge e-zine, will be visiting KU again this semester. He spoke and performed at the first fall semester creative reading in addition to speaking to a number of 101 and 102 classes. Alonso’s work was well received by graduate students and 101/102 students alike. Beth Lagaron is working to secure some funds for his visit; if you’re interested in more information about Alonso’s visit or having him speak in one of your classes, contact her at blagaron@juno.com. You should also contact Beth if you’re interested in reading any of your work at this semester’s creative readings, scheduled for February 22nd and April 26th.

In addition, we have scheduled this year’s fundraising book sale for March 26th and 27th. The book sale is still in the planning stages, but Kristin Bovaird-Abbo will be contacting everyone about book donations and Lisa St. Ledger will be handling the scheduling of volunteers.

While there were no definite plans put forth by the social committee, I have been assured that they are in the works. And given the success of the Halloween party (It was crazy—someone even caught on fire. Thankfully, no one was injured.), I’m sure that whatever Sam and Mindy plan this semester will be equally as successful.

Finally, the next SAGE meeting will be Thursday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Café Nova (8th and New Hampshire). We will be finalizing plans for the book sale, discussing disbursement of travel funds, proposing new candidates for SAGE officers, and refining our plans for the SAGE Lab renovation.

Conference News

Matthew Candelaria, along with Kristin Bovaird-Abbo, Anjali Nerlekar, Ann Volin, and Jill Zasadny, will travel to Long Beach, California, to present his paper on Wallace Stevens, entitled “Modernism in Motion: Death and Dying versus the Dead in ‘Sunday Morning’”, at the American Literature Association Symposium on Twentieth-Century American Poetry from March 13th to the 15th. In “Sunday Morning,” Matthew argues that Wallace Stevens seeks to replace the stagnant forms of Christian beliefs; as a result, other “comforts” must be sought by the generalized American proxy in the poem. However, the solution is not to replace these forms with pagan beliefs, classical or primal, nor is the solution to find pleasure in life or mere sensuality. The distant, immortal fruit of paradise, always ripe, never ripening, never falling, is rejected in favor of the “Sweet berries [that] ripen in the wilderness.”

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