Archive for work-life
My favourite Trotskyist website …
… has changed its homepage design.
I always learn a lot from these people.
Catching up with Thanos
Your favorite editor standing by his university‘s Entertainment Arts hallway, on the Richmond campus.
Crossing the Fraser River in the early morning
There is almost nothing I love more than taking the Amtrak Cascades train south and across the border. Coming back up north, to Vancouver, comes close, though.
A complex feeling stretched over time
I’ve been a truly fervent fan of Stanford University’s women’s basketball team since the early-mid 1990s, during my second span of time at that school. A former student of mine helped manage the team, and she gave me floor tickets to some of the home games. That was it for me – I was a lifer.
Last night the coach of that Stanford team, the great Tara VanDerveer, won her 1203rd college game (in front of the home crowd) – more than any other college basketball coach, man or woman, surpassing Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke. In front of the crowd after the win, she said,
I want to bring attention to the wonderfulness of these players that work so hard and I’m so jealous because I never got to do what they get to do, but I’m able to watch a little girl’s dream play out through them. I’d be outside shooting by myself and thinking about what it could be like to play in front of a full arena and have a great game like this, but I never got to do it. But I’ve got the best seat in the house and I love it. [h/t Michelle Smith (McDonald)]
Bittersweet.
The work international students must do in B.C.
Several years ago my late Kwantlen colleague Arley McNeney organized a class project in which her students presented research on the challenges international students at our school face. I was embarrassed when I read their report; I had been so clueless, about so much, regarding the lives of my own students. I was particularly alarmed by the report’s findings illustrating how many international students faced continual food insecurity. There were additional widespread problems these students face, including precarious living situations (usually far away from a KPU campus) and abusive work environments.
This week The Tyee published what can be read as an update of the report prepared by Arley’s class: “Cash Cows and Cheap Labour: The Plight of International Students.” One disquieting theme: Students recruited internationally were shocked by how many hours they needed to work outside of school simply to survive in Canada. One study surveyed
1,300 international students at Langara and the College of New Caledonia in Prince George. They found the vast majority of students were working, and many were struggling. Only 28 per cent of surveyed Langara students said they had enough cash to meet their basic needs.
In theory, international students need to show they have the financial means to support themselves for one year in Canada. Since the early 2000s, that figure has been set at tuition, travel costs and $10,000 in cash. The federal government has recently announced that figure will double to $20,635.
But McCartney said the government likely knew for years that the $10,000 threshold was far too little to make ends meet, especially in cities like Vancouver, where the cost of a vacant rental unit stood at $2,373 a month as of last year.
The result was that students, either by plan or by necessity, found jobs. …
“At the end of the day, I think that we all believe students shouldn’t have to work 40 hours a week to pay for their rent, their groceries, their food. I wish that was the reality,” Chirino said. “But when you look at their fees and how much they have to pay, that simply isn’t feasible.”
At least 90% of my international students have jobs, very often more than one job. But it is not rare for me to hear growling stomachs in the classroom.
A couple of weeks ago, our university president, Alan Davis, wrote an open letter to the university community on this topic:
We have done significant work to improve the experience for international students in the past few years, but we also heard what you said [in a recent large survey] and there is more to do….
This won’t be an easy road. The federal and provincial governments are taking a close look at international education and some of the changes they are making or might propose could have a significant impact on KPU. While we’ve been gradually increasing the diversity of our international student population and we’ve seen a softening of international enrolment, the emerging external factors provide additional complexity in forecasting future trends.
Our annual student satisfaction survey repeatedly shows a higher proportion of our international students have more positive views of KPU than domestic students across several important metrics, including supporting student success and feeling part of the community. We have some strong foundations, but we will build on them in a careful and considerate way.
Blue Blocker
My friend @bfwriter told me I could clean up my Twitter feed with this Chrome extension.
I’ve been spending more and more time over on the Threads platform, though, to see reporting from the war in the Middle East.
The right tone and focus, I think
From my university’s president just now:
Colleagues,
The events this past weekend in Israel and Palestinian-territories have been profoundly disturbing. While we respect the right of Palestinian people to address legitimate grievances as well as Israel’s right to defend itself, indiscriminate violence against innocent civilians is unconscionable.
Undoubtedly, some of you will have been deeply affected by these events. The following supports are available to the KPU community.
For students:
- TELUS Health Student Support app provides KPU students with unlimited, free, 24-hour access to trained counsellors available in several different languages in addition to other wellness resources and information.
- KPU Counselling Services are available online or by phone for students. Please visit us online to book an appointment or for more information.
- KPU Student Resources ‘Quick Guide’ – a quick guide to online information and resources for all KPU students.
For employees:
- Homewood Health, KPU’s Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) provider, is available to help with counselling and other services.
During these periods of global upheaval, please take time to think about those around you: your colleagues, your students, your friends and your family. Please support those in need and encourage them to seek assistance.
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Fall term …
… starts today at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. I have 85 new students, and life is very good.
Teaching
This week I start my twenty-first year of teaching at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Artificial Intelligence technology like ChatGPT has required that I prepare a layer of adaptations to my curriculum this semester. It will be a new experience and perhaps a fun one.
I started university teaching forty years ago, at Stanford – as a graduate student TA in Larry Friedlander‘s famous Shakespeare class. Heavenly bliss (and no personal computers, let alone no internet). I went on to create and teach my own classes there.
Before Kwantlen and after my initial Stanford years, I had taken a couple of lengthy breaks from teaching but stayed in the same mental neighbourhood (writing, editing, mentoring, and publishing). I have always known what I wanted to do.
It’s a sweet gig!
Applications for two full-time regular faculty positions in my department – Applied Communications – are being accepted until February 10. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please encourage them to apply. This is the link to the job posting. Kwantlen Polytechnic University is a fine place to work.
My train
My friends know I love a good train ride. And more than that, I count on one particular line, the Amtrak Cascades, to bring me to and from loved ones in the States. Discontinued at the start of the pandemic, Amtrak restarted partial service a few months ago, and in March Amtrak is bringing back the second train – early morning southbound to Washington State, night-time return to beautiful Vancouver. They’re hiring, and I could not be more pleased.
Below are photo tributes I made to my home stations, in Vancouver and Seattle, a few years back.
The new year
Literally nothing has gone according to plan during my holiday break, except for the love shared with my family and friends. I had to throw away Plan H earlier today.
Classes start next week – two sections of Advanced Professional Communications and one of Technical Report Writing (more fun that it sounds). I am looking forward to meeting my new students.
Eyeballs
I had laser surgery on both eyes yesterday, less than an hour after my fine doctor found tears in each retina. I had my first such surgery less than a year ago, on my right eye. Reason: old age, no other proximate cause. Never had to open my wallet, though.
An editor’s help
An autumn evening, 1979: I was visiting the office of my university’s student newspaper to say hello to my colleagues. Joe Simon, the managing editor, was there. He told me he liked this week’s “Phaedrus,” my regular column, scheduled to appear the next morning. “I changed one word,” he said. “You said a woman’s lips were chartreuse.” Joe had a dictionary on his desk, open to C. I looked. “I trust you meant ‘ruby red.'”
I sure did.
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