President Barack Obama!!!!

Hiya -

Finally!!!!  I watched the inauguration.  It was awesome!!!  I watched the coverage on BBCA 'cause I wanted to see an international viewpoint.

Let's see, where to start?  The ceremony itself was pretty cool!  The musical arrangement by John Williams tho -- the BBC called it an "original composition" -- it wasn't -- it was "Lord of the Dance".  I know that hymn, it's one of my favorites (and I'm not one for much in the way of hymns, and even less of "Christian" music).  But I had JUST heard it during Superstars of Dance -- the Irish team competed in step-dancing to it, and I had looked it up last weekend and found the melody was a 18th c. Shaker one.  Yes, Shaker -- not Irish, which the hymn is always associated with, so go figure on that one.  Still, it was a gorgeous composition.  I also really liked the poem, and even the second preacher who spoke.  (The first one was incredibly lackluster, and I honestly couldn't figure out why no one joined in on the "Our Father" -- in my culture, someone starts saying the "Our Father" everyone drops what they are doing and joins in.  Automatically.)
Getting to our new President's speech --- it was good, especially the middle bit.  It felt like he was addressing the outgoing administration rather than any particular foreign power.  Woo-hoo on that one.
But, yeah, overall I liked the speech.  I liked the one on election day better, but hey.
And I wish the media would stop criticising Barack Obama for "only words" and "needing action" -- I mean really, it's only his first day in office!  How much work did you do on your first day at a new job?  BBCA kept calling it a "filled in-tray".

Here's a list of thing's I think the country really needs to be doing:
1.  Get people working.  Do this by running an updated FDR-like program.  It's not "make work" if it's work that really needs to be done.  Make work is having group a dig a hole and group b fill it in (Remember the Doctor Who episode "Full Circle"?).   Upgrading telecommunication lines so everyone in the country has the ability to get broadband internet, fixing the roads, fixing infrastructure like bridges, starting non-pertreleum-based power sources (wind, solar), and building public transit as well as fast rail are NOT "make work" programs -- they are what the country needs to do to get into the 21 century.  Plus, bonus, it puts people to work with very little training.  (Yes, pulling fiber-optic cable is a technical job -- but if that is ALL you're going to do is pull the cable, and someone else figures out where to put it - it turns into a job as simple as factory assembly work or ditch-digging).
2.  FIX health care.  I'm one of millions of people without health care -- and I have a job.  Some form of government-sponsered basic coverage is necessary!  It's time people get their heads out of their rears, stop making the insurance companies and major hospital firms/doctors rich (while private practice doctors close their doors because they can't afford malpractice insurance) and realize that health care is a necessary right in a civilized society, not a privledge of the rich.  I mean, in my LIFE, -- my working life and I started working at 18 and I'm now pushing 40 - I've only had ONE job that did have health insurance.  One, in, what, over 20 years?  Saying "every American gets health care thru' work" is a bald-face lie.
3.  Long term -- work on the environment, clean-up toxic waste, stop emitting so much greenhouse gases.
4.  Again, long term -- improve American education in science and the American rep abroad in the sciences (esp. hard ones).  You-know-who dumbed down the country, and ruined the American rep to the point that other countries laughed at us.  And this for the country that promised to put a man on the moon in ten years, and did it in eight!
5.  Improve all levels of education.  I was so happy when President Obama mentioned this.  I'm a teacher, and even tho' I just started teaching, I've seen how low standards have slipped since I was at college/university.
6.  Oh -- and it goes without saying, because its so obvious, but Bring Home the Troops!

--Olivia

Work

It's late, almost bedtime, but having posted one really political entry, now I need to vent about work -- which I've needed to since I opened my e-mail inbox this afternoon.

To be blunt -- I got an e-mail, sent to the faculty of my entire institution (it's a technical school -- so college-ish) that I radically disagree with.  And it's not just that it will mean more work for me personally -- but I radically disagree with what our new assistant dean has said.  (Oh, and this wasn't the one I had some personal problems with before Christmas -- it's the other one).
We have had a policy, for awhile, that if a student misses class we are to call or email the student to find out why they weren't in class and encourage them to attend class.  Fine.  Lots of work (re have to record everything in a student tracking program), but fine.
Background #2 -- Our classes are at night.  6:00pm to 10:20pm, once a week.  A few classes meet during the day, especially Saturday mornings, but the rest are at night.  Got it?

The e-mail that riled me:
"All faculty are to immediately contact any student who misses class.  Contact must be made within 90 minutes of the attendance entry."

I am absolutely livid!!!!

90 minutes after taking attendance - I AM STILL IN CLASS!!!!  What, I'm supposed to do stop teaching and spend the next TWO HOURS calling missing students?  Ignoring the ones who did show up?
Not only that, but if I use common sense and say -- OK, he really means 90 minutes after class -- That means calling students at 10:30PM/11PM/ even midnight some nights (just 'cause class ends at 10:20 doesn't mean I'm done at 10:20pm)
Our students are working adults -- with families.  That's why they go to our school and take night classes in the first place, rather than going to the much cheaper (and better in the traditional liberal arts way) local community college.  This people have kids, babies, even.  The last thing they need is someone calling in the middle of the night -- when it's not an emergency.  It can wait until the next day. Not to mention some people just don't like calls at night - my Dad would have killed me when I was in high school if someone called me that late (and even while I attended said local community college before transferring to IU).
This new policy is stupid.  It's stupid for the students.  And I'm not exactly happy, as you may guess.
I'm tempted to talk to my boss, the chair, who I really like, at our dept meeting next Friday (a week from this Friday).

--Olivia