Category: The Day Job

  • My Online Learning Experience

    The semester I’ll never forget is just about over. Switching from the classroom to the Internet during a two-week hiatus after spring break was a daunting challenge. Except for maybe graduating seniors, students and faculty alike are happy to see the semester end. Teaching online isn’t all bad. I see the potential. How to make…

  • Coronagedden

    Long before corona arrived, Pandemic, a documentary series on Netflix, scared me so much I quit watching. According to the experts, a pandemic outbreak at some point is inevitable. Now we’re living it. Bad as the Covid19 outbreak is, we got off lucky. Some who get it will die, but the novel corona virus isn’t…

  • Teaching Evaluations

    Classes end this week. Finals are next week. Another semester is drawing to a close. How did I do? I’m optimistic, but the summary of my teaching evaluations won’t be available for a few more weeks. Figuring out what to teach, the order of the topics, and how much time to devote to each took…

  • Countdown to Retirement

    An udate and a surprising turn of event with….

  • Hitting My Stride

    I’ve devoted more than half of my life to developing consumer education resources and providing training to teachers, county extension agents, and community educators. I do the occasional presentation for the pubic, but my audience is primarily professional educators. Or was. Last year, I agreed to teach a one-credit overview of Family and Consumer Sciences…

  • Third Time is the Charm

    School starts back at UGA today. My class meets for the first time tomorrow. Having taught the same course twice before, I’m ready. My first time teaching the class was a hot mess. My biggest mistake was to follow the textbook, chapter and verse. Some of the content I hadn’t seen since my own college…

  • Staycationing

    I’m fortunate to have a job with paid sick leave and vacation days. We can accumulate unlimited sick leave, but vacation time has to be used within a given period. Some coworkers lose days every year. Not me. Forfeiting paid days off is against my religion. Nobody does my job when I’m out, so long…

  • Summer Vacation

    Every year I complain about summer coming to an end too quickly. Teaching highlighted the cause of my angst. Relying on the solstice was the problem. Summer starts when the spring semester ends. Before I started teaching, my involvement with students has been limited to the occasional guest lecture. Whether classes were in session or…

  • Countdown to Retirement

    Last week I celebrated my 61st birthday. Had to call 9-1-1 after my house filled up with smoke. Birthday candles were not involved. Somehow, I accidnetally closed thechimney flue when adding another log to the fire. Fortunately, the only damage was the lingering smell of smoke. Next year, retirement becomes an option. Barely. I’ll be…

  • Teaching: Take Two

    Teaching the consumer class again is a different exprience. A much better understanding of the purpose of the course and the shortcomings of the textbook led me to make quite a few changes. Students this semester are getting a new and improved version of the course. The class is smaller this semester. Instead of 48…