I’ll tell you what I’m really sick of right now: my university telling me that they understand change is hard for their staff. I’m an academic in an Australian university and I’ve chosen to publish this anonymously for reasons that should be obvious. This post is a rant. It’s not a reasoned tracing of the […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
When change is awful
Can you say something about the “theory chapter”?
I’ve been asked about writing a theory chapter. But should I say anything? I feel a bit iffy about the very idea. What to do? Take your own advice here. Write for ten minutes about a theory chapter. Write about why you find this topic difficult. Write about anything to do with theory and chapters […] … learn more→
Being able to skip classes improves some students’ performance. Others struggle with more autonomy
Remote learning online has been a common tool in the battle against COVID-19. School and university campus closures have affected over 1.5 billion learners in 165 countries. The reduced need for students to be in their physical classrooms gives them greater autonomy, with more choice about what they do with their time. Some might skip classes, but […] … learn more→
Change to college application represents a step forward in how colleges can better support trans students
Since its inception in 1975, the Common Application, the undergraduate admissions application used by more than 900 colleges, has required students to provide their “sex,” with only “male” and “female” as choices. But starting in August 2021, the Common App is also asking students their gender identities and the names and pronouns they go by. As a […] … learn more→
Think our unis are all much the same? Look more closely and you will find diversity
The COVID-19 pandemic plunged Australian universities into crisis. From early 2020, many voices declared increased specialisation and difference between institutions was the way for them to survive. Yet our soon-to-be-published study has shown if we dig a little deeper each university is a complex patchwork, especially in the area of research. Australian universities present an array of sometimes competing interests, […] … learn more→
The last stage (or lock down) loopy la-las
There’s a period of PhD study that I have come to call ‘the loopy la-las’: when you become highly capable of doing PhD work, but start to become incompetent at, well – almost everything else. I remember the day it started to happen to me. It was 2008 and I was deep in a Foucault […] … learn more→
Expansion of Second Chance Pell Grants will let more people in prison pursue degrees
When the Obama administration launched the Second Chance Pell program in 2016, the idea was to provide incarcerated people the chance to get a college education despite a longstanding congressional ban on Pell Grants for people serving time. Pell Grants are federal grants for college students of limited financial means. The awards will be worth up to US$6,495 for […] … learn more→
Ryerson’s reputational crisis: What to do about its namesake and his legacy
In recent weeks, the discovery of unmarked burial sites at residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan has unleashed shock, anger and grief across Canada. It’s also intensified discussions on how to address Canada’s past and ongoing settler colonialism. In the city of Toronto, there are fiercely divided opinions about whether Ryerson University should change its name given its namesake’s role in […] … learn more→
The up in writing
Last week I moaned about the unintended side effects of the term imposter syndrome. Maybe I’m just feeling generally a bit browned off because I also caught myself this week revisiting old irrits about the term “writing up”. It’s nostalgic niggle time. I was thinking about the fun Barbara Kamler and I used to have […] … learn more→
History made the world we live in: here’s what you’ll learn if you choose it in years 11 and 12
History is for students curious about the world. It involves discovery, evaluation and imagination. Around 40% of Australian senior students chose to study year 11 and 12 history in 2016. It was more popular than other humanities subjects such as geography and psychology and more girls chose to enrol (23%) than boys (18%). Here’s what you need […] … learn more→
