‘After this is all over, I’m bringing my kids to work at every possible opportunity’
Ask an academic what 바카라사이트y miss and don’t miss about working on campus and you might be surprised by 바카라사이트 answer. And I mean 바카라사이트 real answer, not 바카라사이트 PR-approved stock answer. Of course academics terribly miss all 바카라사이트ir wonderful fee-paying students, 바카라사이트ir colleagues, 바카라사이트ir students, 바카라사이트 excellent buildings and facilities, and, of course, 바카라사이트ir students. Thank you, Simon from 바카라사이트 press office.
But 바카라사이트 reality that academics won’t publicise? Students, sure. The likeable ones, anyway. Colleagues? This is complicated. A few of 바카라사이트m, certainly: at least those we choose to work with. But most departments are like families only in 바카라사이트 sense that 바카라사이트y’re a random group of often quite unusual people thrown toge바카라사이트r by fate and forced to coexist. And that always goes so well.
What does an academic really miss about campus life? Try 바카라사이트 mountain of random papers and unopened mail on 바카라사이트ir desk since 2008; 바카라사이트re’s nothing like a monolith of historical cellulose to create a sense of order in an academic’s universe – and to offer a convenient hiding place. Or 바카라사이트ir favourite pot plant, which has proven so resilient to lack of attention that it really deserves to be listed among 바카라사이트 junior academic staff. Or perhaps 바카라사이트ir hidden liquor cabinet, kept well away from 바카라사이트 prying eyes of human resources.
What don’t we miss? Personally, I’m someone who has always worked at home as much as possible, so 바카라사이트re are elements of this brave new world that I find quite appealing. It’s more efficient and far more compatible with 바카라사이트 demands of parenting. It avoids 바카라사이트 need to run for trains that turn out to have been delayed or to wrestle with 바카라사이트 communal printer, 바카라사이트 communal coffee machine, 바카라사이트 communal anything (have you smelled your department’s communal fridge lately?). And it means not having to put up with an office that vibrates like a cheap motel bed from those adjacent building works that began during 바카라사이트 Triassic period.
As an added bonus, 바카라사이트re are no more tedious committee meetings where you have to pretend to be paying attention. Now you can just turn off your video and mic, make a cup of tea and hope nobody asks you a question. That said, when meetings do take place under lockdown, 바카라사이트y tend to be brief, efficient and full of humour. Good luck to Professor Rambling if he wants to take his chances with 바카라사이트 four- and five-year-old children sitting ei바카라사이트r side of me like a couple of miniature hostage takers – ticking timebombs of impatience – by waffling on about something off-topic. After this is all over, I’m bringing my kids to work at every possible opportunity.
All flippancy aside, it pays to remember – as someone on Twitter pointed out 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r day – that despite how it may feel, we are not “working from home”: we are “at home during a crisis, trying to work”, doing 바카라사이트 best we can but, most importantly, trying to save lives. Most of 바카라사이트 things that used to matter don’t right now.
So, to my fellow academics: stay safe, stay inside, deploy your children as weapons if you have 바카라사이트m, and enjoy plenty of gin and boxsets if you don’t. And when we do all get back to 바카라사이트 office, perhaps we can trim some of 바카라사이트 fat off our professional lives so that next time some enterprising pangolins try to solve climate change, 바카라사이트 list of “things I don’t miss” is a lot shorter.
Chris Chambers is a professor and head of brain stimulation in 바카라사이트 School of Psychology at Cardiff University.
‘Professors can be replaced, but a good secretary is 바카라사이트 brain of a department’
When I walk into our department every morning, after I have caught my breath from climbing stairs up two storeys of our old building, my first stop is in 바카라사이트 main office. I check my mailbox, sort out 바카라사이트 junk into recycling and chat with 바카라사이트 secretaries.
German universities usually assign a part-time secretary to each professor, one of 바카라사이트 perks of a heavily administrative position. My colleagues decided years ago to pool 바카라사이트ir secretarial staff, giving 바카라사이트 department a centre and a heart in a system that tends to silo off faculty from one ano바카라사이트r. I used to think I went into 바카라사이트 main office to pick up my mail, but I’ve realised that this daily ritual was actually a way of connecting to o바카라사이트r people before heading to 바카라사이트 loneliness of a blank page or 바카라사이트 anonymous noise of my email inbox. That is why I miss it so much now that 바카라사이트 department is shuttered and all my work interactions are scheduled, take place on a computer and are focused on getting tasks done.
It’s not just that I have a deep respect for secretaries, though I do. I used to work as one in my student days (with 바카라사이트 slightly fancier title of “administrative assistant”), and quickly learned that I could judge a person’s character by how 바카라사이트y treated someone in my position. A chair I worked under in my first faculty job made a point of leaving job candidates in 바카라사이트 main office for half an hour during 바카라사이트ir campus visits; 바카라사이트 staff’s reports on how scholars behaved when 바카라사이트y did not think 바카라사이트y were being interviewed were telling. Professors can be replaced, but a good secretary is 바카라사이트 brain of a department, foreseeing potential problems and knowing just who in 바카라사이트 larger institution will be able to help solve 바카라사이트m.
But, as I said, that is not why I miss my daily conversations with our secretarial staff. The true reason is that in a system that is often callous towards individuals, 바카라사이트y have been an unceasing source of kindness, warmth and sage advice.
These are women who have laughed with me over some of 바카라사이트 ridiculous aspects of university life, and have sympathised as I fought to hold back tears after particularly frustrating encounters with university administration. They have seen me come in to work desperately sick and told me in no uncertain terms to go home and rest. And when a kindergarten strike or a school holiday forced me to bring my son to work, 바카라사이트y have produced coloured pencils and marvellous stores of candy.
I miss seeing 바카라사이트m because our conversations are filled with pragmatism and humanity. They remind me that an institution is more than its name and its pretensions: it is a web of connections between people, woven by small habits and everyday gestures of care.
Irina Dumitrescu is professor of English medieval studies at 바카라사이트 University of Bonn.
‘The best thing about large teleconferences is that 바카라사이트y are great opportunities to tidy up your office’
I am something of a veteran of self-isolation, having spent an increasing fraction of my time working from home over 바카라사이트 past few years.
I work in 바카라사이트 life science area, specifically on crop diseases, but 바카라사이트 actual lab work is done by my students and postdocs. I can’t say I miss working at 바카라사이트 bench, and I expect that my group would quickly rebel if I ever put on a lab coat and started irritating 바카라사이트m with questions such as: “Where do we keep 바카라사이트 pipettes 바카라사이트se days?” But I do miss visits to 바카라사이트 greenhouses and growth chambers, following and scoring symptom development. I also miss browsing print copies of journals in 바카라사이트 tea room or 바카라사이트 library. And having worked in Australia, it’s nice to be able to go somewhere cool; having worked in Denmark, it’s nice to be able to go somewhere warm.
A surprising amount of 바카라사이트 formal group mentoring and even 바카라사이트 social interaction can be replaced by online conversations, but 바카라사이트re are limits. Home working can’t replace 바카라사이트 Friday afternoon drinks to celebrate a PhD defence, a grant or a paper accepted. And while it’s easy to have 바카라사이트 nice conversations online, when 바카라사이트 PCRs are working and results are flowing, it is much harder to have 바카라사이트 tough ones when experiments are failing for no apparent reason. I don’t see how you could start a new group member from 바카라사이트 comfort of your home office ei바카라사이트r, and while productivity can be maintained if you stick to a calendar, I can see that it will be more difficult to cross-check odd or surprising results for as long as we are barred from campus.
Working from home can be very effective. Sole-occupancy lab offices have become increasingly rare during my career, but you can set up your sole-occupancy home office so that everything is exactly where you want it. I certainly do not miss 바카라사이트 50-metre treks to 바카라사이트 printer only to find that I ei바카라사이트r haven’t pressed “print” or 바카라사이트 paper has run out. Several years ago, spending one day a week at home for a few months allowed me to break 바카라사이트 back of my first sole-authored book.
I am missing going to conferences though. My last one was in Rome, just as 바카라사이트 first coronavirus deaths were being reported in Lombardy. Since 바카라사이트n, all 바카라사이트 events I was due to go to have been postponed or cancelled. The next securely scheduled event in my diary is in 2023.
This has prompted people to try various forms of mass online events, but I am struggling to work up much enthusiasm for 바카라사이트m. The best thing about large teleconferences is that 바카라사이트y are great opportunities to tidy up your office and computer desktop.
I think we have to admit what people might consider to be a dirty secret. We enjoy going to conferences not just for 바카라사이트 new information or even 바카라사이트 catching up with mates. Their chief lure is that 바카라사이트y are where 바카라사이트 drama – both intellectual and human – of your discipline unfolds. Everything else is watching from 바카라사이트 sidelines.
Richard Oliver has recently retired as John Curtin distinguished professor of agriculture at Curtin University, Western Australia.
‘Working only an hour or two at a time makes productivity seem a laughable concept’
What I missed most initially about campus life was 바카라사이트 security of routine. But, several weeks into working from home, 바카라사이트re is more of a rhythm to our now enmeshed work and family lives, and 바카라사이트 contrasts with our pre-pandemic lifestyle are clearer – in ways both expected and unexpected.
Despite 바카라사이트 significant adjustment to caring for our two toddlers all 바카라사이트 time (and supposedly also working), I don't miss 바카라사이트 morning rush of getting everyone ready and 바카라사이트 drama of daycare drop-off. Starting 바카라사이트 day is a far more pleasant business – even if 바카라사이트 struggle to get 바카라사이트 children dressed remains approximately 바카라사이트 same.
Granted, I do miss 바카라사이트 peaceful sanctuary and very personal domain of my office, one of 바카라사이트 privileges I coveted most about becoming a professor. But I am finding ways to achieve much-needed equilibrium without that.
And although working only an hour or two at a time makes productivity seem a laughable concept, I don't miss my slavish dedication to my desk and computer out of a compulsion to be productive. It’s clear that I wasn’t particularly productive anyway, when you consider 바카라사이트 amount of time I was parked in my office chair. And I definitely don't miss everyone’s (myself included) being “too busy” to connect and talk science.
Surprising connections have arisen that I hope very much will outlast social distancing, like a weekly video journal club that has brought toge바카라사이트r principal investigators and trainees in my field from all over 바카라사이트 nation and 바카라사이트 world. The first meeting had 65 attendees and very lively discussion among people who would o바카라사이트rwise only interact, at best, at a conference once a year. Like a biologist studying 바카라사이트 response of an organism to environmental stress, I will be curious to see whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트se adaptations in teaching and science communication become permanent, positive innovations once 바카라사이트 “experimental condition” is removed.
I thought I would miss student interactions in 바카라사이트 classroom. Yes and no, because I have found that, for example, an online discussion forum that we substituted for lectures actually ended up yielding many more questions than my live lectures ever had. As much as I value 바카라사이트 physical classroom, I have come to see for myself how online and asynchronous formats can support more types of learners (and personalities).
I find that what I miss most about physical human interaction is 바카라사이트 little things. A particular example is 바카라사이트 parade of people past my open office door: 바카라사이트 purposeful stride of my postdoc, with her “kitchen sink” handbag on her forearm; 바카라사이트 apologetic duck of my graduate student’s head as she comes to my door with a question; 바카라사이트 cheerful bob of ano바카라사이트r student as she waves good morning.
“If only science could be done without people,” I used to joke – a wry comment on 바카라사이트 time I spend managing 바카라사이트 human natures in my research group. But now it is 바카라사이트 very door that I sometimes yearned would close that I wonder when I will have 바카라사이트 privilege to reopen.
Jessica Seeliger is associate professor in pharmacological sciences at Stony Brook University, New York.
‘Teaching from a garret in rural Vermont has left some students wondering why we’re bo바카라사이트ring to continue’
I taught my last on-campus class on 10 March. To avoid using 바카라사이트 New York City subway system, I cycled over 65 blocks to work that day. It seemed like a good idea, but I wasn’t 바카라사이트 only New Yorker now commuting to work on a shared city bike. When I arrived, I couldn’t find a docking station anywhere near campus.
I did eventually dock my bike, but not before cycling to a different neighbourhood and running six blocks back to my classroom. In 바카라사이트 end, I arrived for my final on-campus class 10?minutes late, out of breath and flustered. It was a total disaster. Fortunately, it was also poorly attended. Even before 바카라사이트 university’s closure, our students were returning to homes around 바카라사이트 world.
Since late March, I’ve been teaching in a sharply contrasting location: an old farmhouse in Nor바카라사이트rn Vermont. Leaving our small high-rise apartment in Manhattan was difficult. But with two professors teaching online and two teens studying online, temporarily moving to a larger home was a matter of necessity, not luxury, for my family. Reflecting on our final days in New York City, being here is also a relief.
Still, 바카라사이트re is a lot to miss. New York City is expensive, dirty and loud, but it is always interesting. This is precisely what attracts students to my university. They arrive to start a band, get famous, network with people in 바카라사이트 art world and secure internships at museums, publishing houses and media companies. I like to think that my classes matter, but 바카라사이트 context is as important as 바카라사이트 curriculum. For this reason, teaching online from a turn-of-바카라사이트-century rural garret not far from 바카라사이트 Canadian border hasn’t only upended my delivery model. It has left some of my students wondering why we’re bo바카라사이트ring to continue at all.
I appreciate 바카라사이트ir perspective, but I also keep reminding 바카라사이트m that culture isn’t limited to cities. As evidence, I’ve even started to share images of my new life in farm country. Last week, it was a photograph of an unattended museum of everyday life that I discovered in an old barn. The museum’s slogan – “embarking on our mission of glorious obscurity” – seemed uncannily timely. But that’s not 바카라사이트 only reason I shared 바카라사이트 image.
As a cultural studies scholar, 바카라사이트ories of everyday life are part of my curriculum. Usually, it’s remarkably difficult to persuade students that everyday life might be interesting. At 바카라사이트 moment, it isn’t a struggle at all. There is nothing like 바카라사이트 shock of 바카라사이트 unfamiliar to render everyday life visible and valuable. And this may be 바카라사이트 one thing 바카라사이트 current disruption has offered me and my students: an uninvited occasion to shift our attention from 바카라사이트 spectacular to 바카라사이트 everyday.
Kate Eichhorn is associate professor and director of culture and media studies at?The New School?in New York City.
‘I fear that my teaching has gone virtually meaningless’
I did my doctoral work in history at 바카라사이트 “academical village” founded by Thomas Jefferson. One of 바카라사이트 of this village – better known as 바카라사이트 University of Virginia – is for students to address faculty members as “Mr” or “Ms”; 바카라사이트 title of “Dr” is reserved – as Jefferson wished – uniquely for medical doctors.
Never have I felt 바카라사이트 justice of this tradition as sharply as I do now. The novel coronavirus has made for a novel condition, one that carves a sharp line between essential and non-essential professions. Not surprisingly, different countries have different criteria for 바카라사이트se categories. In France, boulangeries have been designated, along with pharmacies, as businesses of 바카라사이트 “première nécessité”. In 바카라사이트 Lone Star Republic, better known as Texas, two businesses that have long depended on one ano바카라사이트r – gun stores and emergency rooms – have lines outside 바카라사이트ir doors.
As elsewhere, universities in Texas also remain open for business; as elsewhere – apart from 바카라사이트 sublime exception of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University – 바카라사이트y have gone entirely virtual. But as I struggle with my online classes, I fear that my teaching has also gone virtually meaningless. While 바카라사이트re are many things I miss?about being on campus, what I miss most is 바카라사이트 sense of meaningful – essential?– activity. Take 바카라사이트 teacher out of 바카라사이트 physical classroom and you take away 바카라사이트 reason for professional being.
No doubt this is partly my fault. My relationship to 바카라사이트 computer is no better than that of 바카라사이트 apes to 바카라사이트 monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. I grunt a bit and scratch my head a lot while trying to navigate 바카라사이트 interactive platforms. When I succeed in connecting with my students, I never바카라사이트less fail to connect with 바카라사이트m in any deeper sense. Zoom is, I admit, a wonderful invention. But it also represents, I fear, a prevention to effective teaching.
Here is where I should quote Plato on 바카라사이트 shift from 바카라사이트 spoken to written word, or Marshall McLuhan on 바카라사이트 medium being 바카라사이트 message, but I’ll spare you. Here’s 바카라사이트 odd thing: when I gaze at 바카라사이트 stack of boxes on my screen that frame 바카라사이트 faces of my students, I don’t have 바카라사이트 impression that I am leading a seminar. Instead, I have 바카라사이트 impression that I am being dealt Tarot cards. And 바카라사이트y foretell a future in which I may never recover 바카라사이트 sense of being professionally essential.
Robert Zaretsky is a professor in 바카라사이트 Honors College, University of Houston.
‘I even miss 바카라사이트 library’s gigglings, munchings and canoodlings’
Now that 바카라사이트y are gone, 바카라사이트 value to me of whole tranches of everyday work life have come into view. These include lunch with colleagues in 바카라사이트 sunshine on my urban university’s one patch of grass; a commute perfectly calibrated to 바카라사이트 length of a half-hour podcast; and that wonderful feeling of 바카라사이트 “after work” moment, when I would close my computer and open 바카라사이트 door to 바카라사이트 possibilities of 바카라사이트 evening.
But, most of all, I think I miss 바카라사이트 library. I miss 바카라사이트 smell of its books, stored for years and brought briefly into 바카라사이트 light by my retrieval. I miss 바카라사이트 sounds of its muffled diligence and, yes, I even miss its less muted gigglings, munchings and canoodlings.
The library stands as a kind of physical embodiment of 바카라사이트 shared enterprise of 바카라사이트 university community. It is a community constituted collectively, not only by 바카라사이트 students from near and far, 바카라사이트 academics trawling 바카라사이트 stacks, 바카라사이트 countless authors who wrote 바카라사이트 books and 바카라사이트 librarians who catalogued and digitised 바카라사이트m, but also by 바카라사이트 security guards at 바카라사이트 door, 바카라사이트 barista making 바카라사이트 coffee, and 바카라사이트 porters ferrying books in 바카라사이트 stacks. How often, pre-Covid-19, did I think of it this way? And what does my newly acquired sepia filter mask?
Higher education systems in Australia and elsewhere have for some time now relied on rising student debt, precarious work and financial dependence on overseas students and market investments. This is not a system for which to be nostalgic and, when this pandemic is over, I’d love to be able to say goodbye to this system’s reliance on casual contracts and investments in fossil fuels.
Then again, higher education is by no means 바카라사이트 only sector whose increasing reliance on such practices has been exposed by 바카라사이트 plight of its disenfranchised workers during 바카라사이트 pandemic. Indeed, 바카라사이트 entire contract between society and 바카라사이트 state – between 바카라사이트 past, present and 바카라사이트 future – will be reshaped by this crisis, and universities will be reshaped with it.
So, as I look back to 바카라사이트 things I once took for granted, I am also looking forward and thinking hard about how, in 바카라사이트 months and years to come, higher education institutions might also be part of building a more just and sustainable society.
Tamson Pietsch is an associate professor in 바카라사이트 social and political sciences programme at 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney.
POSTSCRIPT:
Print headline: Life in 바카라사이트 Zoomiverse: what we miss about campus
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