Giving Negative Evaluations

I had to write a couple of negative comments on my annual evaluation of one of my department members.  I never handle criticisms well, and I don't think any of us in the department do.  (S)he didn't.

So I did what I've done before, negotiated.  If he would address the topics of my comments in her/his self-evaluation, I would back off from what I had written a bit---still list the factual component, but note that (s)he was addressing it.

I think I held my own better today than I have in the past.  Am I growing in integrity or just stubbornness?  More the latter I suspect.

Another year of being chair and I am done with this sort of thing, for a while anyway.

A Leisurely Day

I'm not sure how ironic the title of this post is.

I slept nine hours, which is something that usually takes me two days to accomplish, which is good.  It leaves me feeling sleepier though.  It reveals in greater detail my abyss of cumulative sleep loss.

I spent the day writing exams for my two classes.  I like writing exams.  They have to be good assessment tools but I usually find a way to introduce new concepts and examples.

So instead of spending time with my wife and children I spent most of the day with my laptop.  When I hear someone spout the cliche about no one regretting on their deathbed that they didn't spend more time at work, I always think to myself "how wrong you are".

Positive Feedback

I both gave and received positive feedback today, which feels nice.  Both meetings were in the morning.

First I discussed my annual performance review with our program assistant, who is terrific.  The first few years that I supervised her I was able to offer constructive criticism, but the past two years I haven't been able to find anything to improve.

Immediately afterward I met with my dean and one of the associate deans, who basically liked the work that I was doing and asked in great detail my plans for when I step down as department chair.

It will be more real when I see it in writing, and yet I can stand being praised and thanked, quite a nice morning overall.

This moment in time is intrinsically tied to the moments that proceeded it, by definition this past year.  I have been working pretty hard, and so has our program assistant.  Weird how a range of time can be tied to the moment of articulation.

New Medium

I've decided to try keeping my journal online.  The tension is to explore my thoughts meaningfully while not revealing too many personal details.  Plus it will look cooler.

My life is cacophonous.  It is hard to find time to contemplate;  I move from stimulus to response and back again so many times during the day, and am overwhelmed with fatigue when I close my eyes at night.

This should improve in the coming academic year as my service commitments start to expire.