The End of a Busy Productive Semester

The last real post on this blog was in the middle of September, which tells you the kind of semester I have had. It was a busy, hectic time but it was a productive, insightful, and for the most part very pedagogically fulfilling (see my new post in a few days’ time about the blip in my semester).

This semester I started a new administrative position which meant that I was the coordinator of 8 certificate and diploma programs at the college.  This number turned into more than 10 after a restructuring in my faculty at the beginning of November. In numbers this means that I was responsible for more than 120 courses, the faculty who teach them, and the students who are enrolled in those courses. At the same time I was teaching three classes at two different colleges and in three different faculties.  Blogging was one of the things that I sadly had to put on the backburner in order to focus on my new responsibilities. 

Of course all throughout the semester I was jotting down ideas for blog posts or things would appear in my academic life that I knew I definitely needed to write about (again, spoiler alert, you will see this in a subsequent post that will be published in a few days). That is to say, one does not stop being a Higher Ed blogger or being committed to thinking and writing about pedagogical ethics because one is busy. 

When I was in undergrad I was on the campus volleyball and soccer teams (indoor and outdoor). Being part of these teams meant that I needed to be very good with time management (scheduling in practices, games, essays, readings, etc.). I have always said that this time allowed me to produce great work because it kept me focused on the task at hand.

This semester was no different and I think that all academics can relate to this need for balance and focus. Our agendas fill with teaching, grading, meetings, writing, and we have to block periods of time in order to make sure everything is accomplished efficiently.  This is exacerbated when one has to balance teaching with administrative responsibilities.

I would argue that being immersed as an administrator has ultimately made me a better teacher. As a teacher I see firsthand what the students experience and the struggles they may have along the way. As an administrator I have the opportunity to assist the students with larger issues and help create a safe, productive learning environment. There has been much said about how admin is ballooning in higher education while teaching positions are disappearing. I think there is honestly a place for both but they need to work in harmony and not at odds with one another. Teachers support administrators just as much as administrators support teachers- or at least this is the architecture of an understanding learning environment.  Often this balance is one sided and fraught. But an important distinction should and needs to be made between administrators and administration.  When articles are written about these issues, these two are often conflated and thus we throw the baby out with the bath water. (Confession, I have waited a long time to use that idiom in a piece of writing).

I have said this before and I will reiterate, I am an educator first and an administrator second but each is a valuable part of who I am and how I shape my pedagogy. I am one part of a bigger team at my college- it is important to remember this when speaking of administrators and administration in one breath.  As much as we emphasize collaboration in our classrooms, collaboration outside the classroom is just as important. This is why I often try to craft a neologism that would not place individuals in preconceived academic boxes (eduministrator, professator, adminessor?) based on job descriptions.  One of the projects I would like to explore in the future would look at the experience of these adminessors and eduministrators in universities and colleges in Ontario, but that is for another day (semester). 

I have a great team in my portfolio. From the instructors, to the very very invaluable program assistant, to the dean, and my chair, we come together day after day, week after week to support the teaching and learning for our students. I am proud to be a part of this team.  It is because of them that I can say this term was productive, and because of them that I could look forward to January with excitement at the new programs we have in development and the partnerships we will foster.  

I now have 9 days off until the winter term starts anew and I will use this time as I usually do, to reflect on what worked and what didn’t this semester in order to create an even better learning environment next term. I want to come back in January refreshed and ready to help the students.  I will spend some of this time working on book reviews (which is a welcome task amidst the cold icy weather we have been experiencing) and connecting with friends over lunch (academics are people too and need a social life). It is the end of a busy productive semester and I can honestly say I have learned a lot in these four months- proof positive that the experiential is worth just as much as the theoretical. 

I hope you all have a lovely relaxing holidays!