Reflections on the Eve of Another School Year

Labour Day functions as a liminal space for many people especially academics. It is the marker of the end of whatever false sense of “productivity time” that the summer “break” is supposed to suggest, and the beginning of class schedules, structured time commitments, and a delving back into an evaluative mode that often comes with teaching.  There are many scare quotes in that sentence because the reality is that academic narratives are often very different than this stereotypical narrative of higher education. More often than not folk are teaching in the summer term either out of financial necessity or scheduling demands. This means this concept of productivity time becomes shifted to happen throughout the year and the May-August months for those working in universities are not a slower time at all.

                This summer has certainly been one of change. I have recently joined the University of Toronto as an Educational Developer and it is a very exciting role that I am proud to be part of the team. Those who know me know that I am very passionate about access in education and inclusive pedagogy and curriculum. This role will allow me to support this inclusive mandate especially in terms of ed tech pedagogy and delve deeper into the many intersecting frameworks that academics at all levels (sessional lecturers, assistant and associate professor) are a part of in their work and research. It was also a rather productive time for me this summer in terms of my own research. I worked on many articles over the summer and it is nice to be able to start September with my list of summer to dos checked and a list of fall to dos at the ready.

                It is certainly a privilege to have the time and space to work on one’s own research and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to dedicate thought to the files that had been sitting calling my name from my hard drive for a while. What is also important to remember is that one’s research is just as important to one’s pedagogy as any professional development opportunity. Keeping up with developments in your field in terms of new concepts and new publications is certainly an equal requirement to being an effective professor, instructor, or facilitator as having the ability to be in the classroom or workshop practicing active-learning pedagogical strategies.

                Academe is certainly a Venn diagram of competing responsibilities and requirements and is not a collection of incongruencies. The more we can do to promote a holistic nature of what it means to be in higher ed, the more positive the experience will be for everyone from students to professors. This term I will try to share more articles and resources on this blog and on my Twitter feed that will reflect that holistic nature of academe, including the importance of reflective practice, and the need for self-care (recognizing that this is often a fraught and socio-culturally loaded term). For now I will take the next few hours on the eve of another school year to do some reflecting and thinking of how to best incorporate innovative strategies on some projects I have on the go. I will also be sure to acknowledge my gratitude for the opportunity to work in a field I care so deeply about and in an environment that means so much to me. I wish you all an excellent semester, dear readers, and as always please make sure to comment either here or on my Twitter if you have any ideas or feedback about my posts.