The
Union Press
Newsletter for the Faculty of the Marin Community College District American Federation of Teachers, Local 1610
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1997 Newsletters: Jan. Feb. March April May June/July Sept Oct Nov
C O N T N T S |
December Headlines |
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UPM's Flextime A General Meeting of the Members Friday January 16, 1998 12:30 to 1:15 Fussleman Hall, 120 Refreshments will be Available!
Bargaining Questionnaire The Collective Bargaining Team needs your input and direction for bargaining the new contract. The first step in the process of preparing for negotiations is to pinpoint issues of concern shared by faculty. After this step has been taken, the Bargaining Team may seek from you more detailed responses about your ideas and concerns. The list below identifies the articles of the Contract. Mark those articles that you would like to see modified or amended. Then, in the space provided, describe what you would like changed or amended and why. If you need more room for your recommendations, please attach another sheet and specify the Article you refer to. Finally, remove this page from the newsletter and return it to the UPM office via intercampus mail. The survey must be received by the Bargaining Team no later than February 2, 1998. Check Article Recommended Modifications Article I: RECOGNITION (Unit positions; distribution of Reassigned Time)
Article II: PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS (Authorization for deductions
Article III: WAGES (Formulas, placement, management teaching salaries, etc.)
Article IV: FRINGE BENEFITS
Article V: LEAVES (Reporting Absences, Sick Leaves, Substitution, Personal Necessity, Unpaid, Bereavement, Military, Accident, Disability, Honorary, Assault Leaves, and Unit Banking)
Article VI: TRANSFERS AND ASSIGNMENTS (Transfers, District-directed, Relocation, RETCUM & ETCUM status)
Article VII: EVALUATION (Criteria, Procedures, Regular and Temporary Unit Members, Personnel Files)
Article VIII: WORKLOAD (Workload Credit, Reassigned Time, Overload, Stipends, Office Hours, Department Chairs, Reduced Load, Management Employees, Intersession)
Article IX: CALENDAR (Staff Development, Flex Time)
Article X: CLASS SIZE (Minimum Class Size, Maximum Class Size, Class Cancellation)
Article XI: SAFETY (Safety Committee, Procedures, Training)
Article XII: GRIEVANCE (Definitions, Grievance Filing, Time Limits, Appeal Process)
Article XIII: BOARD/AGENCY RELATIONS (Communications) Article XIV: DISTRICT RIGHTS Article XV: REDUCTION IN FORCE (Bumping Rights, Re-employment Rights, Competency Criteria, Faculty Service Area)
Article XVI: UPGRADING OF PART-TIME FACULTY (Part-time/Full-time Ratio, Ranking of Disciplines)
Article XVII: ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Article XVIII: NON-DISCRIMINATION
Article XIX: SEVERABILITY
Article XX: CONCERTED ACTIVITIES (No-strike Clause)
Article XXI: REPRESENTATION/SERVICE FEE (Employee Rights, Re-employment Rights, Competency Criteria, Faculty Service Areas) |
One can only hope that calendar, decade or millennium's end prompted Stephen J. Ceci after 20 years to consider how his teaching style might be affecting his students' ability to learn.
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Evaluation Evaluations How accurate are student evaluations of instructors? Many university administrators value them enough to consult them in making tenure and pay decisions. But a new study shows that students give the highest marks to the most enthusiastic-and not necessarily the best-teachers. Stephen J. Ceci of Cornell University taught developmental psychology twice one year. In the fall, he gave his lectures as he had for the past two decades. In the spring, he did the same but changed the pitch in his voice and used more gestures. Second-semester students found Ceci not only more knowledgeable and tolerant but more fair, organized and accessible. And they claimed to have learned more, even though they did no better than first-semester students on the same exams. Ceci's study alone could give me a few columns of material. But this being the holiday season where some people exchange gifts, first let me offer something for the person who has everything. This gift suggestion comes from Volume XIII, Number 2 of Thought & Action, The NEA Higher Education Journal. In this Fall 1997 issue there is a review by Jill A. Jackson of the scholarly text The Erotics of Instruction (edited by Regina Barreca and Deborah Deneholz Morse, University Press of New England, 1997). The reviewer explains the contents of the book by stating "[i]n their preface, the editors write: 'What needs to be recognized is, first, that acts of learning and teaching are acts of desire and passion,' thus setting the stage for 13 essays that explore the seductive force that grips the pursuers and the purveyors of knowledge." Lest you recklessly rush out to purchase this tome, let me give a warning statement from the reviewer: "This ground-breaking book is controversial and may entice or enrage the reader. But despite the emotional reaction to the material, the reader will be challenged to think-like it or not." Regular readers of this column recognize that I could not pass up two observations like those cited above. If for no other reason they serve to remind us that the real world is often stranger and more exciting than anything imaginable. And also, perhaps, that some people have a lot of time on their hands. One can only hope that calendar, decade or millennium's end prompted Stephen J. Ceci after 20 years to consider how his teaching style might be affecting his students' ability to learn. The fact that he got a publication out of it was a bonus. Furthermore, The Erotics of Instruction could remind all of us that we do have a relationship with our students, and that any relationship requires freshening up, something to make it sexier, if you would (the reviewer of the aforementioned book says that the majority of the contributors were instructors of English, so perhaps these folks are already doing what needs to be done). It is too easy just to do the same old thing and take everyone for granted. Their faces change each semester, how about ours? I am not one for New Year's resolutions; resolutions are best done when necessary instead of waiting for some cyclical event. However, if you are looking for one, how about resolving to change how you make your students think. Try that new approach, offer that alternative method, modulate your voice, look alive and wear that zippy outfit. Apparently it all can influence perception, and perception can contribute to one's ability to learn (Ceci's results not withstanding). You may also find that you too, are feeling better, have become more organized and more accessible. Relationships do go both ways, remember. It could just get exciting around the old place next semester. Until then, here's hoping that next month and beyond finds you in good health. |
Treasurer
Newspaper Editor
Budget Monitor
Executive Secretary
Grievance Officer
Committees: Bay Faculty Association (Bay 10)
Collective Bargaining Team (CB)
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Health and Safety
Marin Labor Council
PROFESSIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Professional Standards (PSC)
Sabbatical Leave
Staff Development
Workload (UDWC)
WEB MASTER
Updated Jan. 21, 1998 |
Articles |
Last month, we announced a new benefit for members of the UPM: discounts on entertainment activities through an organization called the Recreation Connection. At that time, we understood that faculty members interested in taking advantage of the discounts would only have to submit orders at the organizations Web page, but we were wrong. Several people on the faculty tried submitting orders but found that they had to fax or mail an order form to an address that we had not listed. So here is what we hope is the complete procedure for ordering discounted tickets and the like: To order by mail or by fax, you must first secure an order form. You can get an order form from the UPM Office on the Kentfield campus, you can request a form by calling (818) 386-1046, or you can print out the form from the organizations Web page, found at this address: Once you have the form, you can mail it to: Recreation Connection P.O. Box 260854 Encino, CA 91426 Or you can fax the form to: (818) 386-9702 The Recreation Connection offices are in southern California where they have established walk-up order counters, but so far, no such facility exists in our area. For information, call (818) 386-1046. Gift Certificates Sees Candies $8.30/lb Movie Tickets Pacific $4.75 United Artists $4.75 Entertainment 98 Marin/Norh Bay $25.00 Monterey Bay The Aquarium $12.25 Pier 39 Value Pass for discounts at Underwater World, Blue & Gold Fleet, Pier 39 Garage San Diego Zoo Deluxe pkg. $16.75 |
Web Page graphics & design by Mike Godsey, windfind@metro.net
The
end of the calendar year is often a time when one engages in retrospective
analysis and prospective anticipation. Not one to miss the way of things,
this month this column will afford the reader an opportunity to glance sideways.
Reproduced below in its entirety is an article that appeared in the December,
1997, issue of Scientific American: