It has been so much fun to see the snow fall and cover the ground – an exceedingly rare event here in the almost-semi-tropics. Luckily for us, there have been no bad side effects and the kids are happily out of school. I wish the same for you.
The agenda went off exactly as planned. I updated the Planner, but made no real changes to it. Note that our next meeting is in three weeks, instead of the usual two.
(Warning: sermon ahead.)
Attendance: I must express something that I’ve never thought of before, although I should have. This time of year, I have seemingly unending stacks of recommendation forms to fill out, as people go on the hunt for jobs. Not to threaten you, but to realistically mention: these forms ALWAYS have a column for attendance and punctuality. Always. Unfortunately, I have a good memory for what seem like a lot of absences, to me. Of course, as the syllabus says, there are always good reasons and in the end I try not to stand in judgment of the reasons, and certainly try to allow for extraordinary circumstances. Sometimes, however, all I’m left with is an impression of someone missing an unusual amount of class. Put yourself in the place of the employer. Would you hire someone that multiple recommendations say has poor attendance?
I’m worried that this seems vindictive; after searching my soul, I assert that it is not. I’m just trying to verbalize a reality here, to give you fair warning about a cold hard fact. I can’t lie on these forms. So, this is one way that cause and effect play out over the long term – and now that I realize it, I will talk about this much more often and upfront. I haven’t thought about telling other cohorts – you are the first.
To borrow another religious analogy, I risk preaching to the choir here, but everyone needs to see this little connection, and it needs to be written here for the record. I suspect, although I have no direct evidence, that there are people in the group who have suffered because their teammates have missed key meetings. Most of you have been meticulously faithful in your attendance, even heroically so at times.
(Sermon over. I apologize about delivering this electronically, but perhaps it’s a little less embarrassing this way – everyone needed to hear it, and the sooner the better. I agonized over how to verbalize it. )
Selection Policies: since there is nothing pending from your perspective on these, and since they are massive assignments, I will take my time grading them – probably two weeks. Check into WebCt every few days to see if it’s done.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the Exhibition!
