At universities, people tend to think of teaching and research faculty and staff as the only employees. At the University of Virginia, the president supports a literary journal, the Virginia Quarterly Review, prestigious to poets and fiction writers. Kevin Morrissey, 52, the VQR managing editor had been hired by a young Ted Genoways, 38, new himself to the editor post in 2003.
On July 30, Kevin Morrissey committed suicide after a reported three years of torment by Genoways despite the two having a genuine friendship at the start of their work together.
There was a record of several calls by Morrissey to university institutional helpers (HR, ombuds, EAP, president’s office). Either his call for help was not answered or treated with indifference. Those familiar with Morrissey’s complaints said that the rationalization for Genoways was that creative people like him could be difficult to work with and were often bad managers! In other words, live with him, adjust to him, Genoways is indispensable. Note the abdication of responsibility by this employer for the safe working conditions of its employees.
Said one fawning former intern, “Ted (Genoways) is the creative genius … the fulcrum of discussions about the future of VQR and, honestly, the future of journalism … Ted is the star at the center of VQR‘s constellation.” A publisher familiar with VQR lamented that “A crisis like this (triggered by Morrissey’s suicide) can be a death blow (sic), even to the strongest scholarly publication.”
The magazine had won awards and Genoways himself won a fellowship allowing him to be out of the office. His focus was on funding and enlisted the help of a 24-yr. old UV graduate, Alana Levinson-LaBrosse (she was so rich she gave $1.5 million herself to the university). Morrissey and she reportedly clashed as she, not Morrissey, was included in activities with Genoways.
Staff recalled Genoways screaming at Morrissey behind closed doors. Three VQR staffers even accompanied Morrissey to the president’s office to complain about Genoways. They were brushed off. There is evidence that Genoways sent Morrissey an e-mail accusing him of “unacceptable workplace behavior,” without specifications, ordered him to work from home and prohibited communication with other VQR staff. These are all classic tactics employed by bullies who enjoy privileged protection from the CEO (the former university president who left in July). They not completely unlike torture. The tactics were probably retaliation for Morrissey and Levinson-LaBrosse fighting.
The only tangible response from the administration was an apology by the president’s chief of staff to VQR staff for witnessing the clash between Morrissey and Levinson-LaBrosse at a meeting. No apology to Morrissey. No other official response to Morrissey’s complaints. No holding Genoways accountable. No offer of counseling to Morrissey.
Morrissey’s death followed Genoways’ draconian decisions and one last denigrating e-mail on the morning of his suicide. In that e-mail, Genoways, the espo0used “genius” and “star,” accused Morrissey of failing to help a contributor to a VQR story such that Morrissey put that man’s life at risk!
There was a report that some close to the situation warned the university that Morrissey might commit suicide.
Even after Morrissey’s death, the UVa’s official response to the request for complaint and response details from reporter Robin Wilson for the Chronicle of Higher Education (the source for this story), the university hid behind a faux shield of “confidential personnel records.” Morrissey’s surviving sister blames Genoways and the university and may file a lawsuit.
The negligent employer gets to bury the secrets to protect itself from being revealed.
Epilogue
There’s even more to the Univ. Virginia tale. A couple of years ago, UVa recruited WBI to come to campus. UVa instead brought in a “motivational” speaker. At WBI, we pass on several on-site speeches when employers resist creating a solution for the problem that prompted the request in the first place.
The result at UVa was that nothing was done after the speech. The President’s office was not engaged in discussions about bullying, and possibly the specific Kevin Morrissey complaints. If something had been in place, Morrissey would not have had to resort to pleading with HR and the other institutional helpers as his phone records indicated was done. HR may be implicated in Morrissey’s death. And the feel-good motivational speaker actually encouraged this negligent employer to believe that it had adequately addressed bullying on campus with a speech alone! Get serious UVa. What will it take to get American employers to stop the carnage within the ranks?
From: http://www.workplacebullying.org
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The Psychological Effects of Downsizing and Privatisation
...Early research in this area concentrated on individuals having to cope with unexpected job loss and the effects of long term unemployment. Studies began by looking at the effects of involuntary job losses and the effects on the unemployed (see, for example, the work conducted by DeFrank and Ivancevich, 1986; Leana and Ivancevich, 1987; Leana and Feldman, 1994). These studies indicated that there were emotional, physical, social and psychological effects on the individual. Further research looked at the effects of employee turnover on the individual and the effects of turnover on those remaining employed after redundancy programs had been implemented (see Mowday, 1981; Brockner & Kim, 1993). This literature provided some insight into survivor reactions to redundancy, whereby survivors may evaluate the effects on those made redundant and how that influences their own reactions...
Empirical evidence (e.g. Greenhalgh, 1983; Armstrongstassen, 1993a) suggests that the post layoff environment can be stressful for a number of reasons: survivors are worried about their own job security, there may be anger associated with the process by which the redundancy program has been implemented and there may be concerns about the creation of heavier workloads due to the reduction of manpower. Brockner (1988) suggests that the onset of stress typically leads to changes in survivors’ work attitudes and behaviors such as reduced organizational commitment, job satisfaction and increased turnover intention. Several articles identified emotional responses in survivors such as guilt, betrayal and isolation (e.g. Machlowitz, 1983). These employee reactions were compared to survivors of other distressing events, such as natural and man made disasters. Brockner et al. (1985) undertook a study directly related to layoffs, or rather designed to simulate a ‘layoff’ situation in a laboratory study using students who were required to complete a proof reading task. The students were then subjected to a ‘layoff’ and were subsequently asked to complete a questionnaire to investigate how they had felt and whether or not they felt the process had been fair. The results found, in support of equity theory, that following layoffs ‘survivors’ experienced increased feelings of remorse and negative attitudes towards co-workers (in order to redress the balance of inequity). Secondly, the study revealed that those who perceived there to be an injustice produced less in their second proof reading task simultaneously suggesting that layoffs have the potential (negatively) to influence productivity...
The complete paper: The Psychological Effects of Downsizing and Privatisation
Empirical evidence (e.g. Greenhalgh, 1983; Armstrongstassen, 1993a) suggests that the post layoff environment can be stressful for a number of reasons: survivors are worried about their own job security, there may be anger associated with the process by which the redundancy program has been implemented and there may be concerns about the creation of heavier workloads due to the reduction of manpower. Brockner (1988) suggests that the onset of stress typically leads to changes in survivors’ work attitudes and behaviors such as reduced organizational commitment, job satisfaction and increased turnover intention. Several articles identified emotional responses in survivors such as guilt, betrayal and isolation (e.g. Machlowitz, 1983). These employee reactions were compared to survivors of other distressing events, such as natural and man made disasters. Brockner et al. (1985) undertook a study directly related to layoffs, or rather designed to simulate a ‘layoff’ situation in a laboratory study using students who were required to complete a proof reading task. The students were then subjected to a ‘layoff’ and were subsequently asked to complete a questionnaire to investigate how they had felt and whether or not they felt the process had been fair. The results found, in support of equity theory, that following layoffs ‘survivors’ experienced increased feelings of remorse and negative attitudes towards co-workers (in order to redress the balance of inequity). Secondly, the study revealed that those who perceived there to be an injustice produced less in their second proof reading task simultaneously suggesting that layoffs have the potential (negatively) to influence productivity...
The complete paper: The Psychological Effects of Downsizing and Privatisation
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Genoways takes charge, VQR staffers pull names
Virginia Quarterly Review staffers were stunned by the news that University officials have allowed editor Ted Genoways, whom they accuse of bullying managing editor Kevin Morrissey before he took his own life on July 30, to take control of the fall issue of the magazine.
“I never could have forecast that the University would allow us to remain in this situation,” wrote VQR online editor Waldo Jaquith on his blog last Friday.
Indeed, workplace bullying expert Gary Namie says he’s surprised by the University’s decision. Genoways was the recent subject of a Today show feature, during which a VQR staff member called his treatment of Morrissey in the last two weeks of his life “egregious.”
“I would have put Genoways on leave,” says Namie, “just to cool things down.”
Instead, it appears the staff has taken leave and the embattled editor is busy putting the fall issue together with UVA spokesperson Carol Wood, who has been ensconced in the VQR office since Morrissey’s death.
“Ted has been involved with editing and proofreading of the fall issue with Carol Wood,” says Genoways’ lawyer Lloyd Snook. “I don’t know whether it is actually ‘to press’ yet— they were proofing furiously yesterday.”
Wood did not immediately respond for comment on Genoways’ status or her own work on the VQR.
Initially, Jaquith and fellow staffers had vowed to finish the fall issue, for which Morrissey had been serving as interim editor in Genoways’ absence; but now they have removed their names from the online masthead and left the “un-proofed and non-fact checked” issue for Genoways to finish.
Jaquith, who resigned just days before Morrissey’s death, will be going on vacation before he starts a new position at the Miller Center. Associate and assistant editors Sheila McMillen and Molly Minturn will be going on leave. Wood, however, emphasizes that they are both still employees of the magazine.
“We came back to finish the issue that Kevin worked so hard on,” says McMillen, “but we’ve had enough.”
Last week, UVA president Teresa Sullivan ordered a “thorough” review of VQR’s management so that “the issues and allegations that have been raised” can be addressed.
From: The Hook
“I never could have forecast that the University would allow us to remain in this situation,” wrote VQR online editor Waldo Jaquith on his blog last Friday.
Indeed, workplace bullying expert Gary Namie says he’s surprised by the University’s decision. Genoways was the recent subject of a Today show feature, during which a VQR staff member called his treatment of Morrissey in the last two weeks of his life “egregious.”
“I would have put Genoways on leave,” says Namie, “just to cool things down.”
Instead, it appears the staff has taken leave and the embattled editor is busy putting the fall issue together with UVA spokesperson Carol Wood, who has been ensconced in the VQR office since Morrissey’s death.
“Ted has been involved with editing and proofreading of the fall issue with Carol Wood,” says Genoways’ lawyer Lloyd Snook. “I don’t know whether it is actually ‘to press’ yet— they were proofing furiously yesterday.”
Wood did not immediately respond for comment on Genoways’ status or her own work on the VQR.
Initially, Jaquith and fellow staffers had vowed to finish the fall issue, for which Morrissey had been serving as interim editor in Genoways’ absence; but now they have removed their names from the online masthead and left the “un-proofed and non-fact checked” issue for Genoways to finish.
Jaquith, who resigned just days before Morrissey’s death, will be going on vacation before he starts a new position at the Miller Center. Associate and assistant editors Sheila McMillen and Molly Minturn will be going on leave. Wood, however, emphasizes that they are both still employees of the magazine.
“We came back to finish the issue that Kevin worked so hard on,” says McMillen, “but we’ve had enough.”
Last week, UVA president Teresa Sullivan ordered a “thorough” review of VQR’s management so that “the issues and allegations that have been raised” can be addressed.
From: The Hook
Monday, August 16, 2010
my "implicit" responsibility is driving me crazy
(see below post)
Why can't I just do close readings, yo?
Why can't I just do close readings, yo?
What Killed Kevin Morrissey?
How the death of an editor threatens the future of the University of Virginia's prestigious literary review.
When Kevin Morrissey walked to the old coaling tower near the University of Virginia campus late last month and shot himself in the head, he not only ended his own life, he exposed turmoil within the small staff of The Virginia Quarterly Review that now threatens the future of the high-profile journal.
Family members and people close to the review say Mr. Morrissey, the review's managing editor, had been complaining to the university about workplace bullying by his boss, Ted Genoways. But, they contend, the institution did virtually nothing to help. "Kevin had been to the university as recently as the Monday before the Friday he died," says a person who worked for the review. "The university had tools to step in and mediate, and they didn't." Some close to the situation say that in the days before the death, they even warned the university that Mr. Morrissey, who suffered from serious depression, might commit suicide.
Mr. Genoways, the journal's editor, is highly regarded in publishing circles. He is credited with taking VQR, as the review is known, from a sleepy publication to one of the nation's preeminent literary journals. He denies the allegation of bullying and says it was Mr. Morrissey's depressed state, not their rocky relationship, that caused Mr. Morrissey's suicide. "His long history of depression caused him trouble throughout his career," Mr. Genoways wrote in a statement to The Chronicle, "leading often to conflicts with his bosses."
In the wake of Mr. Morrissey's death, VQR's own stability has been challenged. Mr. Genoways's office has been cleaned out, and police officers have been stationed at the doors of the award-winning journal. The Chronicle got such details, as well as further charges of turmoil, from a half-dozen people close to the situation. None would allow their names to be used because, they said, the university has instructed them not to talk to reporters and they fear for their jobs. (A member of VQR's staff, Sheila McMillen, is the sister of a Chronicle editor. None of the information used in this article is from Ms. McMillen.)
Mr. Genoways told The Chronicle that the university had already "reviewed all the allegations being made against me and found them to be without grounds." The university wouldn't comment on that or answer most of The Chronicle's questions about the situation, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters. A statement on the journal's home page says that UVa "remains strongly committed to VQR."
Still, others are questioning whether too much damage has already been done. Elliott D. Woods, a VQR contributor and an ardent supporter of Mr. Genoways, wrote in an e-mail message to The Chronicle that he feared that accusations about what caused Mr. Morrissey's death could "ruin the greatest little magazine I know."
Gregory M. Britton, publisher of Getty Publications, agrees. "These are tough enough times for small literary magazines," he said. "A crisis like this can be a death blow, even to the strongest scholarly publication."
Former Friends
It was at the Minnesota Historical Society Press, where Mr. Britton was director during the early 2000s, that Mr. Genoways and Mr. Morrissey first came to work together. They got along well enough that a year after Mr. Genoways took over at VQR in 2003, he asked Mr. Morrissey to come to Charlottesville as his right-hand man. It was the kind of job that Mr. Morrissey had done before, those close to him say, and that he did well. People who worked with Mr. Morrissey, including Mr. Britton, say he paid close attention to details and could be counted on to take on more than his fair share of work. They also say Mr. Morrissey, who was 52 and had never been married, could be grumpy and prickly, and that he suffered from what at times seemed to be a deep depression. Some of those who spoke to The Chronicle say he had talked about seeing a psychotherapist and taking medication. "He managed his disease, and he managed to be really high functioning," said someone who worked with him.
When Mr. Genoways took over at VQR at the age of 31, it was with hopes that he would breathe new life into a stodgy-looking black-and-white publication whose editor's office didn't even have Internet access. The departing editor, Staige Blackford, had been at the journal for nearly 30 years and was in his 70s when he decided to retire.
Mr. Genoways gradually began putting the publication on the map, hiring well-known authors and photographers and taking on timely nonfiction projects in addition to the usual poetry and fiction. He paid journalists to write about high-stakes international conflicts like the war in Afghanistan and the violence of the Mexican drug cartel. The change quickly garnered both Mr. Genoways and VQR notice from those at the literary world's highest levels, winning the publication four National Magazine Awards and 14 more nominations, all of which it accomplished on a half-million-dollar budget.
During their first few years at the magazine, as it grew in stature, Mr. Genoways and Mr. Morrissey remained the closest of friends. In a letter Mr. Genoways sent to contributors this month that was obtained by The Chronicle, he said Mr. Morrissey was a fixture in his Virginia home and at holiday dinners with Mr. Genoways's wife and young son. Mr. Morrissey also traveled with Mr. Genoways to New York to accept the National Magazine Award that VQR won for general excellence in 2006. "We were the toast of the publishing world that night," Mr. Genoways wrote in the letter to contributors.
In the last few years, however, as Mr. Genoways took on more and more ambitious projects, and as he also became worried about the magazine's financial future, the relationship between the two men and the atmosphere within VQR's offices began to sour. Some of those close to the magazine say Mr. Morrissey questioned Mr. Genoways about what Mr. Morrissey felt were excessive advance payments to contributors and about bills for parties Mr. Genoways hosted that reached into the thousands.
They say Mr. Genoways, in turn, began cutting Mr. Morrissey out of key decisions and distancing himself from the office, refusing to answer staff members' e-mail messages, shirking many of his day-to-day duties, and dumping most of the work on his small staff. "The whole staff felt Ted took all the credit and did none of the work," said the person who worked for the review, adding that Mr. Genoways spent most of his time at VQR "scrambling to be a star." Mr. Genoways has been away from the office on a Guggenheim fellowship in recent months, but he still has been responsible for making sure the journal's issues are finished on time.
When Mr. Genoways was in the office, some recall, he could occasionally be overheard screaming at Mr. Morrissey behind his office door.
In his statement to The Chronicle, Mr. Genoways acknowledged there "had been tensions between staff members in the VQR offices." But people close to him, including the contributor Mr. Woods, say Mr. Genoways was hardly AWOL from his VQR duties. Nor was he depending on Mr. Morrissey and others to run the place. In fact, the exact opposite was true, says Mr. Woods. Mr. Genoways ran the magazine almost single-handedly, he says: The editor conceived of the ideas that inspired the covers, and cultivated contributors and held their hands through their reporting and writing, while at the same time he reached out to the larger world to gain renown for the journal and insure its continued vitality.
"Ted is the creative genius responsible for the magazine's success," says Mr. Woods, who worked as an intern at the magazine in 2008. "Ted is the fulcrum of the discussions about the future of VQR and, honestly, the future of journalism... Ted is the star at the center of VQR's constellation of writers, poets, and photographers."...
Seeking University Help
It was in this atmosphere, with the VQR staff growing more and more fractious, that Mr. Morrissey, together with three other journal staff members, went earlier this year to the president's office to complain. Mr. Morrissey had already registered his own complaints about Mr. Genoways with the university ombudsman and the human-resources office, according to his older sister, Maria Morrissey.
But university officials, those close to the publication say, brushed off the group's complaints, saying that creative people like Mr. Genoways could be difficult to work with and were often bad managers.
Meanwhile, people who knew Mr. Morrissey say he grew more and more despondent over the last couple of months of his life. He didn't think his problems with Mr. Genoways would ever be resolved. And he also felt trapped because while he may have been a talented editor, he lacked a college degree. Mr. Morrissey had a $76,000-a-year salary at Virginia and owned a condominium in Charlottesville, both of which he feared he might never replace if he had to leave UVa.
It was two final actions in the weeks before Mr. Morrissey's death that his family and friends believe pushed him over the edge. First, Mr. Genoways sent an e-mail message to Mr. Morrissey in mid-July, 10 days before his death (a copy of which The Chronicle has obtained), telling Mr. Morrissey that he had "engaged in unacceptable workplace behavior." In the e-mail, Mr. Genoways did not specify what that behavior was, but he ordered Mr. Morrissey to work from home for a week and warned him not to talk to other VQR staff members. People close to the magazine say Mr. Genoways was furious after learning that Mr. Morrissey and another staff member had clashed with Ms. Levinson-LaBrosse during a meeting...
Ann H. Franke, an expert on the law and higher education, said university officials should respond to all complaints of workplace bullying whether or not they determine a formal investigation is necessary. "Prompt handling of workplace complaints makes a better environment altogether," she said in an interview.
The University of Virginia paid for Mr. Morrissey's memorial service on the campus this month, says his sister, and bought plane tickets for his father and siblings to travel to Charlottesville. After the service, family members and people who worked with Mr. Morrissey went back to his home where they ate some of his favorite foods, including red beet salad and chocolate-chip cookies.
Around his apartment, says Ms. Morrissey, her brother had left signs that he was looking for a new job and considering selling his apartment. And on the bureau in his bedroom, he had a book that Ms. Morrissey believes might give some insight into how her brother viewed Mr. Genoways. It's called: Working With the Self-Absorbed: How to Handle Narcissistic Personalities on the Job.
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Read also: Tale of Woe: The death of the VQR’s Kevin Morrissey
And: Did Depression or an Alleged Bully Boss Prompt Editor's Suicide?
When Kevin Morrissey walked to the old coaling tower near the University of Virginia campus late last month and shot himself in the head, he not only ended his own life, he exposed turmoil within the small staff of The Virginia Quarterly Review that now threatens the future of the high-profile journal.
Family members and people close to the review say Mr. Morrissey, the review's managing editor, had been complaining to the university about workplace bullying by his boss, Ted Genoways. But, they contend, the institution did virtually nothing to help. "Kevin had been to the university as recently as the Monday before the Friday he died," says a person who worked for the review. "The university had tools to step in and mediate, and they didn't." Some close to the situation say that in the days before the death, they even warned the university that Mr. Morrissey, who suffered from serious depression, might commit suicide.
Mr. Genoways, the journal's editor, is highly regarded in publishing circles. He is credited with taking VQR, as the review is known, from a sleepy publication to one of the nation's preeminent literary journals. He denies the allegation of bullying and says it was Mr. Morrissey's depressed state, not their rocky relationship, that caused Mr. Morrissey's suicide. "His long history of depression caused him trouble throughout his career," Mr. Genoways wrote in a statement to The Chronicle, "leading often to conflicts with his bosses."
In the wake of Mr. Morrissey's death, VQR's own stability has been challenged. Mr. Genoways's office has been cleaned out, and police officers have been stationed at the doors of the award-winning journal. The Chronicle got such details, as well as further charges of turmoil, from a half-dozen people close to the situation. None would allow their names to be used because, they said, the university has instructed them not to talk to reporters and they fear for their jobs. (A member of VQR's staff, Sheila McMillen, is the sister of a Chronicle editor. None of the information used in this article is from Ms. McMillen.)
Mr. Genoways told The Chronicle that the university had already "reviewed all the allegations being made against me and found them to be without grounds." The university wouldn't comment on that or answer most of The Chronicle's questions about the situation, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters. A statement on the journal's home page says that UVa "remains strongly committed to VQR."
Still, others are questioning whether too much damage has already been done. Elliott D. Woods, a VQR contributor and an ardent supporter of Mr. Genoways, wrote in an e-mail message to The Chronicle that he feared that accusations about what caused Mr. Morrissey's death could "ruin the greatest little magazine I know."
Gregory M. Britton, publisher of Getty Publications, agrees. "These are tough enough times for small literary magazines," he said. "A crisis like this can be a death blow, even to the strongest scholarly publication."
Former Friends
It was at the Minnesota Historical Society Press, where Mr. Britton was director during the early 2000s, that Mr. Genoways and Mr. Morrissey first came to work together. They got along well enough that a year after Mr. Genoways took over at VQR in 2003, he asked Mr. Morrissey to come to Charlottesville as his right-hand man. It was the kind of job that Mr. Morrissey had done before, those close to him say, and that he did well. People who worked with Mr. Morrissey, including Mr. Britton, say he paid close attention to details and could be counted on to take on more than his fair share of work. They also say Mr. Morrissey, who was 52 and had never been married, could be grumpy and prickly, and that he suffered from what at times seemed to be a deep depression. Some of those who spoke to The Chronicle say he had talked about seeing a psychotherapist and taking medication. "He managed his disease, and he managed to be really high functioning," said someone who worked with him.
When Mr. Genoways took over at VQR at the age of 31, it was with hopes that he would breathe new life into a stodgy-looking black-and-white publication whose editor's office didn't even have Internet access. The departing editor, Staige Blackford, had been at the journal for nearly 30 years and was in his 70s when he decided to retire.
Mr. Genoways gradually began putting the publication on the map, hiring well-known authors and photographers and taking on timely nonfiction projects in addition to the usual poetry and fiction. He paid journalists to write about high-stakes international conflicts like the war in Afghanistan and the violence of the Mexican drug cartel. The change quickly garnered both Mr. Genoways and VQR notice from those at the literary world's highest levels, winning the publication four National Magazine Awards and 14 more nominations, all of which it accomplished on a half-million-dollar budget.
During their first few years at the magazine, as it grew in stature, Mr. Genoways and Mr. Morrissey remained the closest of friends. In a letter Mr. Genoways sent to contributors this month that was obtained by The Chronicle, he said Mr. Morrissey was a fixture in his Virginia home and at holiday dinners with Mr. Genoways's wife and young son. Mr. Morrissey also traveled with Mr. Genoways to New York to accept the National Magazine Award that VQR won for general excellence in 2006. "We were the toast of the publishing world that night," Mr. Genoways wrote in the letter to contributors.
In the last few years, however, as Mr. Genoways took on more and more ambitious projects, and as he also became worried about the magazine's financial future, the relationship between the two men and the atmosphere within VQR's offices began to sour. Some of those close to the magazine say Mr. Morrissey questioned Mr. Genoways about what Mr. Morrissey felt were excessive advance payments to contributors and about bills for parties Mr. Genoways hosted that reached into the thousands.
They say Mr. Genoways, in turn, began cutting Mr. Morrissey out of key decisions and distancing himself from the office, refusing to answer staff members' e-mail messages, shirking many of his day-to-day duties, and dumping most of the work on his small staff. "The whole staff felt Ted took all the credit and did none of the work," said the person who worked for the review, adding that Mr. Genoways spent most of his time at VQR "scrambling to be a star." Mr. Genoways has been away from the office on a Guggenheim fellowship in recent months, but he still has been responsible for making sure the journal's issues are finished on time.
When Mr. Genoways was in the office, some recall, he could occasionally be overheard screaming at Mr. Morrissey behind his office door.
In his statement to The Chronicle, Mr. Genoways acknowledged there "had been tensions between staff members in the VQR offices." But people close to him, including the contributor Mr. Woods, say Mr. Genoways was hardly AWOL from his VQR duties. Nor was he depending on Mr. Morrissey and others to run the place. In fact, the exact opposite was true, says Mr. Woods. Mr. Genoways ran the magazine almost single-handedly, he says: The editor conceived of the ideas that inspired the covers, and cultivated contributors and held their hands through their reporting and writing, while at the same time he reached out to the larger world to gain renown for the journal and insure its continued vitality.
"Ted is the creative genius responsible for the magazine's success," says Mr. Woods, who worked as an intern at the magazine in 2008. "Ted is the fulcrum of the discussions about the future of VQR and, honestly, the future of journalism... Ted is the star at the center of VQR's constellation of writers, poets, and photographers."...
Seeking University Help
It was in this atmosphere, with the VQR staff growing more and more fractious, that Mr. Morrissey, together with three other journal staff members, went earlier this year to the president's office to complain. Mr. Morrissey had already registered his own complaints about Mr. Genoways with the university ombudsman and the human-resources office, according to his older sister, Maria Morrissey.
But university officials, those close to the publication say, brushed off the group's complaints, saying that creative people like Mr. Genoways could be difficult to work with and were often bad managers.
Meanwhile, people who knew Mr. Morrissey say he grew more and more despondent over the last couple of months of his life. He didn't think his problems with Mr. Genoways would ever be resolved. And he also felt trapped because while he may have been a talented editor, he lacked a college degree. Mr. Morrissey had a $76,000-a-year salary at Virginia and owned a condominium in Charlottesville, both of which he feared he might never replace if he had to leave UVa.
It was two final actions in the weeks before Mr. Morrissey's death that his family and friends believe pushed him over the edge. First, Mr. Genoways sent an e-mail message to Mr. Morrissey in mid-July, 10 days before his death (a copy of which The Chronicle has obtained), telling Mr. Morrissey that he had "engaged in unacceptable workplace behavior." In the e-mail, Mr. Genoways did not specify what that behavior was, but he ordered Mr. Morrissey to work from home for a week and warned him not to talk to other VQR staff members. People close to the magazine say Mr. Genoways was furious after learning that Mr. Morrissey and another staff member had clashed with Ms. Levinson-LaBrosse during a meeting...
Ann H. Franke, an expert on the law and higher education, said university officials should respond to all complaints of workplace bullying whether or not they determine a formal investigation is necessary. "Prompt handling of workplace complaints makes a better environment altogether," she said in an interview.
The University of Virginia paid for Mr. Morrissey's memorial service on the campus this month, says his sister, and bought plane tickets for his father and siblings to travel to Charlottesville. After the service, family members and people who worked with Mr. Morrissey went back to his home where they ate some of his favorite foods, including red beet salad and chocolate-chip cookies.
Around his apartment, says Ms. Morrissey, her brother had left signs that he was looking for a new job and considering selling his apartment. And on the bureau in his bedroom, he had a book that Ms. Morrissey believes might give some insight into how her brother viewed Mr. Genoways. It's called: Working With the Self-Absorbed: How to Handle Narcissistic Personalities on the Job.
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Read also: Tale of Woe: The death of the VQR’s Kevin Morrissey
And: Did Depression or an Alleged Bully Boss Prompt Editor's Suicide?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
...there no longer appear to be any limits...
"It may seem ungenerous to criticize a book for not giving us more when it offers so many cogent and persuasively argued interpretations. Indeed, there is something inherently unreasonable about the expectation, so pervasive in the current “professionalized” model that most humanities departments cultivate (perhaps at their own peril): viz., that even a first book must showcase its author’s range across disciplines, while arguing a sharp and provocative thesis. No longer, it seems, is a first book allowed to be the more specialized, cautious, and well-grounded step in a single sub-field—e.g., the study of a single author and/or carefully delimited issue—that had long been the norm. Thus there no longer appear to be any limits to the amount of secondary literature for which the writer...now bears (at least implicit) responsibility."
--Thomas Pfau, reviewing Colin Jager's The Book of God: Secularization and Design in the Romantic Era
--Thomas Pfau, reviewing Colin Jager's The Book of God: Secularization and Design in the Romantic Era
a call for submissions I'm head over heels for (bad pun, sorry!)
Poems and very short fiction are being sought for a chapbook on cartwheels. Expected publication in 2011. Payment in copies. "Show-offs, show-boats and other spasmodic episodics greatly encouraged." Deadline: November 1, 2010. Send submissions tocartywheel@gmail.com. More
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wonkitorial: Lights Out
In yet another sign that our country is in serious trouble, some municipalities are turning-off street lights while others are allowing paved roads to revert to gravel:The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being
more coveted bookshelves
I found this on my new favourite blog, neurartic, which is my new favourite mostly because it mixes all my pet topics of discussion: art, writing, the brain, and creatively-misused PhDs. Here is a quote about the above piece, which is a kind of a bookshelf/teeter-totter: "a weight balance library. The reader's chair is elevated in proportion to the amount of books in the shelves."
Reading lifts you up, you see ; )
...and it can also help you travel to new places (see below)...
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
CBS, reputable news source: FAIL
Apparently, the CBS Interactive Business Network is willing to publish...lies? Is this because it's an Internet platform and therefore that checking sources and making sure arguments are, if not reasonable, then at least well reasoned, is superfluous?
Last week, Penelope Truck wrote an editorial claiming there is no longer a salary gap between men and women. First of all, that is not true -> Read this Newsweek article via Feministing.
And second of all, the internal logic of Penelope's argument is strangely twisted. For example: she claims, "there simply is no longer a salary gap between men and women. Yes, you read that correctly....It was just on the cover of the Economist." Let me do you the favour of clicking that link for you:
That's right. It says "half the workforce," but it does not say anything about the salaries of those women workers.
This leads me to suspect that when Penelope writes that the Economist article, "asserted at least 15 times that a salary gap in America is gone," that she might have misinterpreted her source. At least 15, hey? Those are some mighty excellent journalistic counting skills, Miss Truck.
Last week, Penelope Truck wrote an editorial claiming there is no longer a salary gap between men and women. First of all, that is not true -> Read this Newsweek article via Feministing.
And second of all, the internal logic of Penelope's argument is strangely twisted. For example: she claims, "there simply is no longer a salary gap between men and women. Yes, you read that correctly....It was just on the cover of the Economist." Let me do you the favour of clicking that link for you:
This leads me to suspect that when Penelope writes that the Economist article, "asserted at least 15 times that a salary gap in America is gone," that she might have misinterpreted her source. At least 15, hey? Those are some mighty excellent journalistic counting skills, Miss Truck.
Old Spice Guy + FEMINIST HULK + Judith Butler
- Old Spice Guy: "Hello, FEMINIST HULK. I observe that you are using lady-scented body wash."
- Feminist Hulk: "HULK FIND LAVENDER FRAGRANCE RELAXING AFTER DAY OF SMASH."
- Old Spice Guy: "Wouldn't you like to smell like me?"
- Feminist Hulk: "HULK WOULD RATHER SMASH GENDER BINARY OF PERFORMATIVE SHOWERING."
- Old Spice Guy: "Your tiny purple shorts hanging on the towel rack now hold tickets to the Sleater-Kinney reunion concert. And diamonds."
- Feminist Hulk: "HULK ENJOY CORIN TUCKER'S REJECTION OF TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES AND CONSUMERISM. BUT DIAMONDS MAKE HULK WANT TO SMASH HEGEMONY OF POST-COLONIAL OPPRESSION. ALSO, STILL PREFER TO SMELL LIKE FIELD OF FLOWERS."
- Old Spice Guy: "You puzzle me, Feminist Hulk. Your wish to use lady-scented body wash, even whilst smelling the intoxicating scent of my Old Spice, is unparalleled in my experience. "
- Judith Butler: "Feminist Hulk makes a good critique, Old Spice Man. Your discourse is being circumscribed by a learned sex/gender distinction. Please pass me the loofah."
- Old Spice Guy: "Hello, Judith Butler. Allow me to scrub your back. So you and Feminist Hulk are saying that my devotion to Old Spice body wash might be part of a larger regulative discourse to maintain an essential ontological gender?"
- Judith Butler: "That's correct, Old Spice Man."
- Feminist Hulk: "HULK SMASH EPISTEMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORKS, WHILE SMELLING LIKE SPRING GARDEN."
- Old Spice Guy: "I understand. Allow me to bake you a cake, Feminist Hulk and Judith Butler, while we discuss intersectionality and the beauty of giant green muscles."
- Judith Butler: "Congratulations on making a break with compulsory heterosexuality, Old Spice Man."
- Femist Hulk: "HULK IS VERY HAPPY TO SHARE TEARS OF JOY AND ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT PASTRY FLOUR WITH OLD SPICE MAN AND JUDITH BUTLER."
- Old Spice Guy: "I'm on a unicorn." *
*The only thing missing from this amazing piece, is Lady Gaga. Just saying.
Back To School At Warp Speed
Now we've seen it all.A jet-powered school bus that can reach speeds of 367 mph.Will the Wonders of this Modern Age never cease?
Investing The Union Way
The California Teachers Association, which forcibly withholds money from each of my paychecks, now has an authorized website to help me invest gamble what remains of my ever-declining teacher salary.This union legalized syndicate has some nerve.
Academic cleared of harassment charge
Fredrics cleared of harassment charge, 23 July 2010
An academic has been cleared of harassing his former vice-chancellor via a “satirical whistleblower website” – but has been convicted of a public order offence relating to a meeting between the two.
Howard Fredrics, former senior lecturer in music at Kingston University, was acquitted by magistrates of harassing Sir Peter Scott, the institution’s vice-chancellor.
The charge centred on a website set up by Dr Fredrics, www.sirpeterscott.com, which he describes as “a satirical whistleblower website containing documentary evidence, musical songs and music videos relating to alleged misconduct by university officials”.
However, Dr Fredrics was found guilty of a lesser offence under the Public Order Act relating to a chance meeting with Sir Peter in Kingston.
Dr Fredrics says in a statement: “I am pleased by the court’s decision on the harassment charge, which is a tremendous victory for the right to free speech in Britain, and quite disappointed that the Crown Prosecution Service decided to pursue these charges in the first instance.
“Most importantly, I am extremely troubled by the fact that [Sir Peter] decided to lodge such a complaint, particularly since he has made public statements in the past to the effect that he did not wish to impede my right to free speech in relation to the website.”
Dr Fredrics said he would consider appealing against the public order conviction, for which he has yet to be sentenced.
Sir Peter said: “I am glad that Dr Fredrics was found guilty of threatening and abusive behaviour likely to cause distress to members of the public after he confronted me in Kingston town centre a year ago.
“Contrary to his allegations, I have never attempted to limit his freedom of speech. My only objection has been to his using my name for his website and untrue allegations against my colleagues. Both these charges were brought by the Crown Prosecution Service – long ago I, and the university, took a decision to ‘live with’ Dr Fredrics’ antics.”
As well as criticising Sir Peter, Dr Fredrics had used the site to expose controversial practices at Kingston.
In 2008, he posted a recording of lecturers trying to pressure students into inflating their National Student Survey responses.
Yesterday’s hearing was the conclusion of a lengthy series of legal battles.
In December 2009, magistrates found Dr Fredrics guilty in his absence of harassing Sir Peter and issued a warrant for his arrest. Dr Fredrics said he failed to appear at the hearing because of ill health. In April 2010, his barrister successfully argued that the lecturer was denied the right to a fair trial with legal representation because the court would not agree to postpone the case until he was well enough to attend.
The conviction and arrest warrant were set aside on the grounds that the trial should not have gone ahead without the academic being present.
From: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
An academic has been cleared of harassing his former vice-chancellor via a “satirical whistleblower website” – but has been convicted of a public order offence relating to a meeting between the two.
Howard Fredrics, former senior lecturer in music at Kingston University, was acquitted by magistrates of harassing Sir Peter Scott, the institution’s vice-chancellor.
The charge centred on a website set up by Dr Fredrics, www.sirpeterscott.com, which he describes as “a satirical whistleblower website containing documentary evidence, musical songs and music videos relating to alleged misconduct by university officials”.
However, Dr Fredrics was found guilty of a lesser offence under the Public Order Act relating to a chance meeting with Sir Peter in Kingston.
Dr Fredrics says in a statement: “I am pleased by the court’s decision on the harassment charge, which is a tremendous victory for the right to free speech in Britain, and quite disappointed that the Crown Prosecution Service decided to pursue these charges in the first instance.
“Most importantly, I am extremely troubled by the fact that [Sir Peter] decided to lodge such a complaint, particularly since he has made public statements in the past to the effect that he did not wish to impede my right to free speech in relation to the website.”
Dr Fredrics said he would consider appealing against the public order conviction, for which he has yet to be sentenced.
Sir Peter said: “I am glad that Dr Fredrics was found guilty of threatening and abusive behaviour likely to cause distress to members of the public after he confronted me in Kingston town centre a year ago.
“Contrary to his allegations, I have never attempted to limit his freedom of speech. My only objection has been to his using my name for his website and untrue allegations against my colleagues. Both these charges were brought by the Crown Prosecution Service – long ago I, and the university, took a decision to ‘live with’ Dr Fredrics’ antics.”
As well as criticising Sir Peter, Dr Fredrics had used the site to expose controversial practices at Kingston.
In 2008, he posted a recording of lecturers trying to pressure students into inflating their National Student Survey responses.
Yesterday’s hearing was the conclusion of a lengthy series of legal battles.
In December 2009, magistrates found Dr Fredrics guilty in his absence of harassing Sir Peter and issued a warrant for his arrest. Dr Fredrics said he failed to appear at the hearing because of ill health. In April 2010, his barrister successfully argued that the lecturer was denied the right to a fair trial with legal representation because the court would not agree to postpone the case until he was well enough to attend.
The conviction and arrest warrant were set aside on the grounds that the trial should not have gone ahead without the academic being present.
From: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
Thursday, August 5, 2010
the kind of streetside interaction i would like to have:
HOT FRENCH GIRL: "After riding that Vespa with you, while wearing only this tiny little belted shirt, I am re-thinking my current boyfriend."
HOT (PROBABLY ITALIAN) GUY: "Well, let's *ahem* size him up next to me... first of all, does he have James Dean hair that has not moved an inch even though we just zipped through the streets of Milan at high speed, dodging models, cute Italian grandmothers, and rich industrialists?"
HFG: "Well, non...."
HPIG: "Can he pull off a neckerchief and also (it looks like) a necklace?"
HFG: "Of course not!"
HPIG: "Are his shirts attractively unbuttoned all the time, and can he roll the bottoms of his pants and not look like a hipster?"
HFG: "Decidedly, non."
HPIG: "Does he have blue shoes?"
HFG: "Let us ride away together on your Vespa forever!"
pic via the Sartorialist
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
fashion diet
apparently, via this NY Times article to which Ish alerted me, there is not only a name for what I am doing, but there is a CLUB, a not-so-secret gathering of internet-savvy people WHO ARE ALL NOT BUYING ANY NEW CLOTHES FOR A YEAR! A community! How Wordsworthian!This outfit is made up of my two very last purchases. Shirt & belt from Anthropologie in Toronto, and white cut-off Deisel shorts from Kensington Market. Silly hat care of my predisposition to sunstroke.
Coloring Books-Not My Idea of a Good Time
Any student who has taken a class from me at the university knows how I feel about coloring books and other pre-drawn images for children. Some adults tell me it is 'relaxing' for children to just color. Coloring books are designed to occupy a child's time. For some adults that is a good thing. If you have ever taken young children on a long car trip or to the doctor with a long wait, coloring books may serve a purpose. If for no other reason than to spread out the time between, "Are we there yet?" questions.
In school, however, color book-type pages are not appropriate, especially for young children. Teachers sometimes use those pages to keep a child busy so they can work with other children. Reading the research of Victor Lowenfeld, we find out that coloring book pages can take almost all creative thinking away from 50-60% of children. The other 40% may be effected as well, but may have been nourished enough to at least maintain some creativity. In fact, if a child continually uses pre-made pages, he may never be satisfied with anything that he draws. He will be upset that his drawings look like a child's drawings, not the adult drawings in coloring books.
There are much better things to give children to occupy their time. Crayons and a blank sheet of paper are much more appropriate. Paints and watercolors are also effective to allow the child to create. One of my favorite activities is to give children construction paper and glue (scissors for 4+ children). I ask them to create a picture of themselves using just tearing/cutting the paper and the glue. This can be done with any theme or activity. Many adults would be shocked at the amazing projects that the children create. So, in my 30+ years working with children, I am even more convinced that coloring books can be the enemy. I want the children I have in my care to be thinkers and creaters, not colorers.
Being Kids
I sometimes worry that children in this century are not allowed to really be kids. They are constantly surrounded by adult commentary and much of the television programing contains adult humor. We all laugh when a child on TV says something sarcastic or profound. Statements that in the real world usually don't occur. A college student mentioned to me recently how much she enjoyed the movie Kindergarten Cop when she was a child. I remember that movie well as I was a male kindergarten teacher at the time. The movie was funny and entertaining, but I was dismayed by the fact that most of the things the kindergartners said in that movie would not even occur to a five year-old. Again, adult humor masked as child humor.
I was observing a student teacher working in a first grade classroom the other day. She was reading a joke book (the children's choice) for a few minutes prior to leaving for the day. She told the following joke:
"Knock, Knock."
"Who's there?"
"Mississippi."
"Mississippi Who?"
"She's married to Mr. Sippi!"
The children laughed and laughed at the joke. A simple joke for a child's humor. I love to see children who are able to be children. I wish everyone could have a lengthy and humorous childhood. Maybe adulthood would be a happier experience, as well.
My second grade grandson loves jokes. I think I will go call him and tell him my latest.....
Start with the Sun!
I was talking to my favorite 5 year-old last week about the projects she creates. I asked her, "How do you know what to make or draw?" Her answer surprised me very much. She said to me, "First you have to start with the sun." When I asked why she started with the sun, she stated it was because it was going to be a 'happy picture' (duh!) Wow, what a life lesson. Anything can be accomplished if you start with a sun. Sometimes it is a bit depressing at this time of year when we are waiting for the spring sun to start shining. My little Kaylee was telling me that sometimes we have to make our own shiny sky. If you begin with the sun, then everything following can be a happier picture.
I saw an old friend of mine this morning at the gym. He always has a smile on his face and the room just seems a little brighter when he is around. I realized he was my sun this morning and it really was like the sun starting out my day. I thought of Kaylee's advice and realized how much joy we can bring to those around us if we just 'start with the sun.' That is exactly how I felt when I was a kindergarten teacher. I guess the day is REALLY sunny with 24 suns!
Catch Him!
A number of years ago, I had the opportunity to live in Ireland for a period of time. Having that first-hand knowledge comes in handy at this time of year. When I was a classroom teacher, I always made a big deal about St. Patrick's Day. I used it as an opportunity to introduce the children to the country of Ireland and a little information about the Irish culture. Playing on the spoof of the leprechaun made the activities fun and adventurous. We would go on a Leprechaun Hunt or leave little goodies out for the little guy. In later years, I have seen my grandchildren build leprechaun traps to try to catch the perpetrator who was turning their milk green in the fridge.
I have always looked upon the tall tales of leprechauns as a folktale and true fantasy stemming from the Irish culture. Studies have been done that indicate that children build great foundations from folktales. In fact, folktales and fairytales provide an example of complete fantasy for young children. With virtual reality appearing in games and movies, it is difficult for young children to differentiate between fact and fiction. Folktales provide an opportunity for children to experience something that is complete fantasy. Folktales have no pretence of being real.
So, set up your leprechaun traps and see what happens to the young children around you!
I Felt Like a Blockhead
I have the opportunity to try out products for Discount School Supply on a regular basis. I was trying out some blocks a year ago and I was getting frustrated by my lack of imagination in creating something with the blocks. I gave the blocks to my grandson who was almost 3 at the time. He immediately set to work putting the blocks together. He was enthralled with the blocks for what I consider a very long time for someone who is 3. He loved them. When I was working with the blocks earlier, I was questioning how valuable they would be for preschool children. My grandson taught me a great lesson. Children know what is best for them. If given a choice, children will play all day. That is what they do. It becomes essential for those of us who work with young children to create opportunities for play. Almost every early childhood skill can be reinforced using play. Since children instinctively want to play, that should be our first clue about appropriate approaches to teaching children. It is through open-ended play the children learn to solve problems, explore the world and make decisions.
A Playground on Rock?
We went on a family outing to southern Utah this past weekend. We were able to see Canyonlands and Natural Bridges National Parks. It was a nice adventure and I was very impressed with the Native America Petroglyphs that we were able to see while hiking. Some were off the beaten path away from most tourist spots. Like young children, they were able to tell stories through pictures. A true written dialogue.
In one park we were able to see the ruins of the Anasazi from at least 700 years ago. As we were looking at the homes in the cliffs, I was struck by the thought of how difficult it would have been to allow children to safely play on the sloping rock. We don't even allow slides on school playgrounds anymore and here was an entire village on a cliff. Where was the gate for the top of the stairs? I am happy that we are so conscious of safety in our time, but I wonder if children were more prepared for life when they had to learn how to protect themselves. Perhaps many children in the 1300s lost their lives because of their lack of protection. But, it makes me wonder if sometimes we protect children so much they don't develop life skills. Maybe protect is not the correct word. Maybe it's smother. Just thinking out loud as I wonder how they stayed up there.
Finishing a 5 K
This past weekend I competed in a 5K race to celebrate my birthday. The best part of the entire experience is that this old man finished the race on two legs! I was not quite as fast as I may have been ten years ago, but I was pleased with my time. Isn't it funny that we judge a race by how fast we can get to the finish. The first one over the finish line wins the race. Because I am not an athletic competitor at this age, it is the triumph of working to be able to actually run the race that is important to me. The process that I have gone through during years of running have helped me in other aspects of life.
I often think that for some parents, teaching their child is like a race. They want their child to know everything and get to the finish line first. Perhaps the process of building the skills appropriately would benefit the child more in the long run. I remember working with parents occasionally who were so driven to push their young child that they had very unreal expectations. I also realized that in most cases it was the parents' ego that was the driving force, not having a well-adjusted child with appropriate skills.
Some would call my race last week a failure because I didn't cross the finish line first. However, I was a winner because I finished the race. I learned that I still have what it takes to run the race. Pretty good for an old man.
Creative Art Rules!
I have continued to get feedback for my blog entry a couple of months ago about disliking coloring books or pre-printed pages. I have been told there is a time and a place, but I'm still not on board with using such creativity-killing materials. I was reminded again this weekend when I was watching my grandchildren paint with tempera paint cakes. I watched the process unfold as I have many times. Creating their own pictures allow children to:
- develop organizational skills
- test experimentation skills
- explore decision-making skills
- be supported in creativity
Children that are immersed in these types of activities jump right into the project when they see what materials are available. Compare these children to those who wait to be encouraged and to see what the adult wants them to do. There is no comparison. Children who can organize, experiment, make decisions and create will always be more successful. They have the ability to think. Thinking is a good thing!
Beautiful Snake....is that an Oxymoron?
Snake lovers don't be upset, but I hate snakes. I know you can list all of the wonderful aspects of the reptiles, but I just can't make myself like snakes. I get very agitated and uncomfortable if there is a snake in the room. I have nothing against people who love them, just don't make me get close. I was reminded of this again on Sunday when we had Mother's Day dinner at a relative's home. Her daughter just got a pet snake. Everyone was raving about how beautiful the snake is with it's black and red stripes. Ugh! Beautiful and snake do not belong in the same sentence in my vocabulary. They also mentioned that the snake had escaped from his cage last week and they didn't find him until the next day. If that happened at my house, there is only one thing I would say...hotel.
As an early childhood educator, I want my students to discover everything they can about our natural world. I always prefer taking children to the zoo to see live animals as opposed to the natural history museum filled with the stuffed version. But, I always drew the line at snakes. I assigned that to another adult to supervise. Sheesh...they give me the creeps. I will continue to encourage and assist children in finding out about the natural world. But, for snakes, they can go to my relative's house. Their snake is beau.... OK.
Welcoming Everyone to the Table
I am currently attending the NAEYC Professional Development Conference being held in Phoenix. I attended a wonderful workshop today about welcoming all children to the table in the classroom.
Sometimes 'null' curriculum (curriculum that we don't intentionally teach, but the children still learn) is reinforced as much as the 'explicit' curriculum (core standards). What do children understand about life in the classroom by the way we respond to daily occurrences?
We watched a video of an interview with an elementary child, Mary. Mary stated that when another child asked the teacher why Mary had two dads instead of a mom, the teacher responded, "We are not going to talk about that in this class." Mary felt unsupported and the result was that some children began to taunt Mary at recess. She began to dislike coming to school because she thought she must be a bad person.
While there are many more issues that can occur in the classroom, this episode is an example of when teachers choose not to address something they personally find uncomfortable. That refusal can speak volumes to the children.
Since our job is to support ALL children, we need to be prepared to address null curriculum issues when they happen during the school day. Much like taking a test, if we are prepared, we can address the issue and support the child. I try to ask my pre-service teachers, "What will you do or say if this happens? Or this?" I believe prior thought and understanding can prepare these future teachers to respond appropriately.
As educators, we need to always remember that a child seldom is in the position to choose his religion, culture, lifestyle or family makeup. Even though our values may be different, it is critical to support that child in his educational journey. Not doing anything or refusing to have the discussion is not an option. If the teacher in the video was uncomfortable addressing the issue, she only needed to say, "That is the makeup of Mary's family. Isn't it wonderful that all of our families are different and we can be happy." I like the part of NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct which says, "...do no harm."
Information, Please!
Of course I took the opportunity to visit their site and see what they have to offer. I found a wonderful wealth of information to assist busy moms (and others) in these days of information overload.
There is such a monumental library at our disposal when we turn on our computer. I remember telling a group of students in my creativity class this spring that there was no excuse for not having documented information included in an assigned paper. When I was in school, the library was and had to be my best friend. Whenever I needed to find out more information about a subject I had two choices: interview someone who knew more about the subject than I did or go to the library and research the topic. Most of the time, I had to choose both options. I know that there are strong negatives that come with using a computer. But, the positives are so wonderful. It is a joy to type in a word and then see where it takes you in the process.
One of our new supposed-to-be-a-hen young chickens started crowing this week. This is not good as we are not allowed to keep roosters in our city boundaries. I went to the computer and learned that you can actually perform a little surgery on the rooster and take out his crowing capacity. Not that I would or could, but it was nice to know it was a possibility. No, I think that Bluebell...I mean Blue, is going to the bird rescue farm for a life in the country. I'm no surgeon, but it was fascinating to find out that there are several blogs and websites about keeping chickens in the city.
No More Runaway Crayons!
Once in a while, a product comes along that makes life so much easier. Sometimes it is the simplest of creations, but it changes the way things are done. Think of Post-It notes. A simple thing that changed the world.My latest thrilling product is triangular-shaped crayons! I know, I know, crayons, markers and pencils that shape have been around for a while, but not very accessible. I'm so excited that Colorations came up with a classroom pack of these beauties. Just think, no more crayons rolling on the floor. These wonders stay where they are placed. I am packaging little bags of the crayons to take with me to restaurants when I take my grandkids. I have already had servers ask me where to get them. They really are the answer for child-friendly food establishments. It will be so nice not to be crawling under the booth to retrieve a crayon which rolled away from your child. That will make the eating experience much more positive.
I also love these for the classroom. I'm sure the number of crayons I picked up from the floor number in the millions. I like the idea of having crayons take up residency on the table and stay there. :-) I guess it doesn't take much to make me happy.
To the Left or to the Right?
A couple of years ago I ran into these two signs in Hawaii. One arrow says, "Parking Lot this Way" and the second arrow pointing in the opposite direction says, "One Way." Sometimes life gives us mixed messages so that we are not sure which road to take.
As I have the opportunity to be in many classrooms each year, I often see and hear mixed messages given to the children in our classes. However, I think the mixed message that disturbs me the most is something that I observe on a regular basis. I hear teachers say, "Now, follow my directions and do exactly as I say so that you can get the right answer." Then I hear the same teacher say during a different activity, "Use your imagination, be creative. This is your project." Hmmmm.... It is no surprise to me that we are unable to get children to be creative and to develop thinking skills. The school system is so busy trying to get the children to conform to school requirements that there is little time and effort given to teach independent thinking skills.
To me, this part of education is a conflict and a mixed message. Being creative and developing thinking skills is like following the parking lot sign which is heading in the opposite direction from the world of education which continually says, "one way."
Developmentally Appropriate Fine Motor Skills
Wouldn't you know that I forgot the most important part of the discussion during my last entry about the triangular crayons. The most important part of that issue is not the crayon staying on the table, it is how the shape of the crayon will help young children develop fine motor skills.
During my 30+ years working in classrooms as a teacher and supervisor, I am continually reminded that we push young children into a corner with many activities that we plan and materials that we use. Early in my years of teaching kindergarten I re-discovered a monumental truth taught to me many years ago. Back in the 'olden days' my first grade teacher had it right. She insisted that we use large 'horse-leg' pencils during that first year of school (we didn't do much during the six-week summer preschool they called kindergarten back in the day). Mrs. Conklin seemed to know that our fine-motor skills were still in development. In keeping with that thinking as a teacher, I began using large-size crayons and pencils for the first half of the kindergarten year. Come January, I would slowly transition the children to standard-size instruments.
All I know is that my children consistently wrote, drew, painted and did everything better by the end of that school year. I felt it was one of my contributions to recognizing there are developmental stages to fine motor skills. Can young children write with regular pencils and crayons? Sure. But, I have observed children having difficulty with fine motor control. A child in that situation is encouraged practice. Perhaps instead of encouraging practice the adult should give the child more appropriate materials to use for her developmental level.
Now, these new triangular crayons and pencils can serve the same purpose. They give a slightly larger surface area and great angles for children to develop those skills.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Developmentally Appropriate Fine Motor Skills
Wouldn't you know that I forgot the most important part of the discussion during my last entry about the triangular crayons. The most important part of that issue is not the crayon staying on the table, it is how the shape of the crayon will help young children develop fine motor skills.
During my 30+ years working in classrooms as a teacher and supervisor, I am continually reminded that we push young children into a corner with many activities that we plan and materials that we use. Early in my years of teaching kindergarten I re-discovered a monumental truth taught to me many years ago. Back in the 'olden days' my first grade teacher had it right. She insisted that we use large 'horse-leg' pencils during that first year of school (we didn't do much during the six-week summer preschool they called kindergarten back in the day). Mrs. Conklin seemed to know that our fine-motor skills were still in development. In keeping with that thinking as a teacher, I began using large-size crayons and pencils for the first half of the kindergarten year. Come January, I would slowly transition the children to standard-size instruments.
All I know is that my children consistently wrote, drew, painted and did everything better by the end of that school year. I felt it was one of my contributions to recognizing there are developmental stages to fine motor skills. Can young children write with regular pencils and crayons? Sure. But, I have observed children having difficulty with fine motor control. A child in that situation is encouraged practice. Perhaps instead of encouraging practice the adult should give the child more appropriate materials to use for her developmental level.
Now, these new triangular crayons and pencils can serve the same purpose. They give a slightly larger surface area and great angles for children to develop those skills.
Mrs. Conklin would be happy.
wasting time aesthetically
I'm writing a bibliography of Romantic Aesthetics this summer, and have discovered that the very words "Romantic" and "Aesthetic" are enough to send me to Google Images for an hour. The minute I read the words, "work of art," I am already thinking about (surprise!) works of art, and the collection of sketches at the VAG, and my artist-friend in New Zealand, and that amazing painter I saw at the Culture Crawl last year, and, well, then I discover that I am updating this blog and not writing any biblio precis AGAIN.
This morning I found a great paper by Charles Altieri, UC Berkeley English Professor and renowned theorist. In it, he sets out a perfect narrative of philosophy and aesthetics, their courtship, marriage (thanks to Kant, who set them up in the first place), trials and tribulations, and current marital problems. They are not breaking up any time soon, but there are things that are not quite cutting it in the 21st C. Nevertheless, in the beginning there was...
Light. & what Altieri does is write clearly and lightly on a subject that often gets bogged down in search of illumination. Here is a truth that I have been deriving from Wordsworth for, like, the last six months, with which Altieri enlightens us in his third paragraph:
"...Aesthetic pleasure pushes against the limits of empirical subjectivity. Pleasure located in the object follows the model of the sublime, a domain where some version of excess challenges the understanding and opens the agent to imaginative speculation on what lies beyond the boundaries of common sense. Such pleasure elicits an intensity and a mobility of self at odds with the versions of duty and decorum imposed on us as part of the socializing process [*this is like Kristeva's "necessity of revolt" I think]...In aesthetic experience we let our pleasure depend on our efforts to cast our judgments so that they elicit agreement from other agents [*as Kant], and hence become exercises in our capacity to identify freely and fully with what we take to be communal attitudes. Pleasure then is not merely a reaction, but a projection of what is possible for a self that submits itself to the discipline of tracking forms and exploring how it might be bound to other agents. This pleasure becomes a symbolic display of what is possible for me as a moral agent capable of identifying with rationality" (67-68).
I know that's a mega long quote for a blog post but it's GENIUS. basically, experiencing art makes us feel at once an intensity and individuality that hold us apart from societal expectations; (& for Kristeva, this might even be a sense of the reactionary, rebellious, revolutionary, etc)... and at the same time, aesthetic experience makes us feel part of a community through our expectation that others would see the artwork similarly. This is Kant's basic precept that "the Beautiful" is that which we expect others will also find beautiful.
(They key, is of course, that Altieri does not agree that this "topoi," as he calls it, is necessarily correct. However, what he does do, for me at least, is encapsulate a lot of the theory I have been reading in a few choice sentences, that are (now) going to help me talk about some art...)
So, to return to my artist-friend in New Zealand, whose name is Keinyo White, I think it's really interesting that he is (still?) extremely invested in this kind of rhetoric:
This morning I found a great paper by Charles Altieri, UC Berkeley English Professor and renowned theorist. In it, he sets out a perfect narrative of philosophy and aesthetics, their courtship, marriage (thanks to Kant, who set them up in the first place), trials and tribulations, and current marital problems. They are not breaking up any time soon, but there are things that are not quite cutting it in the 21st C. Nevertheless, in the beginning there was...
Light. & what Altieri does is write clearly and lightly on a subject that often gets bogged down in search of illumination. Here is a truth that I have been deriving from Wordsworth for, like, the last six months, with which Altieri enlightens us in his third paragraph:
"...Aesthetic pleasure pushes against the limits of empirical subjectivity. Pleasure located in the object follows the model of the sublime, a domain where some version of excess challenges the understanding and opens the agent to imaginative speculation on what lies beyond the boundaries of common sense. Such pleasure elicits an intensity and a mobility of self at odds with the versions of duty and decorum imposed on us as part of the socializing process [*this is like Kristeva's "necessity of revolt" I think]...In aesthetic experience we let our pleasure depend on our efforts to cast our judgments so that they elicit agreement from other agents [*as Kant], and hence become exercises in our capacity to identify freely and fully with what we take to be communal attitudes. Pleasure then is not merely a reaction, but a projection of what is possible for a self that submits itself to the discipline of tracking forms and exploring how it might be bound to other agents. This pleasure becomes a symbolic display of what is possible for me as a moral agent capable of identifying with rationality" (67-68).
I know that's a mega long quote for a blog post but it's GENIUS. basically, experiencing art makes us feel at once an intensity and individuality that hold us apart from societal expectations; (& for Kristeva, this might even be a sense of the reactionary, rebellious, revolutionary, etc)... and at the same time, aesthetic experience makes us feel part of a community through our expectation that others would see the artwork similarly. This is Kant's basic precept that "the Beautiful" is that which we expect others will also find beautiful.
(They key, is of course, that Altieri does not agree that this "topoi," as he calls it, is necessarily correct. However, what he does do, for me at least, is encapsulate a lot of the theory I have been reading in a few choice sentences, that are (now) going to help me talk about some art...)
So, to return to my artist-friend in New Zealand, whose name is Keinyo White, I think it's really interesting that he is (still?) extremely invested in this kind of rhetoric:
From his website: "To understand the revelations at the core of Keinyo White’s vibrant and extraordinary work is to understand the powerful, shaping influence of isolation.
The personal isolation of experiencing life as an African-American man at a time when black culture is struggling to retain its historic strength and unity. The professional isolation of emerging as a black artist in a white-dominated modern art world while conquering the immensely difficult art forms of painting and collage. The emotional isolation of a young man who felt compelled to carry the torch of black anger through his twenties only to find that same anger had left him exhausted and creatively limited.
White has now evolved from being a young and angry black artist to a master painter with a profound vision of race, hope, triumph and beauty."But actually he produces quite a lot of this kind of work:
Which are quite extraordinarily beautiful watercolour portraits of women, but which are not in the least testaments to artistic isolation or the vestiges of black anger. ... but that might not even be the point. What Altieri tells us is that the Romantic/Kantian topoi presents us with, instead, a process of that looking does both things at once: it allows us to tap into that feeling of apartness from society ("a young man who felt compelled to carry the torch of black anger") and at the same time reach a consensus that says, these are beautiful, you must see that these are beautiful, Keinyo sees their beauty, makes it luminous, and we comply and agree with his vision. At once, we are part of a community of rational thinkers, steeped in beauty.
As Altieri makes clear, it is the principle of pleasure that arises here as the main mode for experiencing art. Keinyo's pieces are not conceptual in the way that, say, those at the National Gallery's Pop Life exhibit were conceptual; they are instead exquisitely crafted and personal. The pleasure, then, I think is the intimacy of acquainting oneself with another's face. Of being able to stare, in a way one cannot do on the subway (even though I want to! Always, through my dark sunglasses). This intensity breaks the social taboo that says, "don't stare at people and dissect their face" and at the same time creates a new social unity around the fact of the portrait's beauty-- & the pleasure of looking.
So I've wasted the entire morning. Success!! Better shutter down. Happy August Long Weekend, everyone!
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