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Shop Talk: A Boston College Shows It Can Play Hollywood’s Game

March 2, 2012, 11:59 am

By Lawrence Biemiller

Golkin HallThe U. of Pennsylvania’s law school is preparing to dedicate Golkin Hall, the fourth building in the law-school complex. The $33.5-million, 40,000-square-foot building houses a 350-seat auditorium, a moot-court room, and more, and features green roofs and a roof-top garden. It was designed by Kennedy & Violich Architecture. (U. of Pennsylvania photo)

Emerson College Los Angeles building rendering• Emerson College Breaks Ground Next Week on $85-Million Thom Mayne Building in Los Angeles (Emerson College image)

• SUNY at Albany Plans $24-Million Complex for Athletics and Recreation

• Explosion Damages Bathroom Meth Lab in Loras College Building

• Arkansas State U. Adds Housing for Sororities

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  • girl37

    I don’t have an answer to your question, but I think at certain times it’s ok to step back from or scale back on our professional self-expectations. We DO have jobs to do, and it seems like you are doing fine with your teaching and it is pulling you through your family difficulties. Your other responsibility is to your son and family, and at this time of extended stress it’s impossible to sustain your former level of writing production. If you feel like you are somehow letting down your colleagues or administrators, it might be a good idea to reach out to them and discuss ways of re-balancing your work-related responsibilities (assuming you need to both teach and write).

  • ruthgree

    Collaboration is one strategy I’ve used for moving forward with projects…when depleted by family concerns, I’ve partnered with another who’s strong in the areas where I’m not up to par.  Perhaps there’s someone (a peer or a grad student) willing to listen to your ideas and create a first draft; take advantage of the urge to fuss with someone’s draft of OUR ideas, and let that natural pull to edit draw you into wanting to revise and finish that writing project.  Or perhaps you can be a second author on another’s project, with less responsibility.  Perhaps you can negotiate with those who can publish your writing, to create smaller works, or to work on your timeline rather than theirs.  Sounds like you also deserve as much nurturing as you can get–sometimes the best way to have a productive week is to have a completely unproductive day where you can recharge.  I’ve found it hard enough just to work when someone I love is ill, so you are to be commended.  Wishing you the best.

  • 11179684

    Sometimes the better choice is compassion; put your family first.  In times of crisis, one needs the stability and routine (and pay check!) of a job. So do your best to maintain that normalcy; but discuss with your supervisor and explain what is going on, saying that sometimes the family call will be stronger than the classroom call.  Be proactive in your approach, with substitutes on call.  The writing part may be harder, unless you break the block by writing about your situation, getting it out of your system (good stress buster!)  so that you can then write the technical stuff you need to do.  Don’t take as many assignments; say no to anything too demanding, even if it is an extra-curricular committee or event.  I am telling this from the other side of raising 4 kids by myself…

  • brandall89

     I complete agree with the point about saying no to things. However, I have some concerns about not keeping up the writing productivity. If you are pretenure, you could eventually lose your job; if you are posttenure you may receive negative evaluations, lower or no raises, and harm your chance for promotion or advancement. I went through a difficult divorce (is there any other kind) that contributed to clinical depression. I found that even though people were presumably supportive during the actual divorce, there was an unwritten expectation that I should have been productive during that time as I’ve been quite harshly evaluated since. Context/family circumstances/mental health didn’t matter. Possibly even more problematic, the less productive I was in terms of writing, the worse I felt about myself. My advice now to people experiencing issues that they feel are impacting their work is to make sure you are putting your energy and time each work day into the things that are valued by your institution–schedule these activities & stick to the schedule. Life issues can drain your energy, but if you put what you do have to the things that count, you will be less likely to suffer potentially catastrophic career consequences.  If teaching is what is valued by your school, it sounds like you are probably ok. If scholarly productivity is what is valued, you let that drop at some peril.

  • velvis

    I feel your pain…thus far this semester I have miscarried (paired with one last semester), dislocated my tailbone, and now have to have a tooth pulled… I am blessed to have administrators that are willing to work with me and allow me to make classes hybrid, but as to writing…I have honestly found that letting myself be fallow for a couple of weeks and doing something completely frivolous, usually allows me for to become inspired or turns the AC on in my head. I also collaborate with co-workers and former professors.
    Really I have found the most critical thing for me to do is the frivolities. If my batteries are charged then I’m able to take on what I need to. 

  • studentteacher

    Very sorry to hear of your trouble.  I also am always able to teach– in fact, am recharged by it– when there are big life changes.  Writing not so much.  So I aligned my writing goals with my teaching semester and put myself, as cheesy as it sounds, on a mini-deadline schedule that coincided with things students had to turn in, and I literally printed things out and put them in my bag to bring to class on the day.   Before going into a class, I’d pose a thinking or paragraph-length writing challenge for myself and then sit outside once class was over and write like mad what my brain had been working on in the background while I was teaching. When students were given a writing or research day, I mandated my participation as writer and researcher (not paper-grader or class prepper). I also gave myself permission for crappy first drafts: since I put students under no pressure but meeting the deadline for first drafts I did the same for me. 

    It seemed very very piecemeal at the time, but progress was incremental, and it gave me kind of a terrifying insight into the life of the student writers in my classes, who often have no “big picture” vision of any of the work they are turning in, much less full agency in choice of writing tasks.

  • booklab

    We’ve had good success with faculty group support, and also collegial blocks of writing time where you focus quietly but with others present; it helps you keep your mind on your work, similar to what happens when you teach class. Many faculty members have life issues that challenge writing, but we’ve found some strength (and peaceful, steady writing) in numbers. Please e-mail me if you’d like to discuss how this works more specifically. Am happy to brainstorm with you… booklab at georgetown dot edu 

  • juliewhite

    Eliana, so sorry to hear of your son’s illness. When I have had personal crises, I have found it helpful to have just one or two people at work who knew (my supervisor, if I knew they would be supportive), so that I could just let them know if I was having a difficult day.  For me, I didn’t need or want to have long, drawn-out conversation about my personal issues…just needed to have a place where it would be acknowledged.

    As an adjunct, I imagine that writing jobs may be an important part of your income. I second the recommendation of writing groups.  Mine are a combination of talking about what’s getting in the way of writing, and just writing in the presence of other people, which helps hold me accountable to do what I went there for.

    Best wishes.

  • johnbarnes

    Don’t be afraid to use a crutch when you have a broken ankle; just don’t stay on the crutch too long.

    1) Remember that being a workaholic is the only addiction that doesn’t make your life get immediately worse, and that addictions are soothing.  Also that they are addictions.

    2) Observe the wisdom of the old hands at getting by; typically somewhere around your department there are people who manage to not get fired, squeak through promotion, etc.  They may have permanent bad situations or just be lazy or not up to the job, but they have some ways of getting through it that will work at least temporarily, or they wouldn’t still be there.  There may be some trick you can learn (and will have to get rid of later, but the point of most crutches is that they are temporary).

  • http://www.facebook.com/jstuntz Jean Stuntz

    Cut way back on your Service obligations. Most women do far too much Service, anyway, and it does not do much help you get tenure or promotion. this will give you more time for your writing.

    When you want to write, play some classical (with no lyrics) music first. Let that become your key that you are switching modes from real life to writer. When you get distracted, play another piece. Your brain will soon learn that this music means writing and this will help you keep focused.

  • ppatch

    My personal momentum was challenged when my daughter, now 3, was diagnosed with epilepsy as a 14-month-old. I know of what you speak. On a personal note, I offer you all the compassion in the world. I’ve tried to ensure that all of my commitments revolve around a cohesive point: a goal, a principle, a value, so that when I am thinking about one, I am, in effect, thinking about all of them, and so that, when energy runs low, passion lets me run on fumes for a while. This is easier said than done, but it generally works. My advice is, don’t be afraid to put some things on the back burner for now, as long as you can do so without jeopardizing your finances or your employment. Re-prioritize, knowing that at some point, you can re-prioritize again. I agree with other advice that suggests letting people know what’s going on. You’d be surprised at what they may be willing to take on for you–or to stop asking you for. And it helps to know that there’s someone around on whose shoulder you can cry or complain. It helps to know that you are not alone.

  • demisty

    I have to eat. I remind myself that. And, I remember that my kids have to eat, too. Work = food. I like food. So work, work, work.

  • inlibrarian

    Eliana:  It will get better.  Your life will take on a new normal that includes having a child with epilepsy, but it will take time.  My life has included raising a physically disabled child to successful, independent adulthood and I am currently dealing with a teen who has been hospitalized for a suicidal depression.  I won’t lie to you, it does impact your career (along with the rest of your life).  I recently applied for a great position, but may turn it down (if offered) because of the commute–I have done too many runs the last couple of years to the school to pick up a child in emotional disress.  I am trying to figure out who among my friends is willing and able to deal with such a problem if I am more than an hour away at work.

    I suggest you find a support group of other parents with kids with epilepsy–it’s good to have people who share your experiences.  You don’t have to manage by yourself either–ask friends for assistance, hire a teen to babysit while you lock  yourself in your room to write, ask your colleagues or department head to help take less essential tasks off your plate for a short time. Most people are very helpful.

  • missymca

    … except for those days when too much work = missing lunch.  Or eating lunch at 4pm (perhaps that’s “linner”?!).  In the busiest of times, work seems to be a barrier to food.

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