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[need2know]

Initially, I was excited about this job (great school and student population), but this job has become a nightmare. Here is a short list of what I've had to tolerate thus far:

--disorganized and at times incompetent supervisor (s/he either does not know how to and refuses to get me the necessary access to classrooms, internet, etc.)
--everything is subject to change at the very last minute
--colleague (or boss, not sure these days) with a type A personality (control freak)
--although I am supposed to be part of a team, type A has taken over (my supervisor considers s/he a genius)
--inadequate access to classroom and computer station (I have to ask passersby to let me in the room and log me into the computer)
--schedule from Tartarus (I must have pulled the short stick)
--unfriendly full-time staff

I would really appreciate any advice on how to cope with this job. I have never experienced anything like this.

Thanks in advance :-)

P.S. I'm a lurker not a troll.

 

[crowie]

Focus on your students!

[adjunctprincipessa]

I've had lousy adjunct positions in the past.  What I did was focus on the reason why I was there - which usually was to get more experience that would lead to a better job in the future.  It took seven years of teaching at lousy schools, but eventually I got a great job.

While I was stuck at lousy schools, I did the best I could given the limited resources (which at one school included a lack of chalk and an inability to xerox the syllabus on the first day).  On the days where I could not obtain a computer lab, the resources were put on Blackboard so the students could view them from home.  If I had requested a TV and it didn't show up, the students might be sent home early.  No matter how bad things got, I always pasted a bright smile on my face, since it was possible that I might need future employment from lousy schools and I got out as soon as possible.  Send out your cv and do your best.  As long as you are nice to your students, you will get great evaluations and at most schools as long as there are no student complaints the administration is happy.  Good luck to you!

[brixton]

Chime to all -- I taught for awhile in Southeast Asia.  No air conditioning, monstrous classes, limited access to anything electronic, large flying insects that resembled small kittens.   I loved it.  It helped me focus on my teaching style without the bells and whistles.  Now when I have the support, I feel powerful.  If something falls apart,  I can usually make do.  (I remember once wanting to show the family tree of the British monarchs leading up to the Shakespeare play we were reading.  The copier was broken and the overhead projector in the classroom had no plug, just bare wires....  they fooled me, because it looked operational, sitting over there in that corner!)  So, we made a family tree that looked like a cheerleading pyramid -- sort of. People stood on desks, being the fathers/mothers.  Siblings held hands to show inbred relationships.  In short, they were the tree, which worked just fine, and probably stuck more in their mind than a handout with lots of foreign names that meant nothing to the group I was teaching.