|
|
From John
Batty-Sylvan, department chair:
|
TO ALL FACULTY:
Some
questions have been asked about the PART-TIME
REEMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE LIST BY ACADEMIC SEMESTER. After having
conferred with
Steve Hale, Employee Relations Manager, I would impart to you the
following:
As
stated in the posted memorandum dated 11 February 2005 in the
department’s
conference room,
Once
again this office is
distributing the seniority lists required each semester by Article
13-1,
Part-Time Reemployment Preference, of the faculty collective bargaining
agreement. Use of the lists continues to be essential if we are to
insure the
accuracy of temporary, part-time faculty assignments for fall Semester
2005 if
the “reduction in the number of available hours” condition
exists with respect
to any department or subject area.
What Steve Hale has
stated this means is that this list is
what is commonly referred to as a “RIF”
list or
“REDUCTION IN FORCE” list and is used by the district to
rank part-time
employees should layoffs be instituted. It is not, per se, a
“scheduling” list
for departments or department chairs.
All
part-time employees are given an “employment start
date,” a date that determines the first semester of service for any part-time employee, whether that
employee is hired through the process of a part-time pool or as an
emergency
hire, all of which is done according to district hiring guidelines (see
the
SFCCD/AFT
2121 Collective Bargaining Agreement Articles 13,
13-1
January 14,
2005 – December 31, 2007 and the CCSF HANDBOOK FOR
SCREENING/INTERVIEWING
COMMITTEES’ GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE
12—from Faculty Hiring
Procedures (June 27, 1991) and Section 53003 of Title 5 of the
California Code
of Regulations).
Within
this “REEMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE LIST” one may note that
part-time employees are often ranked in groups such as
A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I or
possibly just alphabetically. These rankings are notional, having been
produced
by a computer program Employee Relations uses to sort the random data
dump
Human Resources provides when a group of
part-time employees has the same semester start date regardless of how hired. The computer program assigns
a random order to the group of
employees in question. Part-time employees listed alphabetically have
not
served enough semesters to be ranked by the computer program (hence the
00
semester count after those names).
In the
event of a RIF, a group, such as the one mentioned
above, must be evaluated case by case by a duly appointed
representative of
Employee Relations and AFT 2121, as well as the Department Chair of the
department effected. The three must then come to agreement as to a
ranking of
the employees under consideration for non-reemployment based on the
District/Union Contract cited above (in particular Article 13-1.A,
13-1.B,
13-1.C, 13-1.F.3, and 13-1.F.6.
I would
also direct your attention to Article 21—Fringe
Benefits, in particular 21.B
(part-time employee eligibility). This
article
and/or its stipulations has/have nothing to do with part-time employee
reemployment rules/regulations.
One
other matter worth mentioning in relation to the above
is that all reemployment of part-time emergency hires for more than one
semester must always be done with consent of the Director of Human
Resources
with the stipulation that said emergency hires must go
through the next part-time pool hiring process.
If you
have questions concerning any of these matters,
please address your questions to the English Department Chair or the
Employee
Relations Manager at 33 Gough.
|
|
This issue of
the English
Department Newsletter has been
sponsored by the good people of
Bring
your
students to Cyberia in Art Ext 265. Prepare
to be amazed when you use the composition and grammar programs, as well
as the Cyberia lab activity form. This could change the way you teach
and use lab technology. Be amazed.
Cyberia:
It's Cool.
|
|
glory
& applause
From
Meredith Rose:
From
Alexandra Teague:
| Born, 14
June, 2005 A.D.
6 lbs. 11 oz:
Meredith and her partner, Diana Selig, welcome Anya Selig Rose
to their family.
|
And
speaking of houseguests . . .
"Houseguest,"
published
last spring in Crazyhorse,
was the featured
poem of Sept. 3 at the online Poetry Daily, poems.com.
You can access the archive
at www.poems.com/housetea.htm.
|
From Daniel Brown:
|
WHAT
A TANGLED WEB,
a non-fiction narrative by Daniel
Curzon
The Dark Side
of the Internet in the form of a
teacher “review” site allows ANYONE AT ALL, even
non-students, to post “reviews” of teachers,
anonymously
and without consequence to the “reviewer,” thus
unleashing
the nastiest sides of the human species: a website where blackmail,
extortion, defamation, plain old lying for the sake of lying, and
Machiavellian deviltry rise and reign.
Openly gay
professor Nathaniel Tack, a man with
quirks of his own, plus decidedly unorthodox and Politically Incorrect
opinions, decides to take on the Zeitgeist (Good luck!) and sue both
the school (Shite College) and the webmaster of the review site, using
such allies as he can find (a tap-dancing possible Peeping Tom who
looks like a dead Santa Claus and a tiny
“Untouchable”
woman from India, who finds hope in the American Dream and
reincarnation, despite all evidence to the contrary.) But this is a
fight that must be fought, if the world is to have any sanity at all.
Are YOU in
the book, which presents a darkly comic
vision of numbing Political Correctness, suspect academic standards,
cowardice, and courage?
|
|
Improved!
Are you and
your students using
The Lab Page?
|
Now
with 43% less transfat! |
|
From Amy Miles, scholarship
coordinator:
English Department
Scholarships for the
Fall 2005 semester
Please pass this information on to any and all interested students! |
The Edward
Kloster
Scholarship
This scholarship of $200 is awarded each semester to a student who is
currently enrolled in or has completed English K or English 9 within
the last year. The student should be recommended by his/her English K
or English 9 instructor. The student must have been born in the United
States, have a goal to earn an associate degree, a vocational
certificate or to transfer to a four-year college or university.
Financial need is a consideration. |
|
Esther
Bryant Snepp
Scholarship in American Literature
This scholarship of $400 is awarded to an English major who has taken a
course in American Literature at CCSF. |
Scholarship
applications are due to the Scholarship Office (Bat 366) by
4pm on October 7, 2005. Students can pick up an application in the
English Department office (in the black book rack, which also holds
other pertinent English Department handouts, near the door).
Instructors can also pick up applications from me in Batmale 558 to
bring to their
classes.
|
From Monica Bosson,
handbook committee
chair:
Handbook Vote!
Isn't
it time for a change?
In early October, there will be a
department-wide vote on which
handbook should be adopted for English 94 and above. Our current
handbook, The Bedford Handbook,
has undergone a lengthy revision process and a new version is due out
in November. Since students will need to buy the new handbook in Spring
06, this is our opportunity to reassess whether the Bedford Handbook is
meeting our students' needs at these levels. The Handbook Committee
(John Delgado, Alisa Messer, Alexandra Teague, Erin Denney, and Monica
Bosson) has looked at many, many handbooks and would like everyone to
look over the texts that made the short list. The vote will be between
the following three choices: Harris' Prentice Hall Reference
Guide,
Lunsford's Everyday Writer,
and the new
edition of The Bedford
Handbook. Copies of the first
two and advance proofs of one
chapter of the new Bedford will be available for your perusal in both
the Conference Room and the Writing Lab.
The committee will be sending out a rationale statement to the whole
department in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, this is an opportunity for
you to become informed about a decision that affects all of
us--students and instructors alike.
Please feel free to contact Monica Bosson (mbosson@ccsf.edu
or 452-7027) with
your comments and suggestions.
From Benjamin
Bacsierra, English 96 assessment coordinator:
Thanks
to those who submitted readings for this semester's English 96
assessment. It was a very close vote between "Thin Slices" and "Fat and
Happy." At the end of the day, however, "Fat and Happy?" was
victorious.
Our next meeting will be held on Friday, September
16, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. in the conference room. If you don't have a copy
of the reading, have suggestions for multiple choice questions about
it, or want more information about the upcoming 96 assessment, please
contact me at bbacsier@ccsf.edu
or Batmale 564. Also please let me know
if you'd like to be added to the English 96 listserv.
From
the English
Curriculum
Committee:
 |
The
September English Curriculum Committee meetings will be September
14th & September 28th from 1-2:30 in Batmale 411.
The English
Curriculum Committee's voting members met once in August to elect the
new Chair, Andrea Sanelli,
and Secretary, Alexandra Teague.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oliver
Kleinman tries to
console Madeline Cox after a heated curriculum committee debate over
which texts should be required in the newly proposed children's
literature course. Further debate will take place at the Cyberia
Alternative Cooperative Nursery between nap times. All faculty
should read Everyone
Poops
and Winchell
Cuts the Cheese
before the next meeting.
|
From Major English:
It's in the works! Please look at the course catalog
to see if you'd like to resurrect some neglected electives. Let
our department chair know what you might be able to contribute.
Please also think about what you're qualified to teach and what
electives we'll need to create.
From Carol Heard,
Writing Success Project:
Changes at the Writing
Success Project
Starting this fall, the WSP
is offering tutoring support to particular sections of English:
English 90,
section
14 (Susan Akram); English 92, sections 1 and 4 (Elizabeth
Zarubin), English 93/94 section 6 (Jodi Naas),
and English 96:
section 9 (Leila Easa).Last spring we worked with John
to identify a
few sections that we
could begin a collaboration with. Our tutors are attending class and
leading small group sessions for members of those sections.
A small number of returning WSP students will be receiving individual
tutoring this semester, but by Fall 06, we expect to eliminate all
individual tutoring and make the shift to group tutoring for entire
sections of classes. When we get inquiries from English composition
students from other, non-WSP sections, we refer them to LAC
workshops and the Writing Lab.
For Spring 2006, we hope to serve more sections of English composition
classes, including an English 1A and 1B. We will be accepting
applications in September and October from students who would like to
enroll in those sections (still to be identified).
We are VERY excited to have this direct connection to English classes
and faculty, and I would be glad to furnish details to anyone who is
interested in participating in the future. Please contact me
at 452-5515.
From Lisa King,
reading training co-coordinator:
Linda
Legaspi and I are running a 14-week
training this semester for
seven Composition instructors interested in learning the Reading
Apprenticeship model of Reading
instruction developed by WestEd's Strategic
Literacy
Initiative. The training is
funded by the Carnegie Foundation as
part of a multi-campus project known as SPECC: "Strengthening
Pre-Collegiate Education in the Community Colleges." Although the
training will focus on the needs of English 9 students, particularly in
the context of an integrated reading-writing basic skills course, the
pedagogy of Reading Apprenticeship could be adapted for all courses
where reading is a requirement. We hope to continue the training in
Spring 2006, so please consider participating! For more information,
email me at eking@ccsf.edu
From Craig Kleinman,
your humble lab boy:
An incarnation of the Reading
Lab's home page, www.ccsf.edu/english/readinglab,
is up and running, but it has a ways to go. Kate Swoboda has made incredible contributions. Please send
me your
ideas to make this a helpful
site for students, staff, and faculty. The same goes for The Lab Page. And as of this week,
teachers may send their students to the Reading Lab to use Inspiration. Web access will happen any second now!
By the first week of November we should
finally
have a second classified staff employee (3598) to work with Richard
Gale. This will mean a shift in how faculty are used in the
Reading Lab. Instead of handing out materials, faculty will tutor
reading during peak hours and will lead reading groups. But some
advance work will be required and will be compensated:
We are in the process of securing stipends
for
faculty to be trained as reading tutors in the Reading Lab.
Please let me
know (again) if working as a reading tutor would be a smart use of your
skills, especially if you are already working with basic skills
students.
We are also securing stipends for faculty who would like to lead long
talked about student reading groups next semester. The reading
groups will be structured in four- or six-week modules. The
stipend will be for the preparation (lesson plans, handouts, etc) you
do in advance, meaning the end of this semester. The target
audience will be basic skills students, and their 1-hr weekly group
meetings will be for lab credit. Please email me
asap if you want to participate.
Also: Please
use our lab listservs
to share lab ideas and resources, as well as to find lab--not
classroom--subs. Always (but hopefully infrequently) post the
specific date, time, and place, and once a sub comes through, the best
thing to do is to let the list know. That way Alisa, Cindy,
Richard, and I will know that the slot will be covered. An email is
ideal.
And subs,
please remember to fill out a pink time
report instead of the usual blue one.
From the English
Department lab elves:
Contest!
Win fabulous prizes! Fame
and... um... prizes!
Take a look
in your crystal ball and tell us what
you see--in fewer than 400 words! What will the LAB
OF THE FUTURE
look like? Will there be machines? Will it even be in a
room? How will grammar be explained? Share your vision. Maybe we'll make it happen.
Maybe you'll blow our minds.
Send entries to your newsletter
editors. We're serious. Offer valid
for 30 days. Contest open to
English Dept. faculty members and their students only. Other
restrictions may apply.
From Erin Denney,
basic skills coordinator:
Instructors
of
English K, L, 9, 90, and 92, along with others invested in working with
our basic skills students, are joining forces and finding direction.
The "English Department [insert clever name here]," which had an
initial, lively meeting in August, has since been busy in cyberspace,
working on drafting a mission statement for the group. Fun and useful
projects to follow include establishing mentorship relationships
between new and seasoned Basic Skills instructors and inviting
DSP&S to talk to us about identifying and teaching students
with
learning disabilities. If you are not teaching Basic Skills this
semester but want to be included, please let me know
at sdenney@ccsf.edu
so that I can add you to the listserv.
Next meeting:
Tuesday September 20th
1-2:30 pm in Arts 211
|
There was
general
agreement that snacks
help to optimize focus and friendliness at any meeting. Linda Legaspi
and the rest of us say "Thanks, Erin!"
|
From Tim Killikelly,
CCSF's Mobilizing Democracy
Project:
Call for Volunteers
Register Students in Your Classes to Vote in the November 2005 Special
Election
The
Mobilizing Democracy campaign at City College
of San Francisco is
asking for volunteers to help register students to vote in time for the
Special Election on November 8th, 2005. By taking a few minutes in your
classes to register students to vote you can help students gain a voice
in the political process. We also have some opportunities to have
someone come to your class to help register students.
Mobilizing
Democracy will provide you with the voter registration
forms, instructions and a letter providing answers to the most
frequently asked questions. Please contact Timothy Killikelly,
Instructor of Political Science, at (415) 452-5695 or tkillike@ccsf.edu
to volunteer. (Leave your office number to have a packet left under
your door.) Dates and directions will be included with the packets,
which will be distributed starting the week of 9/19.
From Maria
Rosales-Uribe, coordinator,
reflective teaching circle project:
It is not too
late to join the reflective teaching
circles. We have two groups starting Wednesday, September 14
from 1-3 PM and Friday and September 16 from 12:30-2:30. Both
groups will meet in Cloud 349. If you are still interested please come
and
join us. There will be stipends for the participants, and we will be
meeting once a month this semester. This is not your "typical" dreadful
meeting-committee, departmental or any other adjective you want to add
to "meeting". This is a time where a colleague shares a quandary or
issue and participating teachers listen intently and ask questions that
help clarify the quandary/issue. More importantly, it's a group of
teachers collectively sharing their experiences to come up with
possible creative solutions that the colleague perhaps can experiment
with in his/her classroom. The focus is always on student learning. If
you want some more info, call me at 241-2376, or marosale@ccsf.edu.
and
beyond
Hurricane
Katrina
From Jessica Nelson:
My
sister, Kelli Nelson, was evacuated, along with other hospital staff
and patients, on Friday, Sept 2nd, having stayed at the NOLA hospital
(where she works as a nurse) for
six days, and 4 days after the hurricane hit. She was
instrumental in getting the hospital evacuated, sending out text
messages to ask family members to contact the media and political
officials to draw attention to their situation. She is in Atlanta
now, applying for jobs and settling in. She went to New Jersey
this past weekend to pick up her car from a neighbor who fled to
Florida first and then to NJ. Her dogs, Bijou (in the photo) and
Naja, a Dachshund, are safe in Wisconsin with Kelli's Mom. Not
having seen the storm, the animals are quite miffed with their human
parent and may need some time to adjust to their new life. And so
it goes. . .
I thank everyone for the kind thoughts and prayers; they are what give
us hope and inspiration when life is challenging. |
|
From a distant relation
of Herb Caen:
SF's Mayor Praises Bond,
CCSF; Hated English
Linda
Legaspi reports that she had dinner with Mayor Newsom in August. She
managed to bend his ear about the bond measure on the Nov. ballot, and
he assured her he's a big supporter of both City College and the bond.
He was less sure, however, about her discipline, admitting he never
liked English as a student--in fact, he groaned when the subject came
up. He opts instead for a steady stream of text messages, N EZ OPTION 4
A NONSPELLER.
...and did you
know?
Go
ahead, have another cup!
That coffee buzz is good
for you. Really!
Much Ado About Shakespeare
in the
Park
Free through Sept. 24
 Allen
Ginsberg's Howl
San Francisco beat
classic turns
50 this month
Bush
Blames Teachers
Says Gulf
States swimming
curriculum inadequate, plans more testing. Find out more.
Kitties like
technology, too!
Scout, for instance, wishes he
and all his feline friends at The
Infinite Cat Project were allowed
to complete
their lab hours in Cyberia
recipe
of the month
From Barbara
Scrafford, staff food editor:
By popular request
- 5 cups
mixed fresh berries (blackberries, blueberries and raspberries), plus
more for garnish
- 2
tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup
sugar
- Pinch of
salt
- 18 thin
slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
- Whipped
cream, for serving (optional)
1. In a saucepan, cook berries, lemon juice, sugar, and salt over
medium heat until berries release their juices but still hold their
shape, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain sauce, reserve whole berries. Let cool.
2. Pour some sauce into the bottom of your best bowl; add some berries.
Top with bread slices ; continue layering sauce, berries and bread. The
final layer of bread should be soaked with sauce.
3. Refrigerate about 4 hours.
4. Serve, garnished with whipped cream and more berries.
From Randy, Cyberia's
main man:
 The
Randy Tip of
the Month Thanks
again for voting me Cyberia staff member of the month last spring.
You've inspired me to work even harder updating the IBM 1410's
punch
cards. Back in the '70s, man, my inspiration came from numerous
sources: polyester, cb radio, Dance Fever, ludes, Pong. But
today, man,
there's actually a computer program called Inspiration,
and version 7.6, found in Cyberia and soon in the Reading Lab, even has
hi-fidelity
audio. Very cool with headphones. Basically, it's a trippy
concept-mapping and outlining program, great for planning
essays or diagramming reading. But here are a couple of tips to pass
along to your students. First, in
Inspiration's File menu, open the templates; find the template that
best matches the task within the Language Arts folder.
Then just type away in the colorful boxes and circles. The diagram can
then be morphed into a traditional outline, like a
butterfly becoming a caterpillar again. Yeah, man. And here's my second
tip:
since your students probably won't have Inspiration access
off campus, they shouldn't save just their Inpiration document; they
should take a screen shot of their Inspiration diagram or map.
Depending on their computer, they'll probably be punching shift/print
screen or function/print screen. This will copy what's seen on
the screen so it can then be pasted into a Word document (you know,
edit>paste) or wherever else they want to stick it. Next
month, man, more tips, more trips.
|
|
