We just got our schedules for the spring semester. Because this semester everyone so enjoyed the long weekend of Oct. 6-10 and the Saturday make-up on Oct. 14, it has been decided that we'll have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR make-up classes on the Saturdays of March 3, March 10, April 14, and June 9 (to make up for days off on Feb. 26, Feb. 27, April 6, and June 18, respectively). Joy joy joy.The reasons for this are, first, to give people a longer winter break--beginning classes on March 1 rather than Feb. 26 (too bad I already bought my plane tickets). And April 6 is the day after Tomb-Sweeping Festival, so they had to give that Friday off. (But why make it up? What happened to Spring Break?) And then June 18 is the day before Dragon Boat Festival (a Tuesday), which is a day off.
So is this going to be a trend? Every semester we'll be getting these bizarre schedules? I've been around long enough to remember teaching on Saturdays, but at least it was a regular thing back then. Maybe we should just get rid of the 5-day week here and go back to the good old days...
Anybody else's schedule for spring looking like this, or are we the only ones?
5 comments:
Clyde Said:
Another example of how "liberalizing" the system has totally screwed things up. I too remember Saturday classes, even Saturday night school--total normal up to just a about seven years ago. I have not seen the schedule over at NCHU yet, but we did that strange make up thing also, and we were told to do it also for New Years day (for reasons that I didn't quite get because the policy makers then changed their minds and made the make up optional).
The killer is I'm teaching more on Saturdays now then ever before because that is when all the for-pay classes are. I guess the point of this story is, if you value your personal time, don't come to Taiwan.
Clyde Said:
Oh, Jonathan, new Mr. Donut at NCHU. The first I know of in Taichung. It is a small stand in the student union building which is right behind my office. I invite you to come by and partake and hang out at my digs.
This appears to be a general policy--my wife says her elementary and junior high students have to make up classes on Saturdays next semester, too. Thus moving her Saturday classes to Sunday... (Methinks growing up here these days is a thing greatly to be avoided.)
We'll have to take you up on the Mr. Donut soon (i.e, before it closes down).
Clyde Said:
Too late. Checked into the details today and it wasn't a store at all but some enterprising students who bought boxes of Mr. Donut products in Taipei then set up tables in the student union to sell them.
Ah well. I need to lose weight anyway...
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