Category Archives: academia

In loco parentis: real life role conflict and role strain

Posted on October 25, 2013 by rglw

Thanks for not giving up on the blog and me.  September and October knocked me down, but I am slowly standing back up. Everywhere I look, all I see are Rogue Cheerios.  Residuals from my work and personal life are … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, family, higher education, kids, lessons learned, motherhood, parenthood, personal, sociology, students, teaching, work | Leave a comment

Persistence in the face of unrelenting mediocrity

Posted on September 12, 2013 by rglw

After many summers of failing miserably at tending to vegetable plants, I have resigned myself to the realization that I am not a great gardener. Do you hear me, husband?  I stink at gardening. I am not even a little … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, blogging, lessons learned, personal, research, students, teaching, work, writing | 4 Comments

A very merry un-birthday to Rogue Cheerios!

Posted on September 4, 2013 by rglw

So, my one year anniversary of the blog came and went with little fanfare yesterday.  I can hardly believe that I have been blogging for a whole year.  My husband can hardly believe it either. When I first thought about … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, blogging, community, lessons learned, motherhood, parenthood, personal, writing | 2 Comments

The calm before the storm: on course prep and a reality check

Posted on August 21, 2013 by rglw

I need to get over myself. I am doing exactly what I have done for semesters now: I am over prepping my courses. I’m paralyzed thinking about updating the syllabus for a course I’ve already taught because I know it … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, higher education, lessons learned, reading, schools, students, teaching, work, writing | 1 Comment

A tale of two conferences: the postmortem on ASA in New York

Posted on August 14, 2013 by rglw

Last weekend in New York City was productive and fun. I saw some old friends and met lots several new people (in real life and via Twitter).  I picked up some inventive teaching ideas.  I heard (mostly) first-rate research presentations. … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, higher education, lessons learned, research, sociology, teaching, work, writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Surviving (and thriving) at the annual academic meeting

Posted on August 5, 2013 by rglw

Two thousand sociologists in one place? Sounds like a crazy time. This will be the eighth year that I’ll attend an academic conference.  I try to go to two meetings a year (one local and one national), depending on where … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, blogging, coffee, community, fashion, grad school, higher education, lessons learned, sociology, travel, work | Tagged | 1 Comment

Is it possible to have status in academe without tenure?

Posted on August 2, 2013 by rglw

This past year, I served as a “Visiting Lecturer” at a private, liberal arts college and this coming year, I’ll be a “Visiting Assistant Professor”.  I used to think “visiting” sounded really distinctive, like your talents were so specialized that … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, dissertation, grad school, higher education, lessons learned, popular press, sociology, teaching, tenure, work, writing | 7 Comments

Dispatch from the mat: lessons on teaching gleaned from yoga boot camp

Posted on July 12, 2013 by rglw

Yoga boot camp is a contradiction in terms.  Yoga, by nature, is meant to be peaceful and meditative.  The only “boot camp”-ish thing about this yoga boot camp was the 6:15 start time (and thus the 5:30 wake up call). … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, blogging, health, higher education, lessons learned, students, teaching, work, yoga | 7 Comments

On teaching, writing, and teaching writing

Posted on June 24, 2013 by rglw

In a recent conversation with my mother-in-law, I discussed my frustration with teaching writing.  She lamented that students really learned to write in high school and many secondary schools were failing at that task.  I wondered [aloud to her] whether … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, higher education, lessons learned, reading, students, teaching, writing | 16 Comments

Call me crazy

Posted on June 19, 2013 by rglw

This post will not win me any friends, but I know that my reflections on Mama, PhD published last week resonated with others based on the support and feedback I’ve received from friends, colleagues and readers (including one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, family, higher education, lessons learned, marriage, motherhood, parenthood, popular press, Uncategorized, work, writing | 4 Comments