Bad, bad adjunct

You know, I looked. There is no policy. Of course not, why would there be any reasonable policies regarding the invisible 55% of the faculty. Yeah, you read right! 55% of the faculty at Lemon are part-timers, with no benefits, no job security, and low wages.

But, you see, there's no policy on sick leave or faculty absences from class (for adjuncts). I even called to ask. They don't know. So, my department secretary agreed to put a sign on the door. I've been grading away, and prepping. But I just really don't feel up to going today. Yesterday I nearly lost my voice in class. I've been feeling lousy for a while. Is it really a crime to take a day to recuperate?

I thought of finishing grading the tests, then driving the two hour Wednesday late-afternoon commute, handing them back, collecting their projects due before Thanksgiving (this is the last class meeting before then), then begging off from the lecture, and driving the 1 1/2 hours back. That is, I considered expending the next six hours or so to keep up appearances. But how silly that would be. The students would gain so little from my showing up, then leaving without a class session. I'm really not up to giving a lecture. So, what's the point? They can email me for their grades. They can send electronic version of their projects, or drop off hard copies at the department before next Wednesday.

You know, most people wouldn't ever feel guilty about legitimately calling in sick one day. Why do teachers?