Control of time
If an Instructor is taking time to organize tasks pertaining to students, other Instructors and administraters, is he/she not being controled? Therefore, how can this not be true?
Geary, These are great observations. Sounds like you have a good handle on the kinds of stress you face every day. I think one of your most important points is the way you must prepare for the unexpected. Everyone needs a little buffer in their schedules to deal with the myriad of one-offs that we face daily.
Dr. Melissa Read
When you apply for a job in today's job market, one key issue that constantly is brought up is flexibility and the ability to adjust on a minute's notice. This is one time that the instructor is not in control of time. Every day one plans to stay focused on important tasks that need to be addressed. Plans are a guideline to follow and should never be written in stone that it cannot change in a minute. The other day I observed an altercation between three students. My observation of the situation took several hours to included report writing, meetings with management, meeting with police, handling other student issues and to top it off, an older student had a heart attack in my office over the situation. Now another situation and more reports must be completed. This may be rare but, the uncommon events do take place at times where important tasks must be handled. Weather conditions, staff illnesses, and new issues that are deemed important to the upper management now must take precedent. Your time has been altered and your flexibility to improvise, adapt, and overcome now come into play. Daily time schedule won’t be followed today. The time management is great when other factors out of our control are not present. Plan your day with the insight on what is really needed and to clear off a section of your desk for the next assignment. Just another example of what just happened, I did not plan on being at a meeting that just came up – especially when doing this assignment.
Instructors do not have complete control of their time, but they do have some control. For example, an instructor can set a deadline for a paper. If a student needs a bit more time and has been working, I generally allow an extension, but I also tell my students that I will not be able to accept their papers after a certain point. I find that people are more accepting of a deadline when you can explain why you are setting a deadline.
Wow....interesting though. Of course, one might say that the mere fact that he/she is prioritising these tasks gives him/her control...not least because the decision to execute against that prioritisation, is his/her to make. David
