I look in my glass and see that lemon curl.
9:49 p.m.
The part-time music tutors (that’s my official job description) have their very own section in the contract faculty collective agreement, mostly having to do with the distribution of students. Most of the instruments are taught by only one tutor apiece, but we have three singing teachers. I used to have seniority, but through a rather unethical and unfair application of student-teacher evaluations (which is completely disallowed for professors teaching small classes while we often have only one or two students under a course number), I have slipped so that I am no longer the senior voice teacher. Somehow, though, I still end up with more students than my senior colleague because she won’t teach the beginner, non-music students unless she absolutely has to.
I finally got my class list last week from the Duke. Three of my former students are no longer on it: the one who was upset about her mark, one who really doesn’t know what she wants to do and decided that she would concentrate on classics for the moment, and one who simply did not return to the university. They have been replaced by three new students, a beginning non-music student, and two music students. One of my returnees has upgraded to music-student status. All this means I am making more money and theoretically teaching more hours.
When the Duke gave me my class list, I noticed that a name was missing, the French exchange student who had taken three lessons with me last term in preparation for taking them for credit. He was greatly relieved that I named her, for she had signed up for lessons but no one knew what instrument she was taking. I tried to give her a lesson last week, but we got our wires crossed and it didn’t work out. Then on Wednesday, I got an email from the contract faculty union representative.
My other colleague, the piano teacher who also teaches voice, was now out a student according to the collective agreement because this last one, the French girl, had gone to me. Would I be willing to give up one of my students so Vlad would have her full complement, or let her have one of mine when the next rotation happens? I wrote back saying that I would gladly hand over the exchange student as I was having a terrible time scheduling her anyway. I wrote the girl, but never heard back from her. I wrote my chair and explained the situation. I was starting to get a little desperate.
Towards the end of today, I finally got an email from the Duke that Vlad would take this student and I was off the hook. He followed it up with a phone call, and all is well in the world.
You see, this girl is absolutely terrible. I really did not want to teach her, but felt obligated, since I had given her some lessons last term. You have no idea how relieved I am that I don’t have to listen to her every week. Phew!
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