Carnival of GRADual Progress, 13th edition

01Oct07

Hello everyone!! Welcome to the thirteenth Carnival of GRADual Progress! As many of you know, I’ve taken over running the carnival now that styleygeek is reaching the end of her graduate program. So congratulations to her for nearing the end and many thanks for running this over the past year or so.

The start of the new school year has meant a wealth of great posts over the past few weeks so I apologize for the good stuff that I’ve probably missed.

So let’s begin…

When graduate school feels good…
We’re several weeks into the fall semester and, if you’re like me, a little fatigue is starting to set in. So let’s start this party properly with some good news! Congratulations to Elle who now has in her possession a bound copy of her own dissertation! Kiki BE passed her qualifying exams this month so cheers, Kiki! And Ancrene Wiseass remembers why graduate school is worth it and, to me, that’s always worth celebrating.

Teaching, as always…
By now, the academic year has started for probably all of us and many of us are teaching. Over on Half an Acre, Acre tries to inspire her students to be daring intellectually and, in the process, inspires us (or maybe just me).

Meanwhile, Catrala wants to avoid allowing her class to become too politicized, while still challenging her students.

Parts-n-Pieces has moved and Billie lists a few of the reasons why teaching can be difficult. I led my first discussion sections last week and I definitely noticed “the blank stare” that she talks about from some of my students.

The Queen of West Procrastination tries to juggle teaching courses that aren’t closely related to her research and studying for exams. In the process, she realizes just how much she knows in these other areas and how much her department and the professors believe in her.

Realizations that make life easier…
The beginning of this school year has been a time of reflection for many of us. Psyc Girl tries to find out where her time goes and she hopes to waste less time in the day. Along those lines, I myself have been trying to get more time out of my day by getting up earlier. So far, it’s been working for me but it’s only two weeks into the semester, so we’ll see. Acre’s got a similar problem too.

Over at The Grand Improvisation, EA makes the mental transition from graduate student to researcher in an attempt to enjoy life more. Sounds great so far!

Useful tips for us all…
Jim Gibbon has a collection of posts where he’s gathered helpful tips: go see his two posts on publishing in an academic journal as well as one about ways to improve academic presentations.

As for those to-do lists some of us use to organize our time, sometimes they are more hassle than they’re worth. Jim has unearthed another good suggestion to make those lists efficient.

Flossie heard an interesting idea about writing at a seminar. A speaker suggested that we should downgrade the importance of writing in order to get more of it done. Apparently, people who make writing a high-priority tend to be too perfectionist about it and will only write when there are long stretches of free time available. But those who downgrade writing can use shorter bits of time to better effect. Flossie’s included some tips as well.

When we need time off…
Even though the school year has just started, it’s never too soon to think about getting necessary time off. Catrala is taking advantage of a semester with a little more free time by taking time to herself and forcing herself to not feel guilty for not constantly working.

And Flossie realizes that some of her colleagues have different ideas of a late night at the office than she does.
And finally, planning the next step…
The beginning of a new year brings anxieties about teaching new courses, new realizations and new directions, as well as desire for vacation time. But the new year can also be about planning for the future. Phdladybug debates applying for a post-doc and weighs the benefits of the research time such a fellowship would provide against the economic realities of leaving her current position.

Anastasia has a few posts about job applications. Along the way, she explains why ABDs shouldn’t be rejected without listening to perfectly legitimate extenuating circumstances.

And that’s all, folks. I hope the 13th edition’s useful for everyone. I’m looking for volunteers to host next month’s carnival. I’ll be in contact with those of you who volunteered over the summer to set up a schedule. In the meantime, send suggestions and submissions my way! Best of luck to all as we head towards fall break!

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