The Interpersonal Dynamics of Graduate Faculty pt. 2
So, the saga continues....we had class today, which began with "What happened last week?" We replied with "Well, we looked at 3 research proposals, and..." He suggested that we had "demanded" that he "do something" about the double booking. He said that we had told him that we had been "forced" to stay at the meeting. He told us that because of us, he is barely on speaking terms with the faculty. He asked us why we didn't stop him from writing his tirade to the other faculty members...
Well, he's supposedly so sensitive to power dynamics....how about the fact that he is a faculty member who made an entire class of graduate students cry last year...how he's been so mean that he's no longer teaching required calsses? how about how we need to pass his course? How he was furious and seemed irrational?
But anyhow...he passive-aggressively cancelled class and told us to go to the department social. So, I had a few hours free and got some free food, talked to some faculty, and held some babies. Yup. I learned long ago that when someone passive-aggressively tells you: "Don't worry about me, I'll *sniff* be okay...go enjoy yourself....really, I'll be fine..." you go ahead and have yourself a damn good, GUILT FREE time!
I'm back already because most of us had scheduled clients having not anticipated freedom.
Anyhow...
I've been grading papers this afternoon....and sometimes they're DAMN hard to comment on. They self-disclose a lot in their papers, and I'm glad that they feel safe enough to do that. Some of them come out in their papers, things like that. But when I get papers about being molested and alcoholic parents and all sorts of things, it's hard to know how to comment...I mean, it feels odd to write an evaluative comment at the end of something like that. So, I usually thank them for their openness, and try to respond empathically to what they've told me...and then I put the Clinic's number down for if they want to talk to someone about it at length. (This is why I am known as a "referral machine" as I usually end up with half of my class in therapy...I SWEAR I'm not traumatizing them!) Sometimes it's really hard to balance the roles of teacher and therapist...especially because they know I'm both...and I DO want to listen to them and talk to them, but I don't want to take on the role of therapist to them.
Anyhow...I have a client in 10 minutes....yup....
Well, he's supposedly so sensitive to power dynamics....how about the fact that he is a faculty member who made an entire class of graduate students cry last year...how he's been so mean that he's no longer teaching required calsses? how about how we need to pass his course? How he was furious and seemed irrational?
But anyhow...he passive-aggressively cancelled class and told us to go to the department social. So, I had a few hours free and got some free food, talked to some faculty, and held some babies. Yup. I learned long ago that when someone passive-aggressively tells you: "Don't worry about me, I'll *sniff* be okay...go enjoy yourself....really, I'll be fine..." you go ahead and have yourself a damn good, GUILT FREE time!
I'm back already because most of us had scheduled clients having not anticipated freedom.
Anyhow...
I've been grading papers this afternoon....and sometimes they're DAMN hard to comment on. They self-disclose a lot in their papers, and I'm glad that they feel safe enough to do that. Some of them come out in their papers, things like that. But when I get papers about being molested and alcoholic parents and all sorts of things, it's hard to know how to comment...I mean, it feels odd to write an evaluative comment at the end of something like that. So, I usually thank them for their openness, and try to respond empathically to what they've told me...and then I put the Clinic's number down for if they want to talk to someone about it at length. (This is why I am known as a "referral machine" as I usually end up with half of my class in therapy...I SWEAR I'm not traumatizing them!) Sometimes it's really hard to balance the roles of teacher and therapist...especially because they know I'm both...and I DO want to listen to them and talk to them, but I don't want to take on the role of therapist to them.
Anyhow...I have a client in 10 minutes....yup....
posted by Wild West Intern @ 2:58 PM
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