Good Adjuncts:

If either any of the other adjunct action items haven’t suited your fancy, or if you want to try a different tack with your students, it’s often the case that numbers speak louder than words.

So here’s what you might do…

At the beginning of the class, and right in the middle of the board write a number.  Say nothing.  As you continue to teach and use the board, work around the number, but leave the number in the center of the board.

After a while, or in some cases, immediately, a curious student will likely as the significance of the number you put on the board, and of course you will then need to explain it to him or her, and if done right, this id going to generate discussion.

If this doesn’t work, you can simply lead students into a “guess the meaning of the number” game.

Here are some numbers I like to throw out:

53% or 58%:

The amount I am paid proportional to a full-timer, depending on district, for the same teaching hour.

4

The number of times I have been on employment in the last two years.

41,731.80

My Last year’s salary

84,205.00

What I would have made as a Full-timer with the equivalent years of teaching and education

17

The number of units I teach at the above salary

15

The number of units a full-timer teaches for the higher salary listed above

55-60

The number of actual hours I work during a teaching session

3

The number of consecutive days I went without seeing my then young son awake in spite of living in the same house due to my work schedule

1

Times my wife, near having a nervous breakdown, threatened to leave me because of my work schedule

286, 000

The number of miles I had on my 1984 Mazda Sundowner Pickup before I got rid of it last year.

4

The number of times I was unable to make it to class in a five-year period due to car trouble with said car.

146,000

The number of miles on my “new” car when I got it.

21

My true average hourly wage after earning an MA +30 units, graduating with honors, and 26 years of teaching experience, with 15 of which being specifically in Higher Ed.

20

The number of extra unpaid tutoring hours I provided to at-risk students for my composition class.

8

The number of students who would not have passed without the extra tutoring

Give ‘em the numbers good adjuncts, make ‘em know.

Geoff Johnson

A Good Adjunct