Well this symbolises my attitude today. I have been to THAT meeting at Hawthorn which is enough to turn your stomach... the generation gap is so profound that the ideology at play is quite discomforting. Why do humans (mostly male) seek hierarchical power for their own agendas? Luckily there were some intelligent (meaning they agreed with me) young men at the Roundtable.
We even had a visit by a member of staff from Strategic Planning and Governance to trial a student survey of Teaching and Learning quality and student (client) expectations....Where do these supposed experts get off?
Firstly, the wording of the questionaire was appalling, and bureaucratic.
Next, the way the possible replies were structured forced answers towards the positive scale ( 4 out of 5 possible responses), and there was of course no room to expand on your 'value' attributed to each 'quality'.
If this doesn't scream blatant attempt to gain statistics for marketing purposes I'll go 'he'.
Also concerning is that all of a sudden when the Feds decide to tie funding to excellence in teaching the bureaucrats and middle level admins decide they need quantitative stats as measures... after all they need only take a moment to analyse when there are so few questions and permuations of answers. What a load of crap. What worries me is these people seem oblivious to the whole inadequacy of their research methodology to actually measure the 'real' situation... or they are too scared to do so and publicise the outcome? That would mean decisions and bucks needing to stop being passed.
Next came a trip to Lilydale which seems to be an isolated little haven, so detached from the 'POWER HUB' of decision-making.
Yet the 'haven' imagery is a deceptive smoke screen.
How can anything be achieved on a policy-input level when the entire Campus is seen as a 'problem to be dealt with' or 'micro-managed' by the people in power at Hawthorn. How can positive reputation be restored when a few academics are intent on eating their own?
So you see, all I want to do this evening is bitch... and I have the LACK OF FINGER NAILS to prove my frustration levels.
...Meanwhile, life is supposed to go along normally, when in amongst all this tedium our family is gathering statements and evidence for Thursday. Crossing t's and dotting i's to attempt the smallest legal bill possible. The more we chase up, the cheaper the fees (at least that's what I am hoping). It's really a zero sum game at this stage, with the outlay totally necessary yet the outcome far from assured.
In amongst all this there is even talk of THE 21ST... all of a sudden. Thanks for the warning to start saving, especially as we all know who will be footing the legal bills. Speaking of frustrating malkes again... (he [the lawyer] wants the cash on the day... come on, what about invoices and 14 days to pay? Surely I could be sued for breach of contract should I not cough up?)
Oh, and just how many other hurdles are going to be placed in front of me in the coming days? And how can I seriously believe my wellness program (Yoga and Art Therapy) will hold up, especially when the Phsyio is also determined to check my back injury with his 'gentle pressure'?
To quote my favourite old broad... "I bitch therefore I am".... (sorry Descartes!)
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