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Fordham University

I taught a physics and astronomy course there.

The head of the math department also was in charge of physics and astronomy.  (I guess they didn't have any physics majors.)
At the time I had taught, and was teaching at several local colleges as an adjunct.  It didn't pay very well.

The department head was a kind of clever guy.  I mentioned to him, that at another school a student actually asked me about a calculus course with the inquiry "Is it easy?"  The department head's reply was "The word is accessible."  I never forgot that piece of academia savvy, and still use it today.

They also took the notion of academic freedom seriously.  They told me that I could choose a text book.  (It was my class.)  I decided that since I had never taught a physics course which included astronomy, I wold use the book that they had been using.  Later I regretted that decision.  I never thought that I would come across a text book with obvious errors.  The book also didn't do a very good job of developing the subject when it came to astronomy.  Even I found it boring... pointless.  So I should have been a little more prepared, or at least researched up a few books, or maybe even tried talking to others who taught it first.

One bad thing about the course was the schedule.  It consisted of one marathon session on Monday.  What student is going to come in prepared to deal with a 2 and 1/2 hour session on Monday?

One nice thing about Fordham was that out of all the schools where I taught as an adjunct, they seemed to treat the part time instructors more like equals than the other schools did.  I actually got to attend the Christmas party.  They held it in the hallway outside of the math office and everyone was welcome to socialize and have free drinks.  The department head was there also, and was his usual erudite self.

At the time of my teaching there I felt that I had to be a very qualified able physics teacher.  A real physicist.  Problem is, undergrads taking a course to meet a requirement are in no position to judge, or even appreciate such qualifications.  And trying to show them off, can actually be detrimental.  What worked, was when I gave some extra credit assignments of reading a Scientific American article on a subject that interested them and then write it up.  A nursing student in the class was so taken by the article she chose, (involving something about physiology), that she wanted me to give her the Scientific American.  I also should have brought in the Tuesday Science-of-the-Times, from the New York Times, every week.

One big problem with teaching as an adjunct is that students know that you don't have any real power.  You are also not somebody they are going to be asking for a recommendation from.  So in any school one has to almost teach "defensively," if you're part time.  Make sure the syllabus is useful, what you will cover is well defined, and the tests are very fair and relate to the material in a way that the students can easily understand.  That part I generally was able to do pretty well.  Just wish that this type of course could have been made to be more "fun."  Well, if you can get them to deal with their science anxiety for a semester -- especially in physics -- maybe that's an accomplishment.

The education I've gotten at Fordham in anticipation of being an elementary school teacher has been mixed. The curriculum constantly refers to current scientific findings and explores the science of education from a theoretical stand point. This perspective is very interesting and explores learning to learn, how children learn and develop, etc. However, what seems to be sorely lacking from the program are the practical and experiential skills that are absolutely paramount for a new teacher's success in their first year. While I feel I've gotten a well-rounded foundation of education in this country, as I near the end of my student teaching and program requirements, there are HUGE gaps in my knowledge-base that will severely disadvantage me in my first placement as a new teacher. The practical, marketable skillset required of a teacher is not a focus. The day to day issues, documents, conversations and solutions that teachers undoubtably face have not been addressed at all. I have never been shown an IEP by Fordham (I'm in the Sp.Ed program), no one has ever walked me through SESIS, I've gotten no breakdown of how the districts work, the chain of command that will actually impact my professional life. The holes in my education are substantial and I fear will make me look unprepared when I enter the workforce after graduating. 

A typical day at work would involve paper work, filing, and processing information required by my advisors, during the weekday.

On the weekends I would sit in the class with students and take notes on what was being taught so I could develop review material for students or provide materials to supplement what they were learning. Also, tutored students as well as being their confidants.

My co-workers were amazing people, each person lively and unique. Because everyone wanted to pursue different career paths, each individual brought a different perspective on how to treat each student. 

Hardest part of the job was trying to figure out the balance of being an authority figure to the students, while simultaneously gaining their trust as a person who could relate to them as a friend. 

Most enjoyable part of the job was everything honestly. It was a pleasure to see the students and staff grow together and form friendships with one another.

It's a tough place to work. It definitely takes a person with a strong personality in order to work in such an intense environment.  It had the potential to be a great place to work but management was definitely too high strung and overreacted to the most minor incidents.  

I have to admit working in such an environment has made me hone in and polish my skills.  I am a much better employee for it and my skills have definitely sharpen after working in a no non sense tolerated type of environment.

The most difficult part of my job was the inconsistency when it came to policies and procedures.  Which can cause a lack of confidence when trying to field inquires.  The most enjoyable part was be able to work with an amazing group of people.  We became a family and that I feel is an important vibe and atmosphere to have.  It makes going to work that much easier and bearable.

I held several positions at Fordham in academic departments and student services and was generally content. The work was often not very challenging, however I enjoyed working closely with students in student services rolls. Due to the generous benefits package and time off, people tend to stay for many, many years which makes advancement difficult and I found I had to make lateral moves in order to stay stimulated in my job. The team is very nice, however, due to competitive nature of moving up within the organization, there is a lot of one-ups-manship and lack of a team atmosphere at times. That said, it’s a low stress workplace where work/life balance is very much respected abd valued. The university lives by their motto of cura personalis (care for the whole person) and it’s also a great place to start a career in higher ed. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Highly amount of respect by the supervisers and coworkers made it easy to work with the people and the students and handle access control in the premises. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
To tell the truth there weren't any stressful parts because the supervisors kept everything running very smoothly from the time you clock in. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment was the best in my 13 years working in Security, the culture makes it very easy to do your job. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
In a typical day at the company you would get informed about any extra duties like events  at the University plus your regular  duties.

Other duties as assigned reads like a never ending laundry list. There are always 'emergencies' because so few systems are put into place proactively. 

"Peer & aspirant research" is highly regarded to the point of ignoring common sense and collecting so much "research" that the department is about 10 years behind a more than a few system.

People tend to stay in this position for 3-6 months. You'll see the writing on the wall fairly quickly, but will still feel the lure of living "for free" close to New York City that you'll try to hold out for as long as possible.

Note, you will be in the 10th-20th percentile in comparison to your peers in the same position at other colleges/universities.

I was able to learn about a wide variety of instruments used in nanotechnology research.  I was also able to learn about the writing process in publishing a scientific research paper.  My research advisor was very helpful and a diligent worker.  My co-workers and I were able to help each other out from time to time in order to achieve the best results in a reasonable amount of time.  It was tiresome to have to commute to several different offsite research facilities for some of the results, but this did allow me to get more hands-on experience with many of the instruments.  It was great to obtain results as well as eventually being able to understand and discuss my opinions on the data collected with my research group.

I would plan out practices in advance and have the team run through drills that were created to focus on different aspects of playing Soccer. Some drills would focus around passing, some around shooting, and others around dribbling, etc... Every practice would have an overarching theme, meaning that I would attempt to instill in the players a better understanding of how I wanted them to play in games. For example, on days where I would run drills heavily focused on passing and movement I would be trying to show the players that I want them to recognize open spaces without the ball and occupy the open space, all the while maintain a triangular shape to provide multiple passing options for the player on the ball.

Poetry, both teaching and writing, is an engagement of mine.  My first book, Signal from Draco, was published by Black Widow Press.  It is on the selves of numerous prestigious colleges and universities in three countries.  My second book "An American Unconscious" is slated for publication last in February 2014.
     I have taught around a dozen composition and rhetoric courses: mostly at Long Island University.  The diversity there was great.  I have taken a year-long course in composition and rhetoric while at Fordham, where I earned my Ph. D. last year.  I had to face a tough job market entering the fray so late.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cleaner 3 salaries reported	$2,307 per week
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Development director 11 salaries reported	$149,273 per year
Philanthropy manager 10 salaries reported	$105,450 per year

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