Friday, October 12, 2007

Here's to you, Professor Gradgrind

Over the past few days I have written five very good chapter abstracts. One to go (the one in which I bullshit most spectacularly--but I'm pushing myself to follow Gracious Mentor's model of considering the book proposal a "plausible fiction," which frees me from my compulsion to prove everything I'm saying with a jostle of footnotes). More importantly, especially in light of this eye-roll-inducing column in the Chronicle, I taught Thing 1 to ride a bike. Because training wheels are SO five years old. And because the job is, even on its very very best days, just a job. As it turns out--with apologies to all those serious researchers who supervised my graduate work--"family considerations were paramount after all."

4 comments:

Kristen said...

Gradgrind's sour grapes = good grief..

Lisa B. said...

Oh my hell, I thought it was satire. But s/he was serious. Wow. I've been cultivating a serious loathing for academia (of which I, as a community college teacher, am, of course not a part ;). . .), and this just cements it. Of course, you will never be that person. Glad to hear about your progress and about the bike riding--huzzah!

Dreamer said...

Footnotes always seem to be an apology, so onward with "plausable fiction."

Pantagruelle said...

I think "plausible fiction" sums up perfectly what a book prospectus is--or mine at least! Thanks for the comment and for reading.