Construction Blues for City College Continue: Progress slow as dust swirls and patience grows thin
BY MILES HARWELL
Staff Writer
In order to make City College more equipped for its continuously growing student population, the Board of Trustees has moved for construction to be done on several sections of the Ocean campus.
The most notable section undergoing construction is the main student parking lot south of Archbishop Riordan High School, which is said to be a $1.6 million investment. When the construction is done, the parking lot should have a maximum of 2,200 parking spaces available to students. While this may sound attractive to students struggling every day to find parking, the idea was proposed more than two years ago and the project isn’t close to being finished.
Another area of Ocean campus that will undergo construction is the Student Health Center, which is scheduled to have a larger building located in parking lot E. Along with a larger facility, the center will receive more up-to-date material and equipment, which will help increase the center’s use as a training site for student medics. The construction will cost around $5.3 million, but has yet to begin.
According to the City College website, nearly every building on Ocean campus is in need of renovation. Whether it is a fire alarm upgrade for the Science Hall or flooring for the Student Union, there is something to be done almost everywhere. Construction on campus is being done mainly to benefit the students and faculty, but in the process students are forced to deal with going to school on a construction site. This includes having to hurdle over orange cones on the sidewalk, covering your ears while someone drills into the cement, or having dust blown in your face while waiting at the bus stop.
Construction should have started long ago, had the Board of Trustees really wanted to get this done. If millions of dollars are being spent, construction shouldn’t take so long. Yet millions of dollars can’t buy speedy construction.
e-mail: mharwell@theguardsman.com
Teachers Tired By Daily Grind
BY MARLON LUMANG
Staff Writer
Stress and burnout is an occupational hazard. You, the teacher, may have felt it — the uneasiness, fatigue after faculty meetings, hopelessness as you look at the ungraded papers and the undone lesson plans. Then the temptation to look for a new job as you stare at the newspaper classifieds.
Teacher burnout is illustrated as a physical, emotional and attitudinal exhaustion that begins with a feeling of discomfort and escalates as the joy of teaching begins to gradually slip away. The symptoms of burnout may be very personal — they are rarely visible.
Burnout begins when teachers allow extra work to ooze into their personal lives, which happens a lot. “Grading papers over dinner is a recipe for burnout,” said Christopher Greger, an English instructor here at City College. “To me, the only way to avoid burnout is to work hard while at work, and then stop at a preset time, no matter what.” At least then teachers can have some kind of life outside of teaching, “which is good for everybody, students included — believe me.”
When a teacher keeps falling into the same routine, giving up other things just so they can spend the day grading, their life becomes teaching and that is when they become a liability to their profession.
Many professional educators in today’s schools find the demand of teaching difficult and stressful. “Twenty-five hours of teaching a week is a heavy load. I think it does wear out some teachers, especially those that have to grade a lot of papers,” said Lu Marla Dea, vice president of the teachers union.
“I think its very important for teachers to take care of themselves,” Dea said.
When teachers deal with huge classes, the students are the ones that suffer most. You can’t learn to write from a series of lectures alone. “Learning to write is more like learning to excel in a sport or a musical instrument — it takes lots of practice and careful coaching,” Greger said.
When instructors have too many students in a class, they may compromise by assigning fewer papers or providing fewer comments, meaning students do not get the full learning experience. Instituting smaller classes, especially for writing, is the best thing we could do to improve education in America.
e-mail: mlumang@theguardsman.com
Feedback Response
BY MILES HARWELL
Staff Writer
Should City College expland the number of classes offered with SFSU credit?
Expanding the number of classes offered with SFSU Credit would definitely be a good idea for City College. It would be more convenient and more affordable for students planning on attending a California State University. It would be more convenient, because City College has several locations in San Francisco, as opposed to the one main campus for San Francisco State.
Although the price of a unit at City College has risen from $11 to $26 over the past two years, it is still substantially more affordable than spending nearly $1,000 for a full-time schedule at San Francisco State, and that’s not including books.
Many people become emotionally tied to City College after spending numerous semesters taking classes. With the availability of courses with SFSU credit, now these students can work towards a degree higher than an Associate’s Degree, while still remaining a part of the City College community.
COMING IN
Faculty Poll
Could construction woes at City Coillege have been handled in a more timely manner?
Yes: 4 out of 10 (40%)
No: 2 out of 10 (20%)
Undecided: 4 out of 10 (40%)
“When I came here in 1970, they were beginning discussions for a new library. That was completed in 1998. They can always do better.”
Dennis Hendrickson, English
“It’s unfortunate sometimes. Of course, the college always does the best they can, but it’s not enough. However, they have been much better recently.”
Dan Olmstead, Broadcasting
“This chancellor has been much better about construction. The Olmec head installation was fantastic, very quick.”
Bill Shoaf, ESL
ON THE RECORD
Should part-time instructors be allowed at City College?
Ross Edwards
“I would like half and half because if they are parttime in both their job and as an instructor they can teach and use what they know.”
Fernando Diaz
“I think part-time teachers are more open-minded and they know how to touch your feelings and make you interested in that class.”
Paula Thomas
“I’d rather have a teacher that teaches and works part time in their profession because they are more passionate about it and they know what they are doing.”
Kier Parker
“I have a math teacher who used to be a part-time teacher and she was also going for her Ph.D. Now she is a full-time teacher and she is not as much fun.”
Ray Lei
“I prefer a full-time instructor because they can concentrate on their job and focus on the student.”
Dave Buenocore
“I am not really sure if I would prefer one or the other.”
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