1. jstemwedel
  2. Lowered expectations.

Lowered expectations.

By jstemwedel on May 21, 2007.

I used to think what I really needed this time of semester was elves.

When the term papers and final exams and case studies and research reports were in their stacks on my desk, casting shadows on my prospects of getting any other substantial projects done, I'd think, "Wouldn't it be nice if I could just leave these papers on my desk with a box of red pens, and have elves come at night and grade them? It would be like a fairy tale ..."

But seriously, knowing fairy-tale elves, there would be some trick. Sure, they'd grade the papers, but then they'd take my tenure dossier until I could guess the proper pronunciation of some French philosopher-elf's name. Or, more likely, they'd just make shoes out of the papers instead of grading them.

I'm ready to deal with a different class of elves. Keebler elves, to be precise. They wouldn't grade my papers, but at least they'd leave me some cookies.

Tags
Academia
Passing thoughts
personal

More like this

The Contextuality of Quantum Theory in Ten Minutes
Through my computer science "information is king" eyeglasses, there are really only two notions which thoroughly distinguish quantum theory from classical theories of how the world works: the nonlocal nature of quantum correlations as exemplified by Bell's theorem and the much less well known…
Grading tip: back to the drawing board.
The semester must be in full swing, because suddenly I have an abundance of papers to grade. So I'm using a brief pause (between grading one stack of papers and grading another stack of papers) to share a grading-aid I just figured out at the end of last semester. Typically, by the time the stacks…
Random bullets of "AAAAARGH!!"
I would like to rejoice that it is Friday. And yet, as the end of the semester draws nigh, the press of Tasks That Cannot Be Deferred Any Longer is sucking a good bit of the Friday-ness out of this Friday. So, I suppose this post is the cyber-equivalent of an itemized primal scream: When the…
Life for faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions (Guest Post by Kim Hannula)
Sciencewoman says: Some of readers have been wondering about what life is like for those jobs at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). Alice and I are indubitably unqualified to answer that question, so Kim Hannula of "All of my faults are stress related..." graciously offered to provide…

"Keebler elves"?

That one had me scratching my head for awhile...but Wikipedia came to rescue:

The Keebler Company is the second-largest cookie and cracker manufacturer in the United States. ... Keebler['s advertising claims] that the products are made in magic ovens inside a hollow tree by chief elf Ernie Keebler and his Keebler Elves. ...

Ah! Sweet. And clearly not Terry Pratchett's Discworld elves (from Lords and Ladies). Unless them cookies are a trap! You've been warned...

Edward Leamer says he likewise attempted outsourcing his work, but it required rework.

When the Journal of Economic Literature asked me to write a review of The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman, I responded with enthusiasm, knowing it wouldn't take much
effort on my part. As soon as I received a copy of the book, I shipped it overnight by UPS to India to have the work done. I was promised a one-day turn-around for a fee of
$100. Here is what I received by e-mail the next day: "This book is truly marvelous. It will surely change the course of human history." That struck me as possibly accurate but
a bit too short and too generic to make the JEL happy, and I decided, with great disappointment, to do the work myself.

Being an economist, natch, he turned to the magic elves he was familiar with, but found them not meeting his standards.

...but then they'd take my tenure dossier until I could guess the proper pronunciation of some French philosopher-elf's name.

Yeah, that Rousseaustiltskin's a tricky one.

By Sean Foley (not verified) on 22 May 2007 #permalink