In a previous job, when I was Head of Department, I carried out one of those required induction meetings for a new colleague. We went through various aspects of his first few weeks as a lecturer and reached the point where I asked 'And what about you; do you have any questions?' There was… Continue reading Down the pan: universities and toilets
Author: fluff35
I blog on a range of subjects arising from various aspects of my life. On https://theretiringacademic.wordpress.com, I focus on my reactions to early retirement and think about aspects of teaching and research which I hope will be stimulating to those still working in higher education. On https://shared-conversations.com, I blog as an authorized lay preacher in a pretty standard parish church of the Church of England, who needs to write in order to find out what she thinks. I took part in the Oxford/St Albans/Armed Forces C of E 'Shared Conversations' in March 2016, worked on the Living in Love and Faith resources from 2017 and was elected to General Synod in October 2021, and continue to try to reflect on some of the issues. On https://mistakinghistories.wordpress.com I share my thoughts on various aspects of the history of medicine and the body.
I have also written for The Conversation UK on https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-king-94923/articles
PhDs: what are we doing?
Today I acted as a PhD external examiner for the final time. If you've read discussions of what the responsibilities of a retired academic should be, you'll maybe have seen 'examining PhDs' in there, as part of our supposed duty to the next generation of scholarship. However, having examined more PhDs in the last three… Continue reading PhDs: what are we doing?
Traitor to the cause? Why I wrote a MOOC
After I handed in my notice, I could have let things wind down gradually. The Open University requires a long notice period, six months, but unlike brick universities it doesn't have just a couple of days in each year on which you are allowed to go, so I could pick my time. However, I delayed this… Continue reading Traitor to the cause? Why I wrote a MOOC
The travelling academic (1)
I'm republishing here something I originally wrote for my department's newsletter, in 2015. It's about another side of being an academic: the travelling. I'm at the career stage at which I'm lucky enough to be invited to give lectures - public ones - in interesting places. But I want to preface my travel account… Continue reading The travelling academic (1)
Caring
Readers of this blog may be wondering how the course on 'How to retire' went. I don't know: I wasn't there! My mother (87) had a day-case operation on her eyelids (the problem, for those of a medical inclination, was entropion) and although the recovery seems to be fine, it has had knock-on effects on… Continue reading Caring
The kindness of colleagues: Roy Porter and Nick Atkins
Kelly J. Baker has published an excellent piece on 'Cruelty and kindness in academia'. Really, you may as well just go and read it now, rather than waste time on my ramblings, but it has made me reflect on two of the kindest people in my own career. The first and most influential in my life… Continue reading The kindness of colleagues: Roy Porter and Nick Atkins
The cunning plan
So what are my 'plans for retirement'? At this stage, apparently I'm supposed to have some. I ran into a cousin at a family funeral last week and he assumed my plan would be 'to travel'. That's largely because this is what he has been doing, very intensively, since he retired several years ago. But… Continue reading The cunning plan
The times I taught well
Some students love the way you teach: others don't. That's just a fact, and if you're going to survive the end-of-module evaluations, you'd better accept it. I've been thinking again about teaching after an exchange with one of our MA students last week. He was mildly concerned that he wasn't taking many notes from the… Continue reading The times I taught well
My favourite classical place
I first went to Rome in my teens, and that wasn't deliberate: it was one of the venues visited when I won three weeks in mainland Europe as part of a competition run by Barclays Bank. But I didn't go to Athens until my forties. It wasn't fifth-century Athens, so why would I want to… Continue reading My favourite classical place
Becoming invisible
One of the side effects of giving notice is that nobody notices you. Because I work at The Open University, I don't 'go to work' very often. Most days, I am tied to my computer at home, reading, writing, dealing with email, engaging with students on online forums, having phone or Skype meetings with colleagues and… Continue reading Becoming invisible
The retiring academic 