Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group
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I love my job at my community college. I taught college before from 1983-2001, but I've only been back at it for 3 years now. A lot's changed. Like a lot of community colleges now, mine has multiple campuses. That means we teach via "distance learning." We teach in a classroom in the main campus that's rigged with TV cameras. They broadcast our classes live to other campuses and students taking our class there. It's worked great.
This year, though, we upgraded to an entire new computer-run system from top to bottom, from TV cameras to monitors, everything. Almost $1 million was spent. However, over the last 6 weeks of our school year it has broken down every day. The computer freezes, the TV cameras shut off and all screens go blank, the audio cuts off and so students can't hear you teach, you name it.
It reminds me of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey where the astronaut Dave is alone on a space station. The space station's computer, known as Hal, runs everything on board. Some glitch in the system makes Hal the computer go haywire, and he starts trying to kill astronaut Dave every way he can--cutting off the space station's oxygen, causing fires, you name it.
Oh can I ever empathize with poor Dave today.
In the last 5 days it's gotten so bad several classes have been interrupted by the system going down that they have had to be canceled. Today was the worst.
By chance, 5 of us professors at the college happened to run into each other at lunch in the cafeteria. After talking together, we went to our boss, the division chairman, and lodged a formal complaint.
None of us have tenure, so we were as nice as we could be. But we had to say something. Students are getting behind, but the administrators who authorized this purchase don't seem wiling to admit the problem. Therefore, the company that sold it to us isn't getting the full picture through them. Our administrators are nice people I often have lunch with also, but, understandably, they're in cover your derriere mode here.
The stress has me concerned about my PTSD symptoms. I regularly manage flashbacks and panic attacks on the job in front of students pretty well, even in front of TV cameras in distance learning. I use Pete Walker's PTSD tips and tips I learned with my therapist and from others here. But it's a new one for me to be party to lodging a complaint about equipment with administration like I did with my 4 other colleagues today.
None of us can afford to lose our jobs, obviously, and none of us has the job security of tenure. We are being as proactive and positive as we can aiming toward problem-solving, but with our administrators in that cover their derriere mode, it's a situation for diplomacy at a level I'm not used to. Diplomacy under stress with PTSD.
I know I'm not the only one. Any suggestions on how to be diplomatic on the job with PTSD while bosses, nice people that they are to have lunch with, are covering their tracks on this one?
This year, though, we upgraded to an entire new computer-run system from top to bottom, from TV cameras to monitors, everything. Almost $1 million was spent. However, over the last 6 weeks of our school year it has broken down every day. The computer freezes, the TV cameras shut off and all screens go blank, the audio cuts off and so students can't hear you teach, you name it.
It reminds me of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey where the astronaut Dave is alone on a space station. The space station's computer, known as Hal, runs everything on board. Some glitch in the system makes Hal the computer go haywire, and he starts trying to kill astronaut Dave every way he can--cutting off the space station's oxygen, causing fires, you name it.
Oh can I ever empathize with poor Dave today.
In the last 5 days it's gotten so bad several classes have been interrupted by the system going down that they have had to be canceled. Today was the worst.
By chance, 5 of us professors at the college happened to run into each other at lunch in the cafeteria. After talking together, we went to our boss, the division chairman, and lodged a formal complaint.
None of us have tenure, so we were as nice as we could be. But we had to say something. Students are getting behind, but the administrators who authorized this purchase don't seem wiling to admit the problem. Therefore, the company that sold it to us isn't getting the full picture through them. Our administrators are nice people I often have lunch with also, but, understandably, they're in cover your derriere mode here.
The stress has me concerned about my PTSD symptoms. I regularly manage flashbacks and panic attacks on the job in front of students pretty well, even in front of TV cameras in distance learning. I use Pete Walker's PTSD tips and tips I learned with my therapist and from others here. But it's a new one for me to be party to lodging a complaint about equipment with administration like I did with my 4 other colleagues today.
None of us can afford to lose our jobs, obviously, and none of us has the job security of tenure. We are being as proactive and positive as we can aiming toward problem-solving, but with our administrators in that cover their derriere mode, it's a situation for diplomacy at a level I'm not used to. Diplomacy under stress with PTSD.
I know I'm not the only one. Any suggestions on how to be diplomatic on the job with PTSD while bosses, nice people that they are to have lunch with, are covering their tracks on this one?
Your bosses may very well be concerned and want to fix the problem, but if they go at it too vigorously they risk looking bad.
In my experience, bosses will do almost anything to avoid looking bad.
The good news is that if the problem persists, students may complain formally or drop classes, which costs the school money. Money always gets attention.
Just present your concerns as concerns for the school/students and not your own inconvenience and stress (which I'm sure are considerable), but don't expect even the loveliest of people to care about how it drains you.
I don't mean to sound cynical, it's just that I rarely meet anyone who looks beyond their own bubble. I had teachers who were licensed psychologists and practicing counselors, and they still didn't give a hoot about anything that didn't directly impact themselves.
And even if/when it is decided to fix the problem, it will probably take longer than they say and may still not work right.
Just lower those expectations...lol.
Something that helps me (I had a similar situation once) is to just remember I can only do what I can do, I'm no Superman.
So do what you can do, drop the rest in the trash can on your way out. It could be an opportunity to get creative, or streamline they way you do things. Or it could just be a pain in the tuchas you have to deal with until you don't. Lovely ambiguity.
It will be hard to not stress out with daily ridiculousness like this, laugh when you can, or else you'll cry...
Hugs :)
The other possibility is that if a % of students cancel, then the college could cut the class out. As in your job. But if your students are passing they may ask how you did it.
Thinking outside the box...theirs.
And so Jewells, the idea of making them look bad on Youtube is just awesome. I don't have the nerve to to it, but wow, that would be great.
Not diplomatic, but satisfying...
Muji, since students are paying for these classes, aren't they frustrated enough to approach the powers that be themselves?
If I were a student, I'd be pretty ticked off. I'd be forming some type of group to get together and approach those powers that be, etc.
I'd be saying I wanted a refund, for sure...
I was a farm kid who rode the bus to school. The bus driver wasn't turning the heater on, or warming the bus properly. In those cold ND winters, we were shivering . I took a thermometer and documented the temp on the bus for a time and filed a report... raised a ruckus, so to speak... some complained I was a trouble maker... oh well..
The driver was eventually ordered to start the bus sooner, and turn the heat on sooner.
On a bus in North Dakota with no heat? I lived for 10 years in northern Iowa, and NDs well north of that. Im surprised your hands could handle a thermometer.
As to our computer system, Im not taking credit for it, butwe had an interesting coincidence today after the 5 of us said something yesterday. Today the computer company that sold us this lemon showed up to do a "software upgrade."
So hope springs eternal.