John Wallace: Okay. Um, this is a short orientation video
John Wallace: On my situation. Guess it's not really orientation in that sense, it's a little bit awkward because it's this is personal. But I think it's only fair for you to know the
John Wallace: Zoom teaching is pretty challenging and that it for various reasons, and it can be tiring and the living in a pandemic world is pretty challenging and it can be tiring. And so I'm old enough that I am very concerned should I get
John Wallace: Covert 19 and I think that it, it could kill me. And although or could just disable me. Or it could just really be awful for a period of time. But in addition to that, I have a spouse and if we live together, almost for sure if I get it, don't get it.
John Wallace: So,
John Wallace: I had decided back in the spring that I needed to be a little bit careful about my total work hours in a week.
John Wallace: So that should I become sick, I would have the strength to fight it or should my spouse become sick, I would have the strength to take care of her. And so although I was working, usually about a 70 hour weeks and 60 to 70 hour week for most of my career here at Berkeley.
John Wallace: Maybe all of my career here at Berkeley. I didn't start tracking my hours still few years back.
John Wallace: I made a strategic decision that I would stop at the 45 hour mark.
John Wallace: As long as we're in a pandemic situation where I have a risk of becoming sick 45 hours is not enough time to
John Wallace: Teach the way want to teach and to get everything done that needs to get done. So I will be coming up short in a number of ways I've actually
John Wallace: Never. I think twice. I started doing that back in March and then I continued with that policy during the summer and i think i only hit that 45 hour mark.
John Wallace: For two weeks and be at other times I went over. I'm averaging around 50 it's still not enough, and I don't feel good about that. I like
John Wallace: I like helping you learn. I like interacting with you and I like getting you out of tough situations when those come up
John Wallace: And I like making materials and I like giving you feedback. But all this takes time and it takes more than 50 hours. And so what you'll see.
John Wallace: As we go on, are some oddities like really weird spelling things have clearly not been proof read or errors in, you know, I will say one thing, and I will do something else.
John Wallace: Or I will have wanted to give feedback on an assignment, but it never happened. And there will be a lot of assignments, where there won't be feedback because this is it's clearly
John Wallace: About one third of my time total time is put into grading. So it's a major chunk of time and it can't always get done. So I just want you to know that.
John Wallace: I care and I will do what I can do for you and I've never really been somebody to be that careful about myself. And I'd go ahead and just work like heck and do all I can. But given the situation, the reality of it. I've, I have decided to
John Wallace: take better care of myself for me and for my spouse and that will affect
John Wallace: How the classes are I've spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out a way to teach that doesn't take up that much time. But the reality is if you're going to teach three classes a semester.
John Wallace: And you don't have assistance and it is active learning classes, rather than repeating lectures that were done in the past.
John Wallace: And if you want to be close to your students and understand them and have some real back and forth with those students that want to do that. That is something that just takes time. It just does. There's no way around it. So I'm here for you.
John Wallace: But only for 51 hours and then I'm going to take care of myself and I just think you should know that ahead of time I
John Wallace: Know, I don't know if you need to know it or not, but I want to say it because I feel guilty when when I don't get things done. I just wanted to say why so that I'm not saying it over and over again. Alright, enough of that.