End of the semester

Yesterday was the last day of teaching for the Fall semester. Today I travel home to Texas for Thanksgiving. Officially the university has classes Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. I don’t and never have had classes that week. The university has finally heard what many of us have been saying. Next year everyone gets the entire week off. Thanksgiving is so late this year that we only have one week after Thanksgiving before finals. I use one class day to review for finals and then give the students the option of taking the final during dead-week or during the time the university schedules for finals. I started doing this last year. The students like having the choice, and it might have even helped my course evaluations. It is a seven and a half-hour drive from Stillwater to home. I will be returning on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Saturday after Thanksgiving is the annual Oklahoma State – Oklahoma football game (referred to as Bedlam) in Stillwater this year. The game is always sold out with as many more as fit in the stadium, continuing to tailgate. I never go out on football weekends because driving is too hazardous, and every place in town is a zoo.