Published 30 articles per year?

Someone told me that it is quite possible to publish more than 5 articles per year.   Well, there is nothing wrong with that.  But to publish 30 articles per year?  It means that on average, this person can produce on average 2 articles.  Wow, this person must be super excellent.  Yeah right.  But look what has happened to him now?  For more details, go to HERE.  

Just imagine, what would happen to those students who are or were supervised by him?  Would they be affected by this?  If they are affected by this, won’t it be unfair for them to be dragged into this mess? It is all started with a person aiming to be recognized as a prolific academician.  There is nothing wrong having such aim but the end cannot justify the means.   Well, the way I see it, such trend is happening now somewhere too and at the moment, nobody cares the adverse effect in the near future.  Well, just wait and see.  Let’s see how it goes.  

Image result for publish or perish cartoon

Reading

I found cartoon strips by Grant Snider.  Well, somehow it does resonate with me and the way I put my books on the shelves 

Image result for grant snider reading book

 

Image result for grant snider reading book

I know it is messy. But I have only two shelves in my office. Those are important stuff that I cannot throw away at the moment. The files contain teaching materials that I still use until now

 

What should you do?

Somebody asked me this question few weeks ago.  “What would you do if people criticize you or talk behind your back?”  “Don’t you feel sad knowing how people backstabbing you?”   

Well, there are hadith about how we should treat people.  I am trying to learn the best way to treat others according to the sunnah.  It is an arduous process.   This is my personal struggle.  

For now, my stance is even if I know someone is backbiting me or talking behind my back, I would do nothing.  I like to use this analogy.  Imagine backbiting and all are like a shit or poo (I am referring to the literal human feces).  It is smelly and bad, right?  If someone gives you that, would you accept it even if they shove it into your hand?  Of course, you can either accept it or refuse to take it.   

If you accept it, what would you do with it?  Keep it?  Or use it?  Well, poo can be a good ingredient for compost.  So, you can use it for better usage such as gardening.  Or you can take it and keep it and later on complain about its smell yada yada yada without stopping. 

If you refuse it, good for you.  It is what you should do.  When people give shit to you, don’t take it.  You are not obligated to take it.  You have a right to refuse it.  It is your choice.  

If the person throw it on your face, what should you do?  Well, you can either throw it back to the person or you can clean yourself.  If you throw it back to the person, well, in this case, you are alike.  Tit-for-tat?  It can be perceived that way.  If you decide to move on and get yourself clean without making any noise, it is choice.  After all, no shit or poo cannot be cleaned and cleansed.     

My point is, make a decision for yourself.  Do what is the best for you.  So, to this person even though this is a late reply, I have done all of the above.   I cannot decide anything for you, but one thing that I can do is to be there for you when you need me.  In sha Allah I will always be there for you 

 

Why are you not friendly?

One of the students asked me why I would seem to rush or always in a hurry when they approach me.  Well, for one thing, off lately I have things in my mind that seem to bug me.  It is not about the classes or the students, it is something that I have thought about for a while and I do not have any answer or solution to that yet and thus, it keeps bugging me until now.  For those who know me quite well, I can appear to be funny, bubbly but I can also turn into a person who appears to be snobbish/surly/unapproachable in a split second. 

Well, it is me alright.  I do not have multiple personality disorders or am not Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll.  Well, the only suggestion that I can give to my students is go and read Brian Little’s book “Me, myself and us”.   Yup.  I am an introvert alright.  I confirm it when I took a personality test when I was in Durham (just for the sake of exploring myself, I volunteered to be a guinea pig when the graduate school organised a workshop)


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Example of interactive activities that you can do in class

I found the handout while searching for more examples of interactive and active activities that I can do in my class.  I found this handout.  This is not mine but the author stated how you can give the credit of this handout to him.  So, there is no copyright issue here.  I haven’t tried all of the techniques listed in the handout but I will try few in the future in sha Allah.