Just finished grading my sophomores' essays.
Essay grading is not for the faint of heart. You spend all this time teaching your students what you want to see in their papers and what you get...
Well, let's just say, it's better to be in a good frame of mind before picking up the red pen. Because if you're already down in the hole, their essays will validate every negative thought you have about why you should stop teaching.
Why am I doing this? They don't listen. This run-on sentence has so many twists and turns that I feel like Tom Sawyer lost in a cave, wishing I hadn't forgotten that ball of string because I need it now to find my way out.
The list goes on.
Luckily, I'm not in that head space today. Why? Because instead of doing my regular all or nothing routine, I chipped away at their papers. It took me two weeks, but who cares?
And instead of looking at everything that was wrong about their essays. I noticed their progress. I wanted to see appositive phrases and subordinate clauses in their essays. Their essays had subordinate clauses and appositive phrases.
All and all, they did their job. Was it great work? No. How could it be? They're still learning.
So we'll try again, and next time I'll remember to bring my ball of string.
And that in a nutshell is why I still like teaching.
Signing off.
Birds-Eye
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