2005-12-16 - 8:37 p.m.

...aftermath...

Today I graded a total of 94 essay exams. I have another 75 to go. I am getting surprisingly swift with the pen, especially when I discover that the answer to the essay has been copied directly from the textbook. At the same time, I'm finding myself so darned proud of some of these students who thought they'd never 'get it,' and THEY DID!

I've already seen some of my evaluations from this semester - never a good idea while grading exams. The negative comments still smart a bit (certain students really do not like when you force them to do any work). But I do find that I am getting better and better at valuing the positive reinforcement. I also read the reviews to J this evening and his comment was, "who is this person they are describing? Is it actually you???"

I've come to realize that no matter what, I cannot stop caring about the job I do for these students, and so I cannot minimize the effort that I put into these classes. I realized that on top of my teaching and lab coordination, I spent at least 6 hours per week explaining basic math and unit conversions to any student who came to my office hours. I just can't stop myself from wanting them to care as much as I do. But I *can* stop caring about the 'lost causes,' and by that I mean the ones who would rather be watching television.

I am currently procrastinating because my buddy J is driving like the wind to my house, in order to take me out to see the Narnia movie. I am wondering how wise it is to see the movie before ever reading the book...Nevertheless by all accounts the movie is very beautiful.

And now it would probably be a good idea to change out of my nobody-will-see-me-in-the-house-today sweater and leggings into something a bit more presentable in public.