Grades, Life, and Near Death

I still only have 13 essays. Hmph. The excuses, I've noticed, tend to fall into one of three categories: 1. computer/printer catastrophes; 2. romance/marriage catastrophes; or 3. health/wellness catastrophes. I'm not thoroughly jaded because I still believe most of them.

The 13 papers I graded improved drastically from the first. Only two had length problems, and another two had some citation mishaps. Other than that, they did a really good job. They've come a long way from "it only takes love and communication." They were cracking me up in class today when they started a long discussion on the manipulative nature of fairy tales, advertising, and first dates. One student said, "All these essays have just ruined Cinderella for me. Thanks a lot." Another said she needed to go outside and scream for awhile. Ha! That's the most life they've shown since returning from the break.

Speaking of life, I almost died today.

I was chewing gum--accidentally, as I never chew gum while teaching. I started to say something, inhaled the gum, couldn't breathe. Crouching down, I stuck my head in the computer cabinet so I could expire without witnesses. As I did so, my eyes locked on a nasty, old water bottle that's been on the desk since week two. No telling who it belongs to--either Dr. Schwiebert or Dr. Allred, the other teachers using room 403--a student, or maybe the janitor. Who knows? Desperate times... I reached up for the bottle, imagining all sorts of horror. When you're dying you'll drink germ, moss, and saliva-ridden water, no problem. Just then, the gum came unstuck. This all took about 5 seconds, tops. I popped back up in time to re-join the conversation before it stalled, and my students didn't even know how close I came to taking The Drink.

I threw that water bottle away after class. I'll bring my own on Monday. :)