Bring on the chocolate and caffeine--it's time to grade papers again. Woooo!
I was worried. When my class started today, I had four students in attendance. They looked like they'd been up all night typing. I tried to think positively, as in: "Well, with only four papers to grade, I'll be able to get to the laundry after all" and "Maybe the students are practicing Gladwell's 'thinking without thinking' and are blinking out a paper at the last minute." One can always be hopeful. I ended up gathering in eleven papers, with two more promised via e-mail by midnight. Hmmm.
So, I'd have to say the biggest problem with this essay will be the handing it in part. I met with each of my students, gave them the mid-semester lecture on their missing assignments and attendance, acted as babysitter and cheerleader. They're suffering from burnout. Charles e-mailed to say he was too sick to bring his essay. From the sound of things, I thought he was on his deathbed. He did look rather pale when I ran into him on the stairs after class. He was stammering, even. I think at that moment he was wishing for death. Ha. I suspect he's just sick of English 1010. But--he'll send the paper by midnight.
Thankfully, length is not as much of a problem as it was last go round. So far only 2/11 are suffering from length issues, and they're not that far from five pages. I've only glanced through them quickly, and I haven't seen any citation problems. One girl is giving examples of "legos" and "patho"--which brings to mind visions of toys and serial killers. I think these papers are far more entertaining than the last batch already.
My grading process has already changed--I'm not nervous at all. I'm not putting them in any sort of order in advance, I'm just going to plow through. I'll order them loosely as I go, and will put grades on after I've gone through all of them. The students responded well to the comments, and most rewrote last time, so I'll do the same this time. I'm definitely NOT eating as much chocolate this time, as I can't afford new clothes when I grow out of these. I'm not going to spend an entire evening agonizing over grades, and I'm not spending an hour on each paper. I have a life, really. I don't want to turn into a Patho.
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Oh Cheyney that is classic! I'll bet he was dying! I had that happen as an undergrad, actually, though I didn't tell her I was sick--I just skipped class to finish a paper and ran into her in the elevator. You need to compile some of these stories into a "Comp Tales II."
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