I passed another teacher in the hall today, and when asked how he was doing, he replied,"It's that time." My sentiments exactly. It's that time of the semester. It's almost midterms, and the "new year" excitement is long gone. Now there are just tons of papers to grade. Just this week I have graded over 60 papers, received another 30 to grade, and look forward to getting 60 more next week. Oh the joys of teaching five courses of college composition. When I see other teachers run sheets through the scantron machine, I want to start crying and severally regret my decision to teach English of all subjects. Why couldn't I be interested in math??
At about this point in the semester, the number of student excuses increases significantly as well. I can't make class because my car broke down, my sixteenth grandparent died, my cousin is sick, my boyfriend was being stupid, etc. etc.. I can't turn in my homework because my printer is out of paper, I never bought a book, I forgot what the assignment was, I lost my flash drive, I was in jail etc. etc. I had a student, whom I hadn't seen in a several weeks, come in one day and in one breath explain that he had missed one day because his grandparent died, the next because of the funeral, the next because he hurt his foot, the last because he was sick, and then state he had to leave early for a job interview. Say what?
The last thing that occurs about this time is that students start to think they can get away with disobeying the rules more. It's been awhile since those initial syllabus threats, especially about cell phones. Those little buggers start popping up under desks, behind books, under notebooks, or even outrightly on top of desks or held in hands. I'm starting to think the devil invented cell phones, and I would gladly give mine up if it meant never seeing another one in class. One day I'm going to follow the example of the lady in this video. And then I will get sued. It may be worth it.
Anyways, I'm done with my teaching rant for the moment. Despite my complaints, I do generally enjoy my job. I'll be back as soon as possible with some actual posts. Look forward to observations on female television characters chopping off hair, Neil Gaiman's fantasy novels and movies, the new fall seasons of television, my first experiences with comic books, the outside world in dystopian novels, and vampires. Be excited.
