Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

For nearly a year now, I've been finding myself doing anything and everything besides what I need to be doing, namely reading and evaluating student work. Whenever I tell myself to plop my behind down in front of the computer and start in on the submitted exercises/assignments, a feeling akin to nausea rumbles in the pit of my stomach. Its slimy tendrils spread through my body, turning my limbs to jelly. I'll make it as far as the office door and can see my computer, but my feet refuse to take another step. Only when I turn and walk away, maybe washing the dishes or putting in a load of laundry or going outside to merely sit on the back deck, does the nausea abate. Avoiding what needs to be done has only created a huge pile of work that now seems insurmountable. A favorite pic from the summer. Maybe a hint?   It's time to face the problem. Instead of dancing around the issue, hoping the desire returns to continue doing what I've been doing for many years, a plan ...

Some days I just despise my job. Today was one of those days. The students were okay, as they usually are. I'm almost caught up with the paper reading/responding, which means I'll have a short break before the next round of papers come in. So I'm not sure why I'm feeling I could very easily walk away from campus and never look back. If I was reclining on a shrink's lounge and spilling my guts, I'd have to say teaching others how to write a decent sentence just isn't doing it for me any longer. At this stage of the game for the students, writing a sentence that makes sense shouldn't be an issue. But it is. Oh is it ever. You'd think I wouldn't be surprised any longer with the lack of skills some of the students bring into the classroom. After all, they went through 12 years of education before reaching us. Reason says the students should have a solid foundation from which to work. Not so. Not even close for many of the students I work with. Workin...