Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

This summer, I did something as a teacher that I've never done in my entire career. I gave a student an A because I got tired of the constant emails bashing me and how I grade incorrectly. Yeah, I'm not proud of how I caved and gave the student exactly what the student wanted, but I decided to do what I did because this student isn't worth my time. The first email I received from this student expressed disappointment in the grade given for the first draft of the first paper. I replied, explaining what I was seeing and why I gave the grade I did (which was exactly what I said directly on the paper as well as in a long end comment the student can access when the paper is returned). Then the replies started coming in: I didn't grade correctly; everything I asked for was in the paper; all of the ideas were there, just "invisible like" (whatever the hell that means). It's one thing to get an email from a student; it's quite another to get an email, follow...

The grading is done. At least for the students who have been paying attention, which is the majority. Those who have not been paying attention will find out sooner or later, most likely after grades are submitted and they see they failed the class. They still have four days to get late assignments in. But experience tells me they won't take advantage of the grace period. They'll have to repeat the course. During these last few days of grading and seeing some students shoot themselves in the foot, I've been muttering about these students and their bad behavior. Angel Baby will hear me and say, "Mom, let them fail." I know he's right. Still, I have a tough time watching this happen. I've already heard from one student who is upset over my not accepting his final papers sent to me via email rather than submitted into the LMS. He stopped attending class quite a while back, five or six weeks ago. Because he wasn't in class, he didn't get the informa...

My go-to for relieving the annoyance that comes with reading the final drafts of some student work is wrapping my favorite knit scarf around my neck, putting on my quilted deep green coat, then donning my boots to head out for a walk. So far today, I've needed two walks. I simply don't understand. During the last sixteen weeks, I've repeated some very basic information. Still, I get essays that don't demonstrate the student heard what I was saying (or even read the information as much of what I said was also offered in writing). After I give a failing grade for not following directions, I receive an email asking why the paper didn't pass. I then have to take time explaining, usually to a student who didn't attend class on a regular basis, which resulted in the student not hearing what I was saying and the student not going into the folders where the information was provided in writing. These students wear me out. Over the last fifteen years, much has chang...

As I waited for the bus home yesterday, I listened to two students discussing the negatives of a couple of their instructors, one a French teacher and the other an English teacher. I found it amusing the students were upset with two language teachers, and I wondered if they had anything negative to say about their math teachers or science teachers. The gist of the conversation was both the French teacher and the English teacher have no idea how to teach. When I hear students tearing away at an instructor, my first thought is  and what, exactly, is your expertise in the area ? You, at 18 years old with say, what, maybe 100 hours of writing experience to your name ? And that 100 hours is probably a generous amount given how most students, probably even the two students loudly proclaiming how awful their French and English teachers are, claim they write papers in the hour before they are due. If what the students claim is actually true, this means if a student has written fiv...

This week I've been conferencing with my English 102 students over their final papers. I love having these conferences as it's an opportunity for me to take time with each student, being able to sit back and enjoy the student's work followed by listening to the student explain the choices made for the papers. I learn so much from the students. When I do these conferences, I try to compile some passages from various papers. Passages that speak to me, make me uncomfortable, fill me with sadness, or evoke joy. I try to keep these passages close by to remind myself of why I teach. Here are a few from this semester I'd like to share: --from a student paper in which the author explored her cousin being born with Maple Syrup Urine Disease and having to undergo a liver transplant. The liver came from a little girl who had died in a car accident. This is from a scene of Evan's third birthday where he had two cakes. "But the next set of candles was not for Evan; ...

With a sniff, sniff, I had to bid farewell to spring break Sunday evening. While I mostly got caught up with all the student work for my classes over break, I did take the time to read Divergent and begin Insurgent . I also worked on a new essay, got one outside bike ride in, celebrated Funny Delightful Son's 17th birthday, saw my dad, siblings, and other family for my dad's 80th birthday celebration, and started watching The Following (which just absolutely creeps me out, but it's like a horrible train wreck that I can't tear my gaze from). I even cleaned and organized the front closet. All in all, the week was exactly what I wanted and needed it to be. And now, here I am in week 9 of a 16 week semester. For the most part, I'm happy with the majority of my students and the work they are producing. I know some of my students don't particularly care for my opinion that to get better at anything--yes, even writing--one must simply practice whatever that anyth...

That time has come: back in the classroom for the next 16 weeks. Today was the first day for the students, and as per the usual, there were those who didn't show up. A couple might show up on Wednesday, wanting to know what they missed. A couple will never show up, and I'll be left wondering all semester why they paid for a class then didn't follow through. I do drop these students at the ten day mark as I think they should get a refund, and I don't want my retention numbers affected by someone who never attended in the first place. Especially this semester. A funny thing happened in the fall when it came time to register for spring courses. The day registration opened, a day in late October, my English 102 classes filled quickly. I was scheduled to teach 4 sections, and from what I heard from students, all four of my sections filled within the first two hours of registration opening. Registration opened at midnight. This means students stayed up until midnight to be ...

Every day, when I sit down to have breakfast, I do two things: turn on the weather channel to see what's going on outside even though I can look out the picture window of the dining room and see exactly what's going on, and read the daily quote offered from the Dalai Lama to start my day on a positive note. Many times, after I've read the daily quote, I think about what I read throughout the day and even days later. Yesterday's quote was one that resonated with me, and I'm finding one idea from the quote is randomly popping into my thoughts: letting go of attachments. Last week, during final conferences with students, I was realizing how attached I am to what I believe is A writing, B writing, C writing, etc. While I don't want to simply pass a student for being a warm body that has attended class all semester, I do want to let go of the attachments I have to the criteria I've always used to assign final grades. Every time I go into a student paper, the cr...

The wind blew out of the north this morning as I rode to work. Smack into my face for most of the three miles. I thought what a great ride home I'd have this afternoon, with the wind at my back. The fickle Illinois wind, though, had other plans. When I walked out to my bike after work, I looked up at the wind turbine to see from which direction the wind was blowing. Southeast. Smack into my face for nearly the entire three miles home. The upside was the temperature had risen from the 7 degrees of this morning (real feel of -10 degrees) to 22 degrees (real feel of 12 degrees). At least the ride home was warmer. Another upside to my day was the response a student offered to my essay, the one I'd written over break to share with my colleagues at our beginning of the semester meeting. I shared my work with my students to show them how I enter into a writing project and how I weave in primary as well as secondary sources. During class, I noticed many of the students reading the es...