* Stage One: Optimism
Thought Process: Of course my students learned from the comments I carefully wrote all over the last papers they submitted. I am about to witness the transformation that comes about as a result of my revolutionary teacher comments.
Timing: Right at the beginning of the paper grading process, after just sitting down in an oh-so-comfy chair with a crisp stack of papers in one hand, a pencil in the other, and a mug of cocoa in whichever hand can take the extra load.
Visible: The top cover page in the stack of papers: Title, Date, Name, Teacher's Name
* Stage Two: Disillusionment
Thought Process: Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! What is this?! I corrected this exact thing in the last paper! Grrrrrrr.
Timing: While reading the first sentence of the first paper.
Visible: "Ancient Greek literature was written on the risings, apexes, and downfalls of the different cultures and epochs of Greek history."
* Stage Three: Anger
Thought Process: Those kids (grumble grumble). Don’t they know that words mean things?! What in the blooming world are they thinking? Didn’t they ever learn to write?!?!
Timing: All throughout the first several papers.
Visible: Sentences like "Because of the war, peace, community and philosophy written by these great authors, Greece has become what is is today," and "Oedipus at Colonus was written during the High Classical Period when there were a lot of Polynesian wars between Athens and Sparta accompanied by severe Greek civil fighting.
*Stage Four: Resentment
Thought Process: What in the world were their past teachers teaching these kids?! How dare they pass them along into high school with writing abilities like these?!
Timing: Following hard upon stage three’s commencement.
Visible: "This is what Homers next writing encouraged Greece to do to live how they were living like back in the peaceful times of the Minoan era."
*Stage Five: Audible Grumbling
Thought Process: If I complain aloud about the ridiculous errors my kids are making, surely my grumblings will be validated by the poor person occupying this room with me.
Timing: Alongside stages three and four.
Visible: Melissa's sympathetic and kindly patient face.
*Stage Six: Awakening
Thought Process: Hey, these kids aren’t really evil, plotting specifically to ruin my evening. They just don’t have quite the same passion that I do for essay writing. Yet.
Timing: Right after the poor person occupying this room with me says, “Hm. It’s weird to be on the other side of the paper from the ‘I really don’t care, I just want to get this done’ perspective.”
Visible: The folly of my own optimism.
*Stage Seven: Acceptance
Thought Process: --------- (not a lot of thought going on, just a grim determination to get through the stack as efficiently as possible)
Timing: Just after awakening.
Visible: A never-ending stack of, um, 3 more papers (sorry, Chad).
6 comments:
I definately remember writing papers like those.
Drafted the night before and written in good on the bus ride to school. There was a convenient flat spot behind the back seats that was always occupied by the kids who'd forgotten or put off assignments that were due that day.
...You have my sympathy.
Hee-hee-hee! That was SUPER fun! I read it aloud to Shawn and we laughed together! Thanks!
(Why are you still grading papers? I thought school was over?)
Oh it's over alright. Consider this debriefing:)
hahah...this was so funny. Charlie too is in the midst of 'marking' as they call it here. He's got a bunch more ahead of him and then...we can all breath a sigh of relief when it's over..
Chuckle!
I wondered how you could possibly call your papers a "stack"! :-)
A brilliant expository piece on the joys of correcting student writing. And I very much relate to stage four. However, I think you're too kind in stage six. Though I agree they're probably not intending evil, I think sometimes they not only lack the passion, but possess the oppositie of it: apathy. That's a deadly sin that should be dealt with by a swift and severe blow to their grade... Or wait, how do you deal with kids who don't care about their grade? Haven't quite learned that one.
Post a Comment