Categories: teaching
Tags: essays
Date: 16 December 2005 10:26:30
The essays got handed in yesterday, so today I have to pick them up and then - horrors - start marking them. I'm putting it off as long as possible, I don't want to think about mountains of essays about Stalin (that's going to really cheer up my Christmas). I was chatting with a friend about this and his advice was to "go to Smiths and buy a big red pen". If only it were that simple!
We had our postgrad student Christmas meal last night which was fun (except that at the end I had to wait 45 minutes for a bus, gah). Essay marking horror stories were shared, I'm almost hoping I get a few real shockers so that I have some ready anecdotes to keep me going till the next lot of essays (Easter).
Of course I don't really hope they're shockers. I really really want them to do well, and I feel terribly responsible for them all. I'm dreading that me giving them a bad mark would potentially lead them to drop out or head for the depths of depression, and of course I have to remember that I'm being a total drama queen as usual and the whole point is to flag up areas of strength and areas for improvement. Plus of course in the wider scheme of things they'll forget about it all soon enough anyway. Yet another example of me going 200% for something when there's no need at all. Sigh.
I must admit though, I've found it really hard to be sympathetic when students have told me they've not had time to do their work for tutorials because they've had one or two essays to write. I smile sweetly, all the time thinking to myself "I've got EIGHTY of the buggers to mark and you expect me to be sympathetic about your TWO!" Honestly, the youth of today. Don't know they're born :D
In other news, there have been loads of haggises out and about this morning. That has cheered me up. I'd better win something though, as I'm wasting SO much time.