Thursday, March 3, 2011

I'm a Busy Bee.

Just a quick post before I tumble off to bed to let you know that I am still around.

This week is a tough one. We have been testing our Juniors and giving them the ACT and MME (Michigan Merit Exam). I have spent 8 or 9 hours this week proctoring. While proctoring, I was not allowed to do any of the following:
  • grade papers
  • read
  • work on the computer
  • write
  • drink water or any other beverage
All I was allowed to do was read the instruction manual or walk around to monitor students. It was mind-numbing and a great form of torture. But that also meant that the papers I was collecting really started to pile up.

I also made the mistake of collecting my sophomore students' interactive notebooks (basically their class assignments are done on the right side and for "homework" every night they go home and complete some kind of response on the left side). They were super time consuming to grade and I needed to get them right back to students, so I am currently running on no sleep.

All three of my English classes are working on papers, so drafts and thesis statements and outlines have also found their way home with me every night to "look over."

Needless to say, my brain can't comprehend editing the posts in my draft folder.

This weekend I will get back on track.

Miss you all!

13 comments:

  1. Good luck! I can't imagine not being allowed to do ANYTHING but proctor tests. I think I would have slipped over the edge of insanity long ago. Way to hang in there. :)

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  2. I am the same way when I have stacks of papers coming in...numb...2 classes of causal analysis essays and 2 classes of article summaries are just about to make me go blind...I cannot even begin to imagine the monotony of proctoring to the torture :p

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  3. Interactive notebooks are a great idea.

    I am definitely commenting on your blog as a break from grading online poetry essays:)

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  4. Proctoring...bites. I'll be doing that next month.

    Grading papers...especially essays...muddles my brain.

    That. Is. All.

    :)

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  5. Yeah...just more reasons why i know I don't want to be a teacher...good luck Allie!

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  6. Grading. I wish I could fully express how much I hate it. I love teaching. But man oh lordy do I despise grading. It is the biggest time suck ever - and many times it's also disheartening. :) Okay, so this comment is probably in no way making you feel better.... er... remember how much you love your students?

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  7. Sounds exhausting! I know you're happy though, beyond the exhaustion. You've wished for this. And as you form a rhythmn, I think it will get easier. You'll begin to see how much homework to give students, and when, so that grading it all doesn't overwhelm you.

    No ms. I abhor being told what to do, and I'd be going crazy by now.

    Makes me respect my professors, for sure.

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  8. Oh, for goodness sake.

    'No ms' is supposed to say 'Not sure what to say about the proctor exams.'

    One of these days I'm going to fling my keyboard out the window and handwrite my comments snailmail.

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  9. Hang in there... summer is coming soon!

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  10. I totally commiserate. Not with the proctoring-that just sounds terrible--but with being so busy you can't really think straight. Hitting that Mark All As Read button in GReader and starting over sounds great, doesn't it?

    Hope next week is better for you!!

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  11. Oh, I completely sympathize! I had to proctor tests one year, and it was a misery. I was so relieved when they switched me to helping out kids with learning disabilities, and I was able to spend the time reading out loud to kids instead of just walking around with absolutely nothing to do.

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  12. Holy moly that proctoring sounds absolutely terrible. I can't imagine doing that. You should get extra pay.

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  13. hang in there, hope things go okay for you this coming week.

    I saw my mom grading English papers late into the night. Why I didn't want to be an English teacher. I still wish I was sometimes, but then I read your post and remember I don't.

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