I don't want to say "grading," because it's better than that. It's assessment, and it's fun. Fun!
I have to keep myself going. Finals came and went last Friday, and I had no time on the weekend (debate tournament) and even less time since (another debate tournament) to pore over the vocab tests, essays, stories, and speech notes. Those borderline decisions--the 58%s who have the skills but are Bartlebys when it comes to getting the work done--those slay me. (Unlike blog neighbor TRP, I have very few students suffering from learned helplessness, and quite a few non-struggling with willed listlessness.)
Grading stinks. It's a relic of sillier times, and I'd abolish it in a heartbeat. (Other blog-neighbor and co-blogger TSG's efforts are heartening and confirming and inspiring.)
But assessment is fun. It really is.
Fun!
Willed listlessness. Nice.
ReplyDeleteI give everybody 10 points at the end of the semester. I figure I've screwed everybody out of 10 points at one point or another every semester, whether it's via a crappy quiz question, an unclear deadline, or being in a lousy mood when I graded a paper. I just give those points back.
After that, the grade is the grade is the grade. No struggle at all. You're one point away from the next grade? No you're not. You're eleven points away. I gave you 10.