June 11, 2009
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The Daily News
1 I had to miss YB's graduation last night as I was again inundated with papers, grading, and closing everything down. The irony is dripping man.
2 I almost said that the ironing is dripping, which would really not have worked at all.
3 The irony, by the way, always seems to be dripping, whatever that means.
4 For example, around two months ago I graded this huge batch of papers KNOWING that I was going to run into these paper struggles later in the year. I knew then that my Mom's illness, my college class, and my own inability to get organized were going to team up to bite me in the ass.
5 So I took graded about two or three reams of papers for my third period class so they would be done. I put them in a box by the front door, where they sat for the past month or so. They were especially important because they contained original poetry by my class, and I knew they needed special care.
6 So for the past three weeks I've been grading papers as never before, for I had gotten hopelessly behind with all the rest of everything going on.
7 I finally finished everything for that class, and went in yesterday proud, holding sixteen tons of papers. I handed all of them back in a mad flurry.
8 Right as class was ending and everyone was saying good-bye, one of my favorite kids came up and asked if I had her poems.
9 I laughed and told her they were probably being handed out by the poetry fairies circulating the room in devine disruption.
10 She shook her head.
11 "Mine weren't there," she said. Great kid too.
12 I said, "Of COURSE they're there! They were the first ones I graded two months ago!"
13 It was then I realized that I must have forgotten the box by the door, or that there even WAS a box by the door.
14 The class hugged, cried, and left, and I went home. There, right next to the front door, was this container with one huge stack of papers. So the class I wanted to really take care of had come and gone and the papers never returned.
15 Added to this irony is that we have this thing called "School Loop", some magical means of contacting all our students, posting their assignments, and keeping them updated, which I had done in 2004 using a Xanga. I had no idea all year long how to do School Loop, and always told them that. Secretly, I don't really WANT to know, since it would mean twice the e-mails and inquiries from parents and students.
16 So I almost deliberately stayed naive about how to use the thing, figuring that I am already plenty busy. I LOVE the concept, but from my perspective, if I had begun operating with THAT much communication, parents would want to know grades on a daily basis, and I'd spend all my time doing that rather than goofing off at home.
17 So yesterday I frantically gave myself a crash course in School Loop, and finally dashed off a letter to all my third period students telling them to come in and pick up their stuff today.
18 I got about four million e-mails back.
19 Nah, not really, but I certainly felt it might happen.
20 Anyway, it all got resolved.
21 I still stayed up last night until way past midnight in a race to finish commenting on all the papers. As of this writing I've still got about one more ream to go through by 10:50 today. Fortunately, I have to give a final, which gives me two hours of quiet to finish this all up. After I'm done with that, I'm done with everything almost.
22 Ask any teacher: the last few days of school are usually an insane race to get the heck outta the place. I report this about me, but I actually represent all teachers, staff, and administrators who have to go through this annual ritual. It's a huge pain in the arse, but always happens.
23 It's just a job, like any other, only we have to close down once a year. They're having summer school at the Chill this year, so we are also supposed to take all the stuff out of our rooms and off the walls.
24 I just bought two bicycle locks and am locking everything up, and then I'm gonna screech outta that place. It isn't that I don't like it, it's just that the madness of the year gets more and more intense with each tick of the clock.
25 Nearly everybody I've talked to in the past two days is being replaced. They are brave souls, and overall pretty optimistic, but it is sad to think that these people will all be gone next year. The cuts are going to be extreme, and I totally salute anyone going through a layoff right now. Brave, brave souls, all.
26 Welp, that's my tale of woe, for what it's worth. I gotta get some sleep or I'll never finish those papers.
27 I'll probably awaken at around 3:30 and finish reading them.
28 Meanwhile, enjoy your Wednesday now, willya?
29 Peace.
~H~
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