Done Grading!

I finished grading papers yesterday! I think I graded about 14, plus I had a linguistics test (more on that later), so by the time I got home I felt pretty exhausted. It's amazing how much energy it takes to read papers, comment on them, and decide on a letter grade. But, I felt pretty good after I met with DR on Monday; she said my grading was right on track. It was really nice to get that affirmation, because I had really been wrestling with it. She said I had done a nice job seeing the big picture and giving comments that would help students know how to improve for the next one. I've been going back and forth about offering them the option to rewrite this essay if they aren't happy with their grades, but I think I won't. Part of the final for the class is rewriting one of the first two essays, so they'll get a chance later on. I'm excited to give the papers back today, except I'm worried that many of the students will be disappointed by their grades. I only had a few A's, and I'm sure some students expecting A's got B's and will be upset about it. Hopefully I can handle their questions gracefully and encourage them to do their best on the next paper.

I also had my first test in Linguistics, which I spent almost no time preparing for because it was open book, open notes, and the review session led me to believe that it would be very easy. Unfortunately, the test was harder than expected (though spending more time studying wouldn't have helped). The questions were really just kind of tricky. I think I did fine on it, and it's only worth 10%, so I'm not worried. I just felt a little misled! Hopefully I'll get it back soon and know for sure.

In general, time is flying by. It's hard to believe it's already October, partially because we're still having highs in the mid-90's. But, here we are, in Week 6 of the semester already!