Guilt

I've been getting tension headaches, and I notice, of course, that they are worse when I've got a pile of papers to read and haven't finished them. Genius that I am! I've agreed to teach six classes, 117 students, and they turn in their papers on very similar schedules. At ten minutes per paper, that's a mere 19.5 hours per cycle, but I can't realistically grade more than six or so at a stretch without going nuts. That's 19 or 20 bursts of activity, enough for at least eight or ten days!

But why? Why do I obsess with making everyone perfect? Nobody else does! Why do I feel that students are all telling one another (and me) that I'm doing a poor job if I don't return things in a few days?

Well they do, but it's mainly because they are fascinated with grades. "I got an 82 on this paper. What can I do to raise it to an 83?"

Relax. Ignore the tension headache. Tell the students, one by one, how to make one thing better. Remember that they don't know how you did it with the last class. Remember that you don't have to be perfect.

After all, even with the disastrous teaching of Miss Ruddle (yes, that really was her name) I've turned out to be a damn fine writer!