The Last Marks of the Red Pen

This week was Week 8 for the second part of the fall semester at Trine.  Since we were given the option of meeting at the instructional site or moving the class to online totally, I opted for the latter.  One less trip to Logansport.  I could convert the last assignment to a discussion board instead of a final paper and accomplish the same thing.

As I sat in Megan's living room on Wednesday, I had to remind myself that the last class was that evening.  We had so many things to do on Wednesday (picking up a quilt, blood work for me, taking Cooper to pre-school, a nail appointment, watching Owen and Tessa while Landon and his folks went to his optometrist appointment. The last thing on my mind was the class.

Discussion boards are usually easy to grade, and this one was just that.   It was interesting to read how the students thought they had improved in their process of writing abilities.  That is always my goal - to enable them to feel more comfortable with the process of writing so that they can be more relaxed when they write for other classes and be able to produce quality papers as well.  

This group of posts was just what I expected, except for one.  One  who was a 'seated' student felt like the class was too much like a high school class, that her needs and expectations were not met, that too much time was spent on reviewing things that she already knew how to do from her high school classes, and that most of the assignments were just 'busy work' instead of assignments that were worth her time.  After all she worked and had a daughter and not enough time to waste on trivial assignments.

Grading the argument papers was more detailed than what I had originally planned. Rather than create a rubric, I used the score sheet that I always used for ENGL 111 at Ivy Tech.  Reading each one of the papers, marking errors, writing comments, and checking sources took more time than just skimming the paper and deciding that it was an "A" paper or a "C" paper.  Most of them were acceptable.  Some were questionable on whether they were really arguments, and some of the students really don't understand how to summarize.  But overall, not too bad.  After I marked and scored, I sent the two documents (the marked paper and the score sheet) to each student through email.

Next was the task of finalizing the grades.  I don't understand Moodle's gradebook organization, so I created an Excel spreadsheet for their grades and totaled and divided myself.  In most cases the percentages fell in the same grade range as the Moodle gradebook.  For two student my grade was lower than the Moodle, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and the higher grade. In one case my grade was higher than the Moodle grade, and that student received the higher grade.

When I posted the last grade and clicked on Save, I felt a tremendous sigh of relief.  It was over.  No more grading. No more teaching.  

Yes, I did enjoy being in the classroom and teaching again.  Some of the students were really interesting and fun to work with.  However there were negatives.

One - I had to go to Logansport on Wednesday nights.  Not usually a problem but it seemed like every Wednesday I couldn't do something with the kids because I had to go to class later.

Two - prep time for classes.  Even though everything I used for this class came from something I had taught before, I still had to spend time revising the assignment sheets and powerpoints, eliminating all of the Ivy Tech references and changing them to Trine, and I had to battle Moodle to be sure that everything was posted where it should be so the people watching at home could access everything.  That took some time.

Three - grading.  I don't like spending time grading. Over 43 years I had read and marked thousands of papers, and they started to sound alike several years ago.  Nothing has changed---they still sound alike.

Four - students just don't change.  There are some that are energetic, attentive, ask questions, try hard.  Then there are those that don't listen, always have excuses, try to blame others for their errors, and ignore instructions.  Since Trine tuition is higher than that at Ivy Tech and since the admission requirements are different, I thought there may be fewer of the second type of students. I was wrong. They are everywhere.  I am tired of listening to excuses, complaints, and the maneuvering that they try to do, and I just don't want to do it anymore.

Five - Money isn't everything.  Yes, the $1800 for 8 weeks of teaching a class was motivation to sign the contract, and it did come in handy for Christmas shopping, but in the long run it isn't worth missing Landon's 2nd grade program or Tessa's pre-school Chicken Bash or spending time holding Lynnlee and clapping for Cooper's "basketball team" as they score another basket.

So I am done.  There are so many other things I want to do..and teaching will just get in the way.  Plus I don't need the aggravation of fussing with students who grumble and complain.  I would rather read a book than another argument paper.  I would rather cut fabric for a quilt block than revise an assignment sheet or a powerpoint.  I would rather read a story to Landon before bed than read a rough draft in a room in a remodeled bank in downtown Logansport.  And I would rather take a quick nap in the car as Gary drives us home from Carroll/Clinton counties than drive home by myself at 10:00 p.m. from Logansport.

It was fun. It was a great profession.  But it is over.  The cap of the red pen is closed.  Forever.

I am closing this chapter with a smile though.  The student who complained about the class being too much like a high school class and having too many 'busy work' assignments?  Her final grade was a low C, the lowest one in the class.

:)