I know why the lemmings die

OK I should be grading like a maniac as my department head has only given me a one day extension for grades, even though I was without power for a day and half - technically lost two since I was suffering from dehydration and heat stroke-in addition teachers with half my course load didn't finish grades by monday-so you know, where is the love? where is concern and consideration for those of us with a full load? and why is it I am supposed to be forgiving to a student who missed three weeks of school, her final paper, and her final exam for an alleged, undocumented nervous breakdown ( or even yet I was supposed to be forgiving to a student because the head of my department who had only spoken to her once suspected SUSPECTED physical abuse) but I can't get a TWO DAY EXTENSION ON GRADES?

And furthermore, I told my students that grades would be ready on monday PRE BLACK OUT. I had to turn SEVEN students away yesterday because it didn't dawn in their little noggins that with the blackout I wouldn't be ready with grades. Did they really think I was grading by candle light? That I was channeling Thoreau in Walden in order to grade their papers?

And when did kids get so aggressive with teachers? I often had to wait two or three weeks for grades when I was in college. And there was no harassing or huffing. Let me tell you these students don't know the kind of effort I put in.

And finally, FINALLY, I had this student TWICE. She failed the first year I had her, so I had her AGAIN, which really wasn't so bad. Anyway now that she has passed the course the second time, I have to put in a change of grade form. Now get this. Originally she got an F so now I have to change the course to a C. I called in the change of grade and the secretary said "What's your reason?" and I said "She completed missing work" which is true. And the secretary told me "I don't think that reason will get approved." So I asked her what she meant and she explained to me that it would only go through is it was an error in calculation. So I said to her "Let me get this straight. It looks BETTER to the dean if I somehow calculated an F instead of a C than if I tell the truth which is that the student made up missing work." She says yes. So I told her to transfer me to the head of the department ( the one who had the original idea to teacher her a second time and change the grade). She tells me that in order for the grade to go through it has to be something THAT CAN BE BLAMED ON ME. "Oh don't worry, it doesn't go on your personal record." Well, it better damn not considering I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG. She was the one who failed to turn in work, attend class, or even complete the final paper. I tried to contact her both directly and through her advisor and now I have to take the fall?

So finally the head of my department compromises "How about "correcting error in reported grade"? That way it isn't necessarily your fault. It could be input error." The department head also assured me that if there were any problem SHE would deal with it, which considering that this is all her idea, makes sense.

So now I have to finish grading there papers-remember that last count? 200. Well last night I was at 40.

Now I'm at 23.

Before you get excited, I'm reading final papers, which are far longer. I have between 184-138 pages of student writing to finish grading before about three pm. Not so bad when you consider on Thursday I was looking at over 800 pages of student writing.

The thing is here that I basically only have one week off before I have to go back to teaching. I have fix up the old syllabus. But really the students have this unreal expectation about returning papers. Often times I NEVER got papers back, or if I did, they didn't have comments on them. Those of you who have seen my comments understand WHY it takes time to get papers back. ( Jin can vouch for me here.) But really, what the students don't understand here is that to give me MORE TIME is to their advantage because it means I can give their work more careful consideration. When I'm rushing to make a grade deadline like this, basically I can't really consider the papers for that long. The papers then get a kind of cursory grade, and then later I take time to write more detailed comments about what is up with the paper. But of course the more of a rush I'm in the larger margin for error. You would think NYU would realize that just giving me one day would help me a great deal.


All of this is just really a prolonged plea for JUST KILL ME.