Meryl

My clingy new boyfriend: Grading

 Posted by on Sat, 12/17 at 9:52pm  reflection, remedy  No Responses »
Dec 172016
 

It started off as a joke, something to annoy my mother – “I’ve got a new boyfriend who takes up all my time and is the reason why I can’t sleep at night”. And then it was real. I thought I had it all figured out, but it just didn’t seem to end! Grading took up all my time. I couldn’t focus effectively on my other courses and that bothered me. I tried making schedules, and I struggled to maintain them, yet I fell behind on my grading. If I found myself being lazy or too lenient with my grading, I’d stop and start later when I was more aware.

I thought it was just me being impotent and unproductive but, after speaking with people in the office, I realized that the struggle to manage time well is very common. “You just have to push yourself to do it” is the best advice I received. So, I guess, the best thing to do is continue making schedules and just force myself to maintain and (hopefully) stick to them.

“Keep me in your prayers”

 Posted by on Sat, 12/17 at 9:09pm  reflection  No Responses »
Dec 172016
 

For about two months now, one of my students kept updating me on her health issue. Two weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer.

You never know how to react or what to say when someone comes up to you and tells you they have cancer. She stayed back after class one day and told me she’d be missing the next class for a doctor’s appointment. They had discovered lumps and masses in her breasts and were required to do some more tests to assess the condition. “Oh” was all I could say. She’s only 18, for crying out loud. I told her to take care, and I hoped that it wouldn’t be malignant. She sent me an email that weekend telling me that the doctor’s visit went well, however, they needed to do a CT scan. An essay was due the next day. She sent her essay in time, right after the scan. It is remarkable how she tried (and managed) to send everything in the middle of hospital visits. The scan revealed more masses; they seemed to be spreading. She had to undergo surgery the week after. All this, she’d email me and say, “Keep me in your prayers”.

She’s a good kid. Humble, smart, got As in my class, and she’s really sweet. My heart broke when she told me that the tumors were malignant and that she’d have to get chemo now so she can’t make it for the final exam day. She asked for a hug because that was going to be the last day I would see her (it was the last day of college).

Even now, she sends me emails to keep me updated.

M.I.A. – well, until the last week of college, at least

 Posted by on Sat, 12/17 at 8:46pm  reflection  No Responses »
Dec 172016
 

It is finals’ week, I’ve got my students’ final grades in place, and now I’m facing the one thing I’ve been avoiding for two months now – the five students I must fail. I have five students in my class who decided to stop attending somewhere towards the beginning of October. I reached out to them: sent them emails, flagged them, and then, sent them more emails. But I received no response. It was difficult trying to keep up with them. Initially, I was willing to work with them (if they decided to come back) and help them get back on track. But they didn’t until the first week of December! Four of the five students met me during the last week, before the finals’ week, to try and make up for the entire semester that they missed! Imagine my frustration. One of them told me that if he didn’t get a C in this paper, his mother would send him to England to live with his “strict” grandfather. Note that this student had only turned in his Essay 1. Another student sent me a very long email, four days before the final grades are due, apologizing for disappearing and wondering if there was anything he could do to make up for it.

When talking to these students and trying to understand why they disappeared, I realized that the common theme was “I couldn’t handle it”. They had nervous breakdowns and difficult family situations and found no better way to deal with those issues. Yet, I had to apologize and explain how there was nothing I could do – “It’s too late”.

What am I supposed to do now? I still have to fail them, whether I’m aware of their issues or not, whether I believe them or not, whether I understand or no. Isn’t that a little frustrating?