"Busier than a one-armed paper hanger." That's a thing my dad used to say. I'm not really sure what a paper hanger is. Like, did folks used to make paper by hand a lot? Did it need to hang up to dry? How did it not fall apart?
Even though I'm not a hundred percent sure what that job would entail (or why he wouldn't choose the more common, "busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest"), I do understand the feeling. That feeling of being overwhelmed.
As promised, this slice is not about being busy. It's more wondering why I feel like I need to catch up.
I'm pretty flexible about revisions and deadlines. (There's probably another post about equitable, accurate grades not being about timeliness.) However, I did tell students that I wanted all their missing work and/or revised work before Spring Break. (Will I still accept some late assessments after break if they are make or break propositions? Probably. Shhh.)
I mostly said this because I don't want to receive a flurry of late work at midnight on the last Sunday of break. I'm not an inbox-0 devotee, but emails that require action add a little extra stress to my life. I actually don't need any extra stress. Do you?
Instead, I'm getting a flurry of late stuff today. And questions. Is the deadline the end of the school day? Midnight? Some other arbitrary time? Does it apply to this assignment? How about that one?
The questions are fine. What I'm trying to process here is why I feel the need to immediately start grading stuff. It's not like I gave myself a deadline that all my grades need to be entered before I go on vacation. I'm not the kind of teacher who walks away from his work email and refuses to open it until after break. Big respect to those of you who can do that, but I would probably cry to come back on April 8 and find 200 emails waiting for me. This is not hyperbole, neither the number or the tears.
I should let go of this urge to open and grade these late offerings because we just sent out progress reports. (No, I don't know why we decided to send them out the day before break.) Also, maybe it's just me, but when I grade things, it feels like as soon as I sigh and say, "I'm done," a new item gets submitted. Like, before I get to the "n" in done. I'm not sure how kids know I'm speaking the words into existence, but I can almost hear them say, "Nuh-uh."
So, I'm going to focus on other items on my to-do list. Yeah, I'll probably pick away at the pile of things to grade, but I'm going to do other things (like type this Slice) first.
Even though I'm not a hundred percent sure what that job would entail (or why he wouldn't choose the more common, "busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest"), I do understand the feeling. That feeling of being overwhelmed.
As promised, this slice is not about being busy. It's more wondering why I feel like I need to catch up.
I'm pretty flexible about revisions and deadlines. (There's probably another post about equitable, accurate grades not being about timeliness.) However, I did tell students that I wanted all their missing work and/or revised work before Spring Break. (Will I still accept some late assessments after break if they are make or break propositions? Probably. Shhh.)
I mostly said this because I don't want to receive a flurry of late work at midnight on the last Sunday of break. I'm not an inbox-0 devotee, but emails that require action add a little extra stress to my life. I actually don't need any extra stress. Do you?
Instead, I'm getting a flurry of late stuff today. And questions. Is the deadline the end of the school day? Midnight? Some other arbitrary time? Does it apply to this assignment? How about that one?
The questions are fine. What I'm trying to process here is why I feel the need to immediately start grading stuff. It's not like I gave myself a deadline that all my grades need to be entered before I go on vacation. I'm not the kind of teacher who walks away from his work email and refuses to open it until after break. Big respect to those of you who can do that, but I would probably cry to come back on April 8 and find 200 emails waiting for me. This is not hyperbole, neither the number or the tears.
I should let go of this urge to open and grade these late offerings because we just sent out progress reports. (No, I don't know why we decided to send them out the day before break.) Also, maybe it's just me, but when I grade things, it feels like as soon as I sigh and say, "I'm done," a new item gets submitted. Like, before I get to the "n" in done. I'm not sure how kids know I'm speaking the words into existence, but I can almost hear them say, "Nuh-uh."
So, I'm going to focus on other items on my to-do list. Yeah, I'll probably pick away at the pile of things to grade, but I'm going to do other things (like type this Slice) first.