WOW.. Grading sucks

Grading papers sucks sooooo much! It would help if more of my students were decent writers, and of they cared. Right now I have students who haven't tried all semester asking for help to catch up, and some students who just haven't been in class since conferences. I really don't know what to do about it. It frustrating! sooooo frustrating! I wish that students could just understand that they are paying 1,000's of dollars to get an education and the least they could do is show up to class and try not to waste $! I don't know how to get it through their heads! The few students that are actually trying are like a breath of fresh air. I guess I don't know what to do. They don't understand how much we really do care. Maybe its just a first year's teacher issue, and I haven't learned to quite caring yet. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

Ok I know we are all on edge, but COME ON!

Ok, I know that we are all losing our minds a little faster than we would like to admit, but that is no excuse for being rude to fellow TA's! Seriously, I thought that we were all suppose to be a "support net" for each other, and up until now I had always felt that was true. However, I got some extremely rude feedback today on my memoir. I had sent it to several people to peer review, I realized that many of us are too busy to breath, and I figured that the more people I sent it to the more likely I was to get feedback. Why would anyone respond who didn't want to be helpful! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! You we fight our students, to have a social life, and to keep our selves sane and we really don' t need to be handed a shovel by someone who is suppose to be in our "support net." Well I am done venting now.

SO tired

Alright wedding suck! They make you tired for two days afterward. All-in-all the "detox" was nice. Sometimes its nice to remember that I am a fun-loving 22 year old and that this is suppose to be "the time of my life". Lately its been more like "The hell of my life" but I guess that will change hopefully. I keep running into my students in wired places, and I don't really know how to deal with it. Also, teaching the memoir is seeming like an impossible task. I am having the hardest time trying to come up with an argument. I have a mental block right now.. I just don't get it! I feel like it shouldn't be as hard as it is turning out to be! I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have trouble developing an argument! I am usually so good at arguing. I guess maybe I am over thinking this. I am thinking about developing an argument for the fragility (if that's a word) of literacy and how one negative experience..One person thinking that you are inadequate is enough to scar. But I don't even know if this is an argument.

ug

Alright, I'm tired. I'm crabby, and I have two paper to perfect. That's gunna happen. Why does everything seem to pile up. Even when I am ahead of where most people are... I just don't get it. How can I feel so overwhelmed when I shouldn't. Well, I guess I should talk about teaching. I had a somewhat good day. As good as 2 hours of sleep could allow. I had to student make a parallel with Fargo Rock City. He said that he understood his chapter as chuck demonstrating that Metal was actually mediocre music with fit well with Chuck's mediocre life, and in the end he ends up trying to glamorize his mediocre. I couldn't believe it. When I asked if he had ran with it in his paper.. He said "no." I couldn't believe it! A great observation and no hint of it in his paper! I guess I'm not a freshman.. Maybe they don't realize a good idea when it hits them smack in the face. I still really don't understand the whole PPT thing. I looked at the website, but I guess I'm just too tired to get it right now. Do the students just do a presentation on whatever the music moves them to present on? Do we do our powerpoint in the same way or are we given more direction? I guess I'll just add that to my overwhelming pile. Or I'll just face the fact that I can't do anything about it now, so I just won't think about it. I'm use to beginning projects in advance, so it bothers me that I can't do that as much or as well as I use to.

No papers to grade! and no Precis!

Alright! I need more weekends like this! No papers to grade and no precis! it was unbelievable! i had time to go shopping for wedding presants and didn't feel guilty about it. My memoir isn't as far along as I hoped it would be by now, but I know where i want to go with it so I am not two worried about it. It feels so good to be able to breath for a weekend, and now maybe I can focus a little better. Oh well, I guess that is just the way things are. My class seems to be going well, and my students are fun. They talk more and more in class and the things they say are intelligent. It is exciting and I think that at least they are able to analyize better, even if they can't write any better.