Yippee and Yippee--and maybe a few more

The first yippee is because the smirk twins from 229 dropped today. Not only does that mean those brats are out of my hair, it means I don't have to grade their miserably stupid papers. I took a quick look at them when they came in: clearly they still think that the way they wrote in high school is plenty good enough, dammit, no matter what the bitch of a professor says. Indeed, for their next English class they may get one of my colleagues who does not have my standards, which will confirm the smirkers' opinion of me as the insane monster--until they get to a 4-year school and suddenly the professors not only tell them their writing is shit but also make them take their F and live with it, instead of giving the opportunity to revise that I allow. My fervent hope, however, is that even while still at NCC they end up in a class with someone who is every bit as ferocious as I--or even more so. (I'm tough, but I'm not hostile--and unfortunately, some of my colleagues have gotten jaded enough that they can be.) But whatever happens, they're not my worry any more.

Of course, they are very likely to go onto RateMyProfessor.com and say awful things about me--but I'm used to that, and actually don't look any more. I've said before and will say again, it's easy to bash someone when you can do it anonymously, so how seriously can one take those ratings? I rather agree with the professor who started his own "rate my students" web page, in which he could engage in similar character assassination: turn about being fair play and all that.

On another note, another student in 229 was going to withdraw because she got snarled up in stuff and didn't do her second essay. She was hovering in the hall to talk to me after class had begun. I usually make students wait until class is over, but for some reason I decided to go talk to her. I persuaded her to come join the class and to seriously consider taking an incomplete instead. By the end of class, she was fired up to finish the semester and do the missing assignment to complete the class once the semester is over. I'm glad: she's been an asset to the class, and it would have been sad to lose her. So I guess that's a yippee, too.

But the real second yippee: I finished the last of my observation write-ups. Whew! I still have two cover letters to write (for the two promotions I'm mentoring), and I need to go to Human Resources and make sure my file and the files of my two mentees contain all the needed bits. I'm sure there are folders I need to review that I'm forgetting about. And of course we won't mention my own promo folder, which has been sitting, forlorn, on the table in the living room, waiting patiently for any crumbs of attention. Still and all, it does feel awfully good to have the bulk of this semester's P&B stuff done.

Third yippee: I've decided to cancel classes tomorrow. I still have to drive to the area: I'm dropping off a wheelie thingy in the a.m. for office mate Bill so he can lug a box of photocopied readers to his class, then I have an appointment near campus. I'll probably return to that general neck of the woods in the evening, too: I test-drove a new dance studio tonight and had a blast, so I'm going to use my special introductory offer (unlimited classes for 2 weeks) to check out a different form of salsa tomorrow, then swing next Tuesday--maybe tango as well. (They don't offer waltz, which is too bad, as I loved waltzing back in my theater days, but I'll have enough to do with the other dance forms. I could even do belly dance there if I wanted....)

Of course, here I am going on about dance class and all those other bits, but the real reason for canceling class was so I can get papers graded. I'm a little abashed that, despite my best intentions and what I thought was genuine resolve (obviously not), I have not graded a single paper since the one I did last Sunday: since I decided not to rush, I guess my other option was complete stall. (I am beginning to think I only have two speeds: full blast and off. I can putter endlessly in my life in general, but in terms of work, I seem to be the original all-or-nothing girl.) Friday will be pretty much lost to routine doctors' appointments and my ride, thought I may be able to squeeze in a little "in the office" time between doctors, so I hope I get a good whack in tomorrow. I really would like the damned things out of my hair before Thanksgiving. That would be something to be thankful for indeed.