Another nice moment

I've been on the fence for a while about a conflict: Winona LaDuke is going to be on campus to speak on Monday, March 21--which also happens to be the day that my 102 classes have first versions of their next papers due. The procedure is for them to do peer review that day, and any corrections they make in class are considered as I grade their papers. However, my later section meets precisely when LaDuke is going to be given her presentation. Since I was one who made a pitch to bring LaDuke here, I rather hate to miss seeing her--so after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, I decided to let the students vote. I made up little ballot slips so they could decide: they could vote either to give up the peer review session and attend the LaDuke presentation, or to have the peer review but miss doing something different (and something that would connect with the fact that we just did a unit in Native American poetry). The overwhelming vote was in favor of doing the peer review. I had a feeling that would be the outcome, but I was expecting a slim majority, not the landslide vote. I'm very pleased: it tells me that they feel the process works for them, and that's beneficial feedback.

Another lovely bit about that is that I went from class directly to a meeting. As the meeting broke up, we were discussing things we have had to miss, and I mentioned the conflict, my disappointment that I'll have to miss LaDuke--but my gratification about the student vote. I was talking to one of the main librarians for the campus (and a woman who has been a powerful force in any number of committees) and an associate dean--and they both said that my students' decision was a credit to me as a professor. I was proud of that, not only because of the vote of confidence from my colleagues but also because it was coming from people who are among the movers and shakers on campus. Nice.

I had intended to get a lot more work done after that meeting, but instead I ended up talking with Paul for a good while about his process with drafts and peer review and so on, as fodder for me while I think about revamping my approach. He has a ton--excuse me, eleven bajillion--papers to grade, so I felt a little guilty for keeping him here talking about this (especially as no food or alcoholic beverages were involved), but it was helpful in my continuing cogitations on this knotty issue. I did get some work done--I completed the write-up of last week's observation (P&B business)--but I didn't get the student homeworks marked that I intended to. Plus, I had hoped to be home by now. Ah well. Barring disaster or the unforeseen, I should be able to get the homework for the first of tomorrow's classes marked in the morning before class, and the other section done during club hour--during which time I also desperately need to start grading revisions.

I truly do need to keep my desire to give feedback on a short leash when I mark those revisions. They have another paper coming up, so they need to know where they did better and where the did not--but I will drive myself into a straight-jacket and a rubber room if I give them more than the bare minimum. I've got to get these papers out of my hair for my own sanity. More to the point, they need them back so they can consider how to adjust their next papers, as they attempt to avoid making the same mistakes.

I do have to say, it was lovely to sleep as long as I needed to this morning and to wake up without the alarm clock. My mood is still not as stable (and upbeat) as I'd prefer, but getting sufficient sleep is a boon. But speaking of mood stabilization, it's time to begin to haul my brains out of this mode and start letting go of the anxieties of the day. Cleansing breath, ommmm, ommmmm, ommmmm....