Making a difficult Easter for myself...

I am going to have to be very firm about holding my adorable nose to the proverbial grindstone tomorrow, but I seriously cannot spend another moment wading around in my students turgid little minds (to borrow a phrase from Paul). After another student has proven herself guilty of multiple instances of plagiarism (and this time is trying to deny it), and a student was capable of reading about a child witnessing the bright flash of an atomic blast as evidence of "appreciating the beauty of nature," I just cannot stomach any more.

Not to mention the student who wrote, "Hudson wants his readers to appreciate nature and give it proper respect, for it has been on earth for many years and deserves gratitude."

As one of my Facebook friends said, "Maybe someone could send it a present, out of gratitude for being around so long. The period before was really rough."

My friend's comment made me laugh but still, do they even read what they've written? Do they think at all??

One of the rock stars is still AWOL. A bunch have just dropped off the radar. Several of those who are still valiantly "trying" are capable of complete inanities like the above quoted. What am I supposed to do to reach them? Can they be reached? Or am I just slamming my head against an impervious wall of intellectual torpor?

Man, I need a day with the SF students. They might be capable of making me feel there's some kind of point to all this.

I am already thinking of ways (further ways) to adjust the online Nature in Lit--including ditching a reading that I chose in a hurry and now regret, but also including adding some images that might help. I do think, at the end of the semester, I'll design an anonymous survey to ask things like, "Did you read the professor's 'lecture' notes?" "Is there a way for the professor to convey to you how to read a difficult text--since written instructions will likely be a difficult text?" One thing I will definitely do is make the "online courses are not easier than face-to-face courses" caveat much bigger and more prominent.

On the other hand, I am trying to make my own fun, as much as I can, by illustrating some of my comments. In frustration, I told them that they're using sledgehammers to "analyze" the texts, when they should be using archaeological tools.

                                         This, I said...

                                          Not this.

In my comments on their discussion of Louise Erdrich's "Big Grass," I wrote, "Guys. It's about grass."

I feel like I need the sledgehammer, but whether I should wield it to get their attention or to take care of my own misery is an open question.

In any event, tomorrow I will have to whip through all the homework for the 101 students as rapidly as possible, then get at least some of the papers for the SF students graded. I should use what's left of today to do one of the non-student-related tasks I must tend to (proofread those pages, read that journal submission, write up that observation), but ... nah. I'm done. Done to a turn.