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May 4, 2014

Allergy Season

Sometimes I'm too tired. I've been thinking about grading all day. I only have one section of one class' tests left. I should have finished mid-week last week but one student hasn't taken it yet so I couldn't give them back and so I didn't finish. I got sucked into some fascinating discussions on twitter today, one of them about how important timely feedback is, and yet I haven't started grading. There's a pile of projects that I'm interested to see how much progress they made after I gave them the first round of feedback, but I haven't gotten any further than noting that this pile exists.

It's spring, the pollen index has been stuck at high and while I'm on enough medication that I don't keep myself up all night coughing, my immune system is still in overdrive, battling innocent specks that have no intention of attacking. As a kid my allergies were even worse. I'm still not sure how I convinced my brain to function through SAT's and AP exams. In high school, spring is about the worst time possible to not be feeling well. As a teacher though? It works out great. I've worked hard over the last 8 months to get my students to work together, struggle with something independently and then ask for help when they need it. In September I'm constantly circulating the room. In May I can sit at my desk on days that I'm exhausted and listen to their conversations. Sometimes a thumbs up is all the feedback they need. Other times they need more, but by now they're comfortable calling me over or bringing a notebook up to my desk. I hate being so tired but it's nice to sit back and watch the learning happen.

Sadly the grading is still my responsibility. Good thing I have first block prep!

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