path and practice Vox 2009-12-17T01:20:48Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full tag:vox.com,2006:6p00d4142bd37a685e/ just showing up and doing my best What is the sound of an empty classroom? tag:vox.com,2009-12-10:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123f18666ca860f 2009-12-10T03:03:21Z 2009-12-17T01:20:48Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....


It is the second to last day of proper classes at My Institution this term. No, strike that---even better: It was the second to last day of proper classes at My Institution this term. :)

We had a good day and I liked them all again and they all had a really pretty good time and I remember why I like my job again. 

Not too shabby.

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]]> Not a Hare, Not a Tortoise, More Like a Sloth tag:vox.com,2009-12-06:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123ddc669e8860b 2009-12-06T21:58:22Z 2009-12-07T03:29:42Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Aaarrrrgggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Heartswater remains the undisputed Speedier Grading Champion of the World, or at least of Our Friendship. In my first declared attempt to grade 20 argumentative essays in 2.5 hours, I have fallen ridiculously short. I have completed 10 frickin' essays. Oh, for frick's sake.

And now, I shall call her and tell her and she will, of course, be so gracious and not laugh at me too much. And then I shall eat more snacks, maybe take a shower, and grade more. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

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]]> Not A Hare, Not A Tortoise, Either tag:vox.com,2009-12-06:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123dddb5328860c 2009-12-06T19:39:25Z 2009-12-06T21:49:00Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Well, frak. In the first hour of my Heartswater Grading Challenge, I've gotten exactly 4 essays read and responded to, and only been able to figure out finalized grades for 3. I shall now eat a snack and run around the house in hopes of enlivening my sluggish brain, and then get back at it for hour #2. Updates will follow...

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]]> Slow & Steady No More! tag:vox.com,2009-12-06:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123dddb4eeb860c 2009-12-06T18:31:03Z 2009-12-06T21:47:39Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

It's 1:16pm, Sunday afternoon and I know exactly where my anxieties are--piled in the form of student essays waiting to be graded for 9am tomorrow. Frick, frack, fuck. I've been putting work off all weekend. In my defense, I have been sick for a week or so, and have worked through the plague, so I did need a few days to sloth and eat vitamin C tablets. Defensible or no, however, I gotta come off break now and get this shit done. The term isn't over for two more weeks, give or take a few days, regardless of how done I feel already.


Ok, reframe: This particular stack is going to be very good. My Argumentative Writing folks are all smart, sweet, lovely people---for real; not for pretend. Almost all of them are also funny people, which is extra nice. The stack is also relatively small. I've done 2 of 'em already, so I only have 20 left to go. 20 essays x 7 pages = 140 pages. I can do that standing on my head; I mean, they're double-spaced, for god's sake. ;) 

It's not the reading that gets me, though, of course---it's the responding. I am a close reader by nature, and a dialogic teacher. I cannot restrain my brain---I really do read every frickin' word---nor my pen---I offer tons of feedback: readerly, teacherly, etc. Here, near the end of my first semester teaching 5 classes, I am ready to get real about the unsustainable nature of my feedback practice. The well has indeed run dry, and all I want to do is give everyone an A and watch TV on the internets.

And so I shall take the Heartswater challenge. Always a graciously giving mentor, she has been helping me not go insane since I started teaching. She's been doing it longer and is simply way smarter at it than I am. She estimates it would likely take her 2.5 hours to get through this many pages/essays, so I'm gonna do my living best to chase her time. I've set a timer for one hour, when I'll take a teensy break to post my progress up here, then reset the timer and go back for the next shift. I don't imagine I'm going to achieve Heartswater-esque awesomeness today, but I'm gonna give it the old college try. 

Oh, I do slay myself...

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]]> List Life tag:vox.com,2009-11-10:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123ddd0bc3b860c 2009-11-10T23:28:11Z 2009-11-10T23:28:11Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

So far, today:
  1. print Lucille Clifton's poem for African American lit
  2. read/grade the next stack of unit 2 portfolios, or at least put a huge dent in the pile
  3. teach 2 classes
  4. meet Student Girl at office hours
  5. do rec form for other Student Girl
  6. don't forget to do presentation sign-ups in Research Writing
  7. print up Final Portfolio prep assmt
  8. revise, finalize, print up Final Portfolios
Wednesday:
  1. finish the list above
  2. prep African American lit
  3. write next short essay assignment for African American lit
  4. teach 3 classes
  5. don't forget to do presentation sign-ups in Research Writing, again
  6. some other stuff I've forgotten
  7. go see Keb Mo with SLP :) :) :)
Thursday, and on to the weekend:
  1. update Researched Change Proposal assignment
  2. prep to meet with client on Friday
  3. baby-proof the house, at least some, and clean, to babysit for SnA on Friday

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]]> I Imagine Other People's Lists Are a Little Depressing... tag:vox.com,2009-11-10:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e01240b76bea3860e 2009-11-10T03:36:10Z 2009-11-10T05:57:42Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Especially when they're endlessly recursive. Sorry about that, but it does help so to get something up here in public that I'm responsible for, and that I can cross out in front of other people, too.

Today/night:

  1. print feedback for stack 1 of unit 2 portfolios, distribute correctly
  2. print extra credit assignments from email
  3. read/grade extra credit
  4. teach 3 classes
  5. stay in a good mood the whole time (!!!!)
  6. make & print sign-up sheets for presentations
  7. grade discussion board posts
  8. buy printer paper
  9. buy assorted stuff at grocery store
  10. eat something
  11. print discussion board posts
  12. grade proposals for researched change arguments
  13. grade late submission ethics arguments
  14. read "Everyday Use" for tomorrow
  15. prep African American lit
  16. update Final Portfolio prep assignment & get it posted to ereserves
  17. update Final Portfolio assignment
  18. start the next stack of unit 2 portfolios
Tomorrow:
  1. finish the list above
  2. print Lucille Clifton's poem for African American lit
  3. read/grade the next stack of unit 2 portfolios, or at least put a huge dent in the pile
  4. teach 2 classes
  5. meet Student Girl at office hours
  6. don't forget to do presentation sign-ups in Research Writing
  7. print up Final Portfolio prep assmt
  8. print up Final Portfolios (actually, probably do these Thursday, so there's time to grade tomorrow)
Wednesday:
  1. finish the list above
  2. prep African American lit
  3. write next short essay assignment for African American lit
  4. teach 3 classes
  5. don't forget to do presentation sign-ups in Research Writing, again
  6. some other stuff I've forgotten
  7. go see Keb Mo with SLP :) :) :)
Thursday, and on to the weekend:
  1. update Researched Change Proposal assignment
  2. prep to meet with client on Friday
  3. baby-proof the house, at least some, and clean, to babysit for SnA on Friday

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]]> I List I Can / I List I Can / I List I Can tag:vox.com,2009-11-10:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123f17a1d2f860f 2009-11-10T00:24:38Z 2009-11-10T02:48:40Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Today/night:

  1. print feedback for stack 1 of unit 2 portfolios, distribute correctly
  2. print extra credit assignments from email
  3. read/grade extra credit
  4. teach 3 classes
  5. stay in a good mood the whole time (!!!!)
  6. make & print sign-up sheets for presentations
  7. grade discussion board posts
  8. buy printer paper
  9. buy assorted stuff at grocery store
  10. eat something
  11. print discussion board posts
  12. grade proposals for researched change arguments
  13. grade late submission ethics arguments
  14. read "Everyday Use" for tomorrow
  15. prep African American lit
  16. start the next stack of unit 2 portfolios
Tomorrow:
  1. finish the list above
  2. print Lucille Clifton's poem for African American lit
  3. read/grade the next stack of unit 2 portfolios, or at least put a huge dent in the pile
  4. teach 2 classes
  5. meet Student Girl at office hours
  6. don't forget to do presentation sign-ups in Research Writing
  7. update Final Portfolio prep assignment & get it posted to ereserves
  8. print up a bunch of those
Wednesday:
  1. finish the list above
  2. prep African American lit
  3. write next short essay assignment for African American lit
  4. teach 3 classes
  5. don't forget to do presentation sign-ups in Research Writing, again
  6. some other stuff I've forgotten
  7. go see Keb Mo with SLP :) :) :)



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]]> Listing tag:vox.com,2009-11-09:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123ddcff12c860c 2009-11-09T03:36:53Z 2009-11-09T05:04:06Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Ok, today, I have:

  1. finished grading a stack of portfolios
  2. prepped for 3 sections
  3. gone to the employee meeting for My Bar
  4. answered student emails
Which doesn't begin to get me out of the hole, really. Whatever---I'm marching on!

Tonight, before I go to sleep, I must:
  1. finish the next stack (major arguments turned in late, so it's not a full stack; phew)
Tomorrow, I must:
  1. print feedback for the first stack to turn back
  2. print the extra credit that got emailed in over the weekend
  3. finish another stack
  4. teach three sections
  5. read a short story and a poem, so I can
  6. prep African American Lit for the week
Which means, Tuesday, I must:
  1. grade discussion board posts for African American lit
  2. finish another stack
  3. teach two sections
Which means, Wednesday, I must:
  1. print feedback for the stack to turn back
  2. finish the stack I most certainly won't have actually finished by then
  3. teach three sections
  4. write the next short essay assignment for African American Lit
  5. grade the extra credit that was emailed in over the weekend
  6. and a few more things I've forgotten
Which means, Thursday, I must:
  1. print feedback for the stack to turn back
  2. teach two sections
  3. take a frickin' break
I can do that. I can totally make it to Thursday, if I get a break then. And I can also, maybe not quite get all of it done and not be totally screwed. It's gonna be fine. Right? 

Think good thoughts...

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]]> Grrrnnff tag:vox.com,2009-11-08:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e01240b75cd4c860e 2009-11-08T04:55:09Z 2009-11-09T03:38:13Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full
Good Enough Day, Some Less Awesome Bits

  1. My tooth hurts. Again.
  2. Gotta get some dental insurance, or maybe just some magically found money in an old purse.
  3. Just over half a stack of papers done; two and a half stacks to go.
  4. Shouldn't have spent so much time on the phone, but I got to catch up with friends, which I should always spend more time doing.
  5. Mostly clean house, which is nice. Did tons of dishes and microwave cleaning and whatnot today.
  6. New pajama pants, very softy nice.
  7. Cat peace continues to hold.
  8. Almost all of tomorrow off to play more catch-up.
  9. And SLP will be home. :)

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]]> I Heart Good Advice tag:vox.com,2009-11-01:asset-6a00d4142bd37a685e0123f17635b0860f 2009-11-01T22:13:13Z 2009-11-01T22:13:13Z bodhibound http://pathandpractice.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom-full

Ahhhhh....

At the very, very good advice of my dear, dear friends Heartswater and PTM, I have canceled my classes at My Institution for tomorrow. I will teach at The Community College, but then I shall go home and grade, grade, grade allllllllllllll day and return, caught up-ish and refreshed-ish, on Tuesday. Or maybe on Wednesday. ;)

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