Term is done

Gone the sun …

Well, the term is finally over. Going into the last day of class, my nightmare English 099 class was really in trouble, with only three of them on track to get a passing grade. Fortunately for them, the first hour of class was in the computer lab, and, unlike all of the previous sessions in the lab, this bunch had their noses seriously to the grindstone. In the end, enough of them managed to pull their hind-ends out of the fire that I’m now giving failing grades to only half of them.

Actually, for me, the term isn’t quite over yet. I have completed grading the English 099 portfolios, computed the final grades, and entered the grades into the computer. But English 100 is the important gateway class; passing it means that students are now ready to do truly college-level work. Therefore, English 100 portfolios are graded by a panel of instructors: I bring my students’ portfolios to be graded by other instructors, and I grade those other instructors’ students’ portfolios, in order to assure that we are all grading at the same level and looking for the same accomplishments in our students’ work.

So I will be spending many hours Friday in a room with a bunch of other English 100 instructors, grading portfolios. Really, it’s not as bad as it sounds. I always gain a lot from the panel grading – exchanging ideas with other instructors, and a whole lot of general camaraderie. Panel grading is just about the only thing that I will get up early in the morning for and be glad about doing so.

OK, well, there’s one other reason I like panel grading. I always have really great students in my English 100 classes, and I like to be able to show off their accomplishments. The ones I had this year were even better than usual.