I've plowed my way through about 75% of the grading I stupidly put off for the first four weeks of class. Light at end of tunnel. That'll teach me to avoid grading. Lord is it hard to come up with tactful ways of saying, "I can see you're trying, sort of, but you're really just wrong..." Luckily these marks are only contingent, meant to suggest whether the students are going the right direction or not. And luckily I have a grader to do the rest of them later in the term.

It's such a pedagogical tug-of-war, the gap between what's best for the students (regular work, regular feedback) and what's best for the profs (exams). It's frustrating to have to decide between self-preservation and self-respect. The students seem to really appreciate it; more than one of them has said "I can't believe how many posts there are (2-3 posts per student per week in a class of 99, you do the math), do you really read them all?!?" The answer is, no, I skim; but when you have to mark and comment then yes, you have to read.

My eyeballs feel like they're going to fall out. There has got to be a better way.

Tomorrow is my non-teaching day. I am going to go to the dentist, paint my toenails, enjoy some cybersex, and do some other shit.

And finish this damn grading.