Grading Final Exams, Yet Again

I feel a good deal of responsibility about grading final exams promptly for my students.  I remember how anxious I was after my finals.  It's easier for me to push aside other concerns and focus on the grading now than during the rest of the semester.

The to-do list remains long, however.

Quite, for a day

I'm back in my office the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I've been grading papers and doing some things that are more easily done with some peace and quiet.  After Break things will rush again for a little while before getting back to this leisurely pace.  I'll have work to do at home and it will be hard to accomplish with my family around.  There is no separate work-room in our house and they do not respect my need to focus so I'll work early or late when they are sleeping.

Thanksgiving

I've never been a big fan of Thanksgiving.  Being rigid in my values, I've always felt that we should be grateful all year round.  I've never seen a connection between gratitude and over-consumption or sports. I spent many a year with family members outside my immediate family that did not seem to have any interest in me.

We've been fortunate as a married couple to celebrate the feast with friends from church, but that's still for me mainly a chance for fellowship with good friends and a chance to sample good cooking.

College Applications

Our son is applying for college.  He is a hard worker, but he has been putting this off over and over again.  My wife has taken the lead in getting on his case about putting the time in.  He seems in over his head and I wish that I could be more of a help---he seems overwhelmed by the stress.

I don't remember it being this hard for me when I was younger, but I also had a lot more support from my guidance counselor---being the prodigy got me lots of attention.

Trustees

I often attend the meetings of our Board of Trustees as a faculty guest, for at least part of the meeting, because of leadership roles that I have had on faculty committees.

Our trustees are not evil, but there is something about the power differential that being around them seems to warp reality. Administrators who are used to acting as kings start acting like peons.  There is a real sense that we are not to speak unless spoken to.  I wonder how much of that is just my university and how much of that applies to other universities.

A large part of these meetings is designed to educate the trustees to the point where they will agree with the decisions of the president and provost, where the merits of the proposals will be absolutely clear. The proposals before the trustees always deal with long-term planning for the institution, which I am painfully aware involves a broader perspective than I have from my place at the university.  In that sense, even as reality warps it is a grounding for me in issues that I don't normally contemplate.

Fall Break

I don't handle breaks well at school.  Without my usual structure I raise my expectations for both work accomplished and rest taken.  I ensure that I can not be satisfied at the end of my break by keeping my expectations of myself ridiculously high.

One of these days I need to get therapy---

Approaching Midterm

There is one week of classes left before our Fall Break.  The semester has been flying by.  I am doing more and sleeping less than I usually do, and it has been a particularly sleepless week, so I've been slipping into dreams a good deal during my waking hours.

I currently have nothing scheduled for my two days off;  I anticipate coming to work and trying to feel ahead of the curve.  We'll see.