Help!

It is the end of my first semester and things are really starting to get hectic. I am officially done with the teaching part, but now I have all of this stuff that I have to grade! All of these final projects that I assign every year with the intent that it provides my students with a way to apply their knowledge from the classroom to their lives or to the real world in some way now has become MY JOB to grade. No matter how many times I do this, I forget that assigning the papers are easy (come up with an idea and write about it, now go away and be brilliant!)

Unfortunately these papers do make their way back to me in some form of completion there for me to read, comment critically, and assign a score. Right now I am working through about 70 papers for my developmental psychology class and 35 media portfolios for my General psychology class. Oh and I have to have this all done by the time they take their finals so I can hand them back, PLUS I decided to give some daily work the last couple of days that I need to grade, PLUS oh yes, the final exams need to be graded too.

So it's a bit of work. I remember as a student thinking that my Profs had no idea just how much work needed to be done in a set amount of time.....I know better now! At least this time I'm not balancing a second job....at least not yet. That will come when I start having to do committee work and other obligations to the college that have mercifully been waived my first year here.

I am also already trying to think of ways to improve these classes for the next time I teach them. I see where I slacked a bit in description, I see I may need to put more fear in my general psych students that, yes they actually need to study more than an hour glancing at their notes and my study guide to do well in my class. I know people can do well, I see those dedicated student's exams. So I know I'm not impossible.

For now I must focus on finishing this semester however, and getting some preparations for my courses next semester (syllabi and lectures prepped). I'm staying above water right now, but the surface is right at my nose! Can't wait for the Christmas holiday for a nice long break!