Tuesday, April 20, 2004
 

Is It Time to Retire Yet?

I am so, so, SO sick of my students that I could scream and put my foot through the wall.

I'm sure the neighbors would appreciate a connecting door between our apartments.

In truth, I have three problem students, which balances out to way-too-many for a 19-person class. One of them in particular has been lying to me through his teeth for months, and there's nothing I can do about it. Over the weekend, the box where my students turn in their papers was stolen-- and two students' portfolios along with it. One of those two students (who, incidentally, missed class because of jail time) has already sent me a nasty e-mail about resubmitting his last paper.

I could just projectile vomit. I'm stewing. I can't be sure that the stolen box was one of my students, but I can be justifiably suspicious. And I can be mad as a wet hornet, either way.

Three more days of teaching. Three more days. This class has made me want to drop everything and walk away from teaching. Over the course of the term, it's taken an incredible amount out of me. Even my teaching mentor noted, from one single class observation, that I have a class full of jerks.

I've been consoling myself with Raymond Chandler. Having finished that volume, I've moved on to James M. Cain. The person who loaned me the first Chandler volume (Ethical Vegetarian Animal Sex Underwear-Food Elmer-Fudd-Singing etc etc etc prof) has promised me the second volume but has yet to deliver. Hard-boiled detective fiction is strangely cathartic, which probably says something about my personality.

Elvisette philosophized at 10:09 PM