The calm before the storm

Today is the first day of exam week: a teacher's favorite week.

My exam is tomorrow, so today is truly the calm before the storm. I got my hair cut (pictures later), I got my teeth cleaned, I worked on some Christmas gifts, and I made exam treats for students who had helped me out with different projects this trimester. Promising food is the best motivator.

I switched duty nights with Sarah so that in case students had last minute questions, I would be available (because I don't give review sessions: I'm such a meanie). So far, no one has come in this first hour, but I have answered 5-6 emails with questions.

Tomorrow, 36 students will take 3 different exam, then I have until Thursday night to finish all of my grading and all of my term comments. The good news is, I've started all of my comments, so all I really need is to add a few sentences to say how they performed on the final test.

Tonight, a dorm girl came to me, complaining that she was not permitted to change the dates of her exams (she has 2 on two consecutive days and they are TOUGH subjects). I gave her a pep talk about doing her best and that one test is really not going to ruin her life and that the difference between an A- and B+ wasn't going to destroy her college aspirations.

She burst into tears at B+.