A is for abacus

I wish I was a math teacher.

It's been so long since I've had a legitimate math class that I'm not entirely sure how they work anymore. (Seriously, what the hell could you talk about for 75 straight minutes?) But I do know math teachers don't have to grade hundreds of essays every semester.

Here's a quick math lesson:

I have almost 125 students (since a few have left for greener pastures). Each of my 125 students will write four different essays before this semester concludes. Each of my 125 students' four different essays will go through at least two drafts. Both drafts of my 125 students' four different essays will be at least two or three pages long.

So, at a bare minimum, I should have read at least 2,000 pages of fantastically crafted student writing between International Beer Day and Christmas.

Let's have even more fun with numbers:

Each of my 125 students has been charged with writing a blog. I expect those 125 students to write an average of two blog entries per week. Each of my 125 students' two blog entries per week is supposed to be about 250-words – or one Microsoft-Word-page – long. These same 125 students are responsible for two page-long blog entries per week for the better part of one 15-week long semester.

So, considering the average student-slacking ebb and flow, I should have read approximately 3,750 pages of weekend adventure recaps, exam-week cram-session reports, and long-distance-relationship sob stories between bikini and parka seasons.

If I add in the low-ball-estimated 1,000 pages of in-class writing assignments and 250-pages worth of student emails that I expect to read this semester, I should have read a very-roughly-figured 7,000 pages of student writing between Charles' birthday and Bryan's.

And, if I happen to manage my time a little better, I will have written more than these two complaint-ridden pages of blogging between my previous entry and the December-tenth last day of the semester. But, for now, this will have to suffice.

Event of the Week:

In lieu of teaching classes this week, I'll be meeting with each of my 125 students on an individual basis to discuss the essays that they're currently working on. While this means that I'll have to do a lot of the aforementioned reading in the next few days, it also means that I get to see all of my students in a little more personal setting. Individual-conference weeks are usually some of my favorite of the semester.