the easy way out

I've been swamped under a ton of homework checking, journal checking, test grading, lesson planning, and so on, so last week I told my regular English classes that I wouldn't be typing up the usual script but would instead do something a bit less formal and structured. I did this not only because I've been swamped, but also because the first two days of this week were devoted to midterm review and the midterm itself. With only three days (this week) to cover an entire episode of "Three's Company," only two days of which are actually devoted to watching the episode, it seemed better simply to cover the episode's highlights-- the major themes and plot elements-- than to wade into the sea of vocabulary and grammar we would normally explore. So instead of giving the students the usual monstrous 25-page package (i.e., the transcript, the week's homework topics, plus the list of discussion questions for Friday) as I would normally do on Monday, I gave them a 2-page handout today. The students will never know how much of a relief it was to do that. Cranking out 25 pages of material per week is nuts, but that's what I've been doing, week after week, in part because I didn't get far enough ahead during Chuseok break at the end of September.

So now I'm home, enjoying some taco salad, writing this entry, and staring at the pile of midterms I have yet to grade.


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