Dragging

We've reached that black hole-like time in the school year when the end of a trimester and vacation and senior finals and Pesach and a bunch of other stuff all get mushed together to create something just this side of chaos. Even the school schedule on the web site looks a mess.

Oh, and it's Human Rights Week too. I find the existence of Human Rights Week to be totally depressing. The school events themselves are always excellent, but the fact that human rights need special attention paid to them is appalling. I know that disregard for other human beings goes back at least 2000 years, at least according to Mel Brooks (His cave's national anthem? "May you all go to hell, except Cave 57."), but the inability of various groups to recognize the legitimacy of others to simply live doesn't make me optimistic. Is it that hard to rise above it? I guess so.

Of course, the main dynamic around school at this point is simply exhaustion. As far as I can observe (and feel), teachers and students alike are essentially stumbling around hoping to make it to the break. I'd love to just sort of pack it in, but the trimester's end requires some level of summing up , with tests and the like to finish grades. This means the parade of people wanting to know their grades and if there's anything they can do to improve them in the last 3 days of a 10 week-long period has begun. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I always respond with the teacherly reminder that you're not only supposed to care about your work when report cards will be sent to your parents within days.

Honestly, though, I'd rather I didn't have to give tests. They're a pain to make up and a pain to grade and the people you make them for don't like them. For a marketing type like me, this is complete cognitive dissonance. But I always have to remind myself that there's no way to get students to focus on learning the stuff you've been teaching if there's no reward-punishment mechanism. I taught an ungraded elective this year. It was surprisingly dull at times, because it was difficult to get people engaged. Why? Because I couldn't reward them if they paid attention and fail them if they didn't. Oh well, at least I don't have to read essays.