End of the semester...

Remember this post, written after the first day of classes back in August? Seems like a long time ago, I think. Well, today was the last day of classes. Finals are next week, which means a real grading blitz for me between now and then. Here's what I have in front of me:

• 18 English 101 research papers (I was supposed to have these on Wednesday, but class got canceled on Wednesday)
• 32 English 101 portfolios (18 from each section; I got the first half today, and will get the rest on Wednesday)
• 68 English 204 final exams (2 sections worth; the first batch comes in on Tuesday, the rest on Thursday)
• Final grades to calculate and input for all four classes

It looks like a lot, but I think I'll be able to handle it just fine.

All in all, it's been a good semester. When all is said and done, I think I'll have given out more Ds and Fs then ever before, but that's an entirely different blog post. These Shepherd students are a good bunch overall and I've enjoyed teaching them.

Today I had my camera with me (it stays in my bag most of the time these days) and we snapped a picture of my ENG 101-10 class, the first class I taught here at Shepherd.


They were an eclectic group--made me laugh, made me want to scream, made me smile--and most of them have signed up to take ENG 102 with me next semester. Lord help us!