Final exam...

28 April 2014: Today I gave a final exam to one of my sections of ENGL 204. The last student to finish is a young woman who has been kind of quiet all semester, but was definitely engaged. I could tell--at least I thought I could tell--that she was enjoying the class and getting something out of it. At least that's what I hoped. As she handed in her exam and got her things together, I told her that I hoped she had a good break. She stopped and said some lovely things about the class. She didn't need to say them (this wasn't flattery to get a good grade) but man, did they make a difference to me. Just a small gesture on her part, maybe, but it meant so much.