It’s Sunday night. Report cards are due to the principal by the end of the day tomorrow. I am sitting on the sofa covered in a blanket with my laptop open and papers scattered on the cushion to my left. A bottle of water, my phone, and a tissue are to my right. I look up at the clock and realize that I have sat in the same spot for most of the evening. The only body parts that have moved are my fingers as they tap away at the keyboard and my head as it looks over at the scattered papers. Occasionally my left arm reaches out to move papers around.
The bathroom calls my name, so I get up and stiffly hobble my way that direction. The going is slow. I try to walk a little faster. I do not want to be away from my work too long. It is past my 10:30 bedtime, I have spent hours upon hours assessing final essays, completing rubrics, and writing report card comments, and I am more than ready to be done.
I settle back on the sofa and set my mind to my work. I double check as soon as I finish each section. My tired brain can too easily make mistakes. When I finally finish and fall into bed, it is nearly 12:30 a.m. I mentally celebrate the achievement and give thanks that report card time only comes four times per year. In a few hours, a new day will begin and along with it a new grading period. I am excited to start anew and tell myself that I will reflect on ways to streamline this process for the next go around in two months.
Ah, this go around of report card time has come to an end. I shut my eyes and fall blissfully into sleep.
Such a relief when it is complete. I am an SLP so I don’t have report cards, but I do have progress reviews for a caseload of 42. One of the best decisions my district made was going to trimesters. Now I have progress reviews 3 times a year rather than 4. Such a great thing!
I bet that is much better! Thank you for reading!
Report card times are so stressful. Plus couple it with daylight savings time, and it feels as though there is not enough time in the day.
Yes! It’s like a double whammy! Thank you for reading!
I feel my own bones creak and ache from sitting too long when I read your description. Yes, thank goodness only four times a year!
Thank you for reading, Kathryn!
Congratulations on finishing your report cards! I love how you ended on a positive note-that a new grading period is starting that is filled with possibilities.
Thank you, Jen! I do get excited about the “freshness” of new grading periods.
This is the life of English teachers too often. Four days after gallbladder surgery I sat grading essays all day so I could post grades. It’s brutal.
Brutal is an accurate term. It is a time that I dread intensely, although I love being a writing teacher.
Glad you were able to get it all done!
Thank you, Tammy. Me, too! 🙂
Celebrating that report card time only comes four times a year–YES!! (And I don’t know HOW you stayed awake until 12:30 am…..It’s probably because you are a superhero. 🙂
I don’t know about superhero, my friend, but I appreciate your compliment. Thank you! I think it may be more like the “There-is-no-way-I’m-dragging-this-work-into-another-day” attitude that kept me going! 😀
Wow, Tracy, what an incredibly grueling weekend and night! There is nothing like the exhaustion at the end of a grading period. I hope you’re able to bounce back this week.
I hope so, too, Daven. The older I get, the longer it takes to bounce back. Combine this with time change weekend, and it is a double whammy. I will eventually catch up on my rest. Thank you!