3 Russell Moose

“Don't ever become a pessimist; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist,

but an optimist has more fun--and neither can stop the march of events.”

~Robert A. Heinlein

Essay season is upon me. But this year I have decided to be completely positive, and focus on the reasons I am grateful instead of the late hours and sheer boredom that comes with reading 150 essays on the same topic. 

This set, my first of the year, is on Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men   -- a book I was none too fond of in high school. It has a whole new meaning for me this year, because some friends at church love to compare the main character, Lennie, a larger, clumsy man with a mental disability, to another of our friends. There is not much resemblance, other than the large part, and maybe a little bit of the clumsy part, but over all, I just don't see it.

I digress. 

In the spirit of optimism...Happy thoughts on these essays:

~A direct quote from the teacher: "Basically, they need a major wake up call. Get your red pen out and attack without mercy. Get several red pens out! Mark them DOWN!" This teacher is fantastic. He truly desires to teach his students, not only about grammar, spelling, reading and writing, but also about life, work ethic, effort, follow through--you name it. He is gracious and tough all at once. This set will have a lot of Cs, and a sad number of Ds and Fs. As and Bs will be hard earned. But by the end of the year, they will have morphed into fantastic writers, and be better off for being in his class. He makes me want to give my all to these students. 

~I am flying to Houston, TX on Friday. Hopefully, the trip will have opportunities for me to get lots done in the realm of grading papers. Why I am going to Houston is a whole other post. 

~I do enjoy sitting up late at night, with a cozy cup of tea, reading papers. It's calm, quiet, and I can concentrate and feel like I am accomplishing something.

~I am tickled (that's what my Great Grandma Teddie said all the time) to have a job that I like, that lets me stay home and contribute financially to our family. It's a good feeling. Dan calls it my Proverbs 31 job, and he is so proud of me for doing it.

~I earn more money grading ONE set of essays (and I get at least 14 per year) than an average person in Haiti earns in one year. And it's not like their food and gas are any cheaper. You knew I would fit Haiti in here, right? 

~I hope my kids will see that the best way to accomplish a large task is by not procrastinating and attacking it one piece at a time. I try really hard to set a number of essays to grade per day and live up to my own goals. 

Off to grade, with a smile.