The ideal would be to have the new lessons/new material set up several weeks in advance--or since I am workign by "Topics" rather than "Weeks," a few Topics in advance. But I didn't manage to get a head start because I was setting up the orientation and framework in an unfamiliar interface. Still--I am on time, and since they're working at their own pace, and since Topic 1's deadlines aren't until next Monday, it's good that I have Topic 2 up and running. If anyone legitimately wants to work ahead (and I have one who is trying to game the system by not reading and turning in b/s), they can do so.
My nerves are a little thin. I turned to the blog after snapping at a friend on Facebook--and someone who tends to give me the benefit of the doubt--because I felt like I was being called out for being an obnoxious pain. This followed a casual chat (ha) with a co-worker about a conference abstract we submitted that was heavily edited by our boss before submission and without my permission, that I now have to live with. So that was definitely a contributing factor.
Here I am on a Monday, returning to work. I have a project to work on, and a 6-hour Business Writing class (training session) that I do not want to teach tomorrow. My weekend felt a little frenetic. Heck, so did my week. I get through my workdays now by looking forward to getting off of work--so that I can go home and work. It's not ideal, even if it is a generally positive thing.
What's going on with the class is this:
- Students needed to complete orientation lessons, take a quiz, and post instructor and peer introductions by last Friday.
- I have followed up (or tried to follow up) with those who did not complete that lesson, or who completed the quiz with less than 90% correct.
- I have graded most of the introductions that have been submitted, and all of the quizzes.
- Students are working on the Old English Poetry topic (or unit). They have another week to complete it.
- The Matter of Britain/Arthurian topic is up for those who are working ahead.
- I need to get the Chaucer unit ready to go (and I don't particularly like Chaucer).
- I want to compose a Week 2 Announcement that reviews what students should have accomplished/learned by now.
I am taking my time grading the Introductions because I feel like the introduction is an important place to establish a relationship with students by responding to their concerns and commenting on their goals. It's time-consuming, but also rewarding.
My weekend felt like a lot of grading, which I did in many blocks. It also involved a lot of emailing and entering zeroes. I checked in with my good friend who is coaching me through this (even though it is not her job to do so) frequently. When I wasn't doing basic bookkeeping, I was reading and finding and typing quotations for a quote analysis exercise, formatting that worksheet, and posting it to the online course. Although I thought that the topic was ready to go live early Sunday (It went live 12 A.M. on Monday), I realized after my girls were asleep (probably about 10:30 P.M.) that I had completely forgotten one of the key pieces I wanted to add--clips from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I had to find the clips, make sure they weren't internet fakes, and post them, then create the accompanying discussion board--all before cutting my husband's hair (which I like to do so that I have control over how short it is), bathing (to get off the cut hair), and going to bed.
The weekend felt a bit out of control. In reality, I did things other than work on the class. We got tires for our Highlander at SAM's and did some shopping. I made some returns--two pairs of boots that I ordered online that did not fit and a pair of jeans that I ordered that were not supposed to be black--and bought some Origins for my son, who is trying to fight acne with minimal medical intervention. We went to the vigil mass (so that we did not have to attend the parish at which I am co-teaching religious ed). I drank two nice, dark beers--that's excessive for me. I taught religious ed on Sunday morning--completely without prior preparation, as it turns out, because my co-teacher can't decide what our respective roles are or whether she is able to be responsible for the lesson consistently. We went to Target (as a family--which is how we do most things) and ate at McAlister's. I folded many baskets of clothes because I knew that if I approached the computer, I would grade introductions, and the work I had already done had left me achy and bleary and fuzzy-headed. But there seemed to be very little down time. I didn't read anything recreational.
I mention the achiness. I was dreadfully afraid that I was getting the flu, but I wasn't. The constant working does seem to be taking its toll in a couple of ways, though, and I felt achy from Friday to Sunday. I have also felt a teeny bit queasy every evening from Wednesday, when I had to get off the phone with my mom because I was not feeling well, to Sunday. I do tend to get this way from being over-tired, and I have been forcing myself to keep going by means of caffeine. Otherwise, my evenings had/would have been spent on the sofa with a book, curling up in my husband's shoulder and (often) falling asleep. An extra cup of coffee is taking care of that. And my stomach wants to protest a bit. I might be getting some extra heart-palpitations--which had mainly gone away when I switched from brewing Starbucks coffee at home to Mystic Monk.
Yet--I can't deny that in a lot of ways, I'm happier. I'm more creative. I'm engaged. I bought some notebooks to try to write a little of the story I started three years or so ago--at least during weekdays. My vocabulary is even a bit different. But I miss my down-time. And I feel behind with the class. Stretched--too thin--like butter over too much bread. But there are only so many hours in the day, and between 8 and 5, I'm forbidden to work on the class.
And that's how it stands at the beginning of Week 2.
