Enjoying my low paid work

I do enjoy what I’m doing, though remuneration is not what I would desire. I just finished up my last set of papers for my three basic composition classes. I’ve been free since noon on Friday and was able to space out the grading, because after two papers you want to kill yourself. (They’re pretty bad, though not as bad as the first batch I read last week, as that class is even weaker–they get an extra period a week because they are terrible readers as well as writers). My routine has been to grade two papers, read a bit of a mystery novel and knit, and then clean a shelf in the refrigerator. It took two days, but as of 11 PM tonight I was finished.

Despite the abysmal papers and the sadness of flunking so many, I enjoy this because it is an intellectual challenge. When you teach, you have to figure out how to get a student from point nadir to point zenith in x amount of time. For one kid, the problem is disorganization, for another, incoherent sentences, for another, inability to get beyond large sweeping generalizing sentences. Each paper is different, so what strategy I must follow in writing comments must differ too.

It is no surprise that the students who make it plain that they think the class is a waste of time wrote failing papers. (Fortunately for my ego, there aren’t that many of that type). Some of the failing papers are ESL students–I feel so bad for them, there is so much catching up they have to do, so fast. Others never wrote anything longer than a paragraph or a book report.

They’re nice kids, by and large. Many really do appreciate the class–they know how bad their writing is. Even some of the failing papers show a lot of progress.

The SAT classes are also interesting. What a difference a year makes! After one SAT class in which for some reason several of the kids couldn’t stop wiggling and belching and punning and flirting, I told my Rutgers students that I love them.

Some of the SAT kids (maybe 2-4 in every group) are really genuinely interested in improving their skills in order to do better on the test. The majority are there unwillingly–the parents make them go. I find that the first two sessions are the worst, though they may be quieter than they will be later. The resistance reeks. Then, as we get to know one another, and as they take practice tests and see their scores, they start to settle down and take in some information.

In one class I have a pair of adorable mid-eastern twins. They have been respectful and well-behaved all along. They got everything wrong at first, but as time went on I was happy to see them cheer and do high fives when I went over answers to questions. Sadly, last week it was time to teach the essay. The students were to have written an essay at home, and I went over them in class. I only read aloud a couple of the passing ones, but I had to tell one of the twins that his essay was seriously marred by grammar mistakes and that if it were the real test he would probably score only a two. I suggested that he see if he can get tutoring before the test to do some intensive work on his writing. (As is often the case, ESL kids do better on multiple choice grammar questions than on actual writing). He tried not to show it, but he felt embarrassed and bad. I’ve felt bad for him ever since.

On another subject, in an effort to drum up private SAT tutoring business, A. and I leafletted cars at Back to School night with copies of a lovely brochure Lady K. designed for me. I only had 200 copies printed at Kinko’s because they were expensive–I need to redesign it so that I can fit everything on one side and print it on my own printer–but they looked great. I was afraid the cops would stop me, so I dressed in black and did the cars in the shadows. A., who came along and helped, wore a light shirt and leafletted cars under lights so that more people would see them. Neither of us was arrested. There were lots of cops, but they were just there to direct traffic (this is a heavily parent-involved district. People had to park at the mall and get bussed over).