Productive Work Avoidance

I should be grading. I have a set of papers that should be completed before I work on final exam portfolios. There are quarter grades, exam grades, semester grades, parent phone calls, not to mention the cleaning of classrooms, offices, and bulletin boards. There is schoolwork to be done!

I am not doing it. It looms over me, but I have much more pressing things to do. I have organized the photos that I want to add to my wall in the living room. I have researched point and shoot cameras that all seem far too expensive for my needs. I have triple checked the hotel and flights for a vacation that is still several months away. The exercise room sound system has been checked and needs some new parts that I should research.

I’m not neglecting schoolwork. I did a review of my Freshman English lesson structure and created a model that I can use in the future, even though I am not teaching Freshman English next year. I have put all the school dates on my personal calendar. I have added my son’s college dates to the calendar and identified possible days to visit him. Soon, I’ll coordinate these with my school calendar. See how efficient I am!

During finals, responding to student work is both easier and more difficult than the rest of the year. It is easier because I know that these assignments will not be revised. Many students will not even review them, although they will be available online. Thus, I write fewer comments and do more “scoring” and less “grading.” However, these papers are not only measuring the students’ skills, they are also an indicator of the success of their teacher! As I read their work, I judge myself. Their final exams are a clear measure of how far we have traveled together – and I was the driver!

Grading final exam portfolios is slow. I anguish over each student! I am cheering for them and I am crestfallen when I see issues that we have not been able to adequately address. I am comforted knowing that our outstanding sophomore teachers will be able to pick up where I left off and fill in the gaps. Yet, I think about what those sophomore teachers will say when they encounter these deficits, “Who did you have for Freshman English?” Gulp!

So I reorganized the silverware drawer in the kitchen. I wrote thank you notes. I backed up the computer. I created a Google document for Friday night service announcements! I got my Father’s Day cards and made a visit to the local art fair.

Procrastination is putting off work that needs to be done. I freely admit that I am doing that. But I am not watching television, eating candy, surfing the web, or even reading the Hugo nominees (which I really do want to do). Oh, no! My procrastination is productive. My procrastination allows me to check off many items on my to-do list!

But I know I am avoiding the larger and more difficult grading tasks.

I liked writing this blog post, but I should be grading finals!