16 October 2010

Sunday Salon: My Plea for Understanding

Some of you may have noticed three horrors the past month or so: 1) I'm not updating on a regular schedule, and instead posts are going up all willy-nilly; 2) I'm not responding to comments in a timely fashion - or at all in some cases; and 3) I'm not commenting on your blog posts often. I must apologize - at least for the second and third.

As always, life drops giant unexpected surprises into your lap. My job tends to dramatically reduce my reading and blogging time, primarily because as a composition instructor, I spend hours and hours every week reading and grading student papers; and as a literature professor, I spend hours and hours (re)reading books and plays and of course grading student papers; and as a film professor, I spend hours and hours (re)watching films and of course grading student papers.  See the problem here is definitely the student papers. With 125 students writing papers which are on average 6 pages long and doing so five or six times a semester, it's roughly 4000 pages of reading, commenting, and assigning value. I should definitely add that in to my yearly page count.....

This semester, I have one extra class to teach, a composition class, and I've agreed to co-chair the Retention Committee. I also work on formal assessments for a developmental writing course - that's even more papers to read - and I'm trying to formulate a plan to address key issues in developmental instruction at the college as well.

Now that I've totally bored you with my job, back to the apology. I am definitely still reading your comments, so please don't think they aren't appreciated just because I haven't been responding to them! As for your blog posts, I am most definitely reading them even if I'm not responding. For some of you, there probably has been no change, as I am a horrible lurker 75% of the time anyway. I even joked at BEA/BBC that I was going to start posting He-eyy on every post I read just so the blogger would know I was there.

So for now, here is my "I-swear-I'm-still-reading-your-blogs" HEY-EYY

32 comments:

  1. lol I almost never comment on the blog posts I read, only if I have something specific to say. I do like the idea of saying just hey though!

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  2. Hello there! Just popping by to say that I love your blog, and that I've given it an award!

    Take a peek, and thanks for blogging:
    http://subtlemelodrama.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-say-shotgun-you-say-wedding.html

    Bethany x

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  3. Don't feel bad--I have been pretty absent this week and I feel like it is only going to continue as I recently got a second job. I feel bad when I don't get to blog as often as I'd like, but life gets in the way I suppose!

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  4. Trisha, I feel your pain...I just received 4 sets of new essays Thursday and Friday myself...it can be daunting for sure. I have colleagues who can just mechanically grade till they are done. I think too much, make suggestions, write comments, etc. and offer revisions to my students...Oy.

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  5. Is that the Fonzie Hey-ayyyy? Please don't worry girlie. I don't sweat that small crap. All that reading would put me out too. I review medical records on the computer almost all day, so when I come home at night, there's no way I'm reading AND commenting. Lurking is an art form, I say. Hang in there and talk to you later.

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  6. Wow, you are busy! Teaching so many different classes would really make it tough.

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  7. Your 3 blogging horrors sound like my, uh, blogging normal. I just probably don't have as good a set of excuses. ;-)

    Sometimes you just have to believe the elusive Megan is out there even when she is not showing her face on her blogs or the blogs of others. I changed to a job that demands much more sitting at a computer, and now, despite my love for blogs and blogging, the last thing I want to do on a weeknight is sit back down in a desk chair and gaze at the glowing screen, much less hammer out a post or one of these freakishly long comments I prefer leaving.

    Anyway, I try not to worry about it too much and advise you to do the same. ;-D

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  8. Everyone has times like that ... I'm not envious of you at all. I can't imagine after all of that you even want to read or write at all.

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  9. Heyy-eyy! We've all been there, in one way or another. (Still, that amount of papers to read and grade IS kinda daunting. I have no idea how you have time to do anything else, much less read books and ramblings on our blogs.)

    Maybe I'm speaking for myself, but I don't think many of us are going anywhere, so no worries. :)

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  10. That is completely understandable. I am the same lately and I cannot really help it, but I still feel a little bad about it because I'd love to be able to respond to other bloggers more.

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  11. I'm guilty as charged of 1), 2) and 3) as well, so you have my complete understanding! But you would even if I weren't, of course. I've come to realise that if I want blogging to continue to be a part of my life (which I VERY MUCH do, of course), then I'm going to have to approach it in a more hectic and less regular way. I do feel guilty about it, but hey, it's better than nothing, right?

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  12. Wow!! All of that reading must be tough. You have a better excuse than I do. I am guilty of all three and sometimes I think I lack the discipline needed for successful blogging. Oh well I will keep at it.

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  13. We understand Trish; many of us have lives that put blogging and sometimes reading on the back burner. I've felt that way lately. Take Care

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  14. No feeling bad allowed. Sounds like you are super busy! I hope you are having fun :)

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  15. I only have 25 students writing weekly papers and it, along with other things, knocks the wind out of my sails. I haven't managed much reading lately. I don't know how professors, and other classroom teachers, manage it all.

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  16. We know you're here! We completely understand and love you to bits even if your posting is more sporatic. :)

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  17. I check in on blogs but do not always comment, I also only reply to a comment on my blog if it makes sense to do so. Don't feel bad! You are very busy and I love your blog!

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  18. I think everyone should post "He-eyy" (or the variation of his or her choice) on every post they read. What a great idea!

    I know I certainly understand super-busyness. It's fun to know what it is that keeps you busy when you're not blogging. After reading your post, all I can say is holy cow! That's a lot of pages. Maybe you could start reviewing student papers (anonymously, of course) on eclectic / eccentric... :-)

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  19. Funny - I just wrote an apology on my own blog! Good luck with work! Hang in there, and don't worry about us :) We still love you!

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  20. The funny thing is I think that stack in the photo may be smaller than what you actually have to read. Take it easy, lady!

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  21. Oh my! It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate right now! I hope that things aren't too stressful for you and that you are able to get at least a little relaxing and good reading in there!

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  22. Heyyyy back atcha. I think we can all totally relate!

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  23. Oh my gosh! That is quite a load of reading; you've definitely got your hands full. What great classes to be teaching, though.

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  24. Heyy- eyyy!!!! You are one busy chick! I had no idea you did all that and oh you can bet I would be adding a page count line for all that bonus reading you do :)

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  26. Dude, you just convinced me to continue teaching middle school. Hahahaha.

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  27. I need to get away from this country, the people, the weather! I need to see if its where I am in life thats making me be like this....

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  28. I once (way back long long ago) told a professor that if she would assign fewer page/word counts then it wouldn't take her as long to grade papers and I was doing her a favor for suggesting it. I think I got a dirty look.
    YIPPEE for awesome educators!!!! Hey-eyy

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  29. I feel your pain! As a daughter of two educators, I saw how much work they had to do at home grading all of those assignments. I always suggested that they assign less work because it meant less grading, but they never listened to me. Good luck with all those papers!

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  30. Oh Trisha--I can't even imagine. As a grad school student I graded composition papers each semester--for my last semester I had two classes in addition to the grading. I can't fathm teaching all those classes and grading and researching. Hope things smooth out for you a bit, but we all know you're still here or there or wherever. ;)

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Talk to me baby!