About Me

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Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada
Always up for a new adventure. I love Musicals, photography, my family, road trips, and beads. So far I have been fortunate enough to teach in Japan, South Korea, Kenya, and the Canadian Arctic. Currently in my 5th year in the frozen North and up for any new adventure.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Joy and Agony of Exams

It is that time of year that most look at with either dread or delight depending on their situation. As a teacher it is mostly delight with a hint of dread; delight that the time has come to torture your students, and dread that you now have to untangle their answers to formulate marks. I rather enjoy making up exams, figuring out the wording to best jump start a brain without giving the answer away. Thinking back to my days as a student, I remember how much I would freak out at exam time; unable to sleep and nervous about the outcome. Agonizing over my math and science exams, trying to reword yet another view on a piece of poetry for english exams. Now as the teacher, I find myself trying to balance a fine line between not too easy and not soul-crushingly hard. Trying to be fair to those who have studied and worked all year and yet still challenging. Now with 2 exams down and 2 to go the results stand thus: English (pretty easy but students were lazy, I actually didn't write that one), Math (perhaps a little too long and difficult), over the next 2 days we will have the Science and Social studies exams (both written by me so we will see how it goes). As my students write I find I have plenty of time to catch up on the odd pit of paper work and report cards that are due end of the week. From a teacher's point of view the week is long but not very difficult, a bit boring and yet entertaining at the same time. For the students it had been mostly a week of agony with the possibility of joy when the week is over (and of a tiny bit of worry over their report card marks). The year is winding down, boxes are being packed and classrooms are looking a bit bare as things get cleaned up for the summer. It has that bittersweet feeling about it.