Semester Tests. Just the mention of these dreaded exams envelops the room with a sense of doom. Students get nervous and stressed out about what will happen to their average based on this one grade. Will they be off the naughty list and back in mom and dad's good graces? Will they end up grounded for the majority of their holiday vacation? Who knows...it is indeed one of life's greatest mysteries. What is rarely discussed is the teacher's anxiety during these exams. Not only do they reflect on the students...they are a picture of how well the teacher has done his or her job thus far. I often feel like the Grinch. It is as if I am stealing the holiday joy from my students. There will be no Christmas for you if you don't pass this big, ugly, comprehensive test I have created for you! I have an inner dialogue continually racing through my mind. Did I do a good job explaining the subtext in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath? Do they understand the difference between Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets? Will they ever be able to identify gerunds?!?!? These are the questions that keep folks like me up at night. Much like the Grinch, we "puzzle and puzzle til [our] puzzler[s] are sore."1
I am optimistic. I choose to believe that my students are going to do beautifully on their exams next week and that we all will enter into our Christmas break with happy hearts and a sense of accomplishment. No one's shoes will be too tight...everyone's hearts are the sizes they should be...and everyone's heads are properly screwed on. I am not a meanie...seriously. I love roast beast.
1 The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
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