Annoyed

Ok. I'm officially annoyed. No, wait. I'm pissed. With my students. I presume none of them read this blog (we're not facebook friends or anything), so I will write with impunity.

When we were undergrads did we wait until the VERY last minute to read the requirements for an assignment, get very confused, then email the instructor with stupid questions? Did we have selective attention during class and actually tune OUT the important information that would make said stupid questions irrelevant? Oh yeah. That's right. We paid attention. We, for the most part, at least started assignments earlier than 4 hours before it was due to be sure we were good to go. So, why, God, why have I been cursed this semester?

Now, the thought did cross my mind that I was not clear about the assignment when I talked about it numerous times in class or in my posted, on-line instructions or on my assignment sheet... But then I hear my own thoughts buzzing around in my head and think: Nope. No, I've been perfectly clear. Many times I've been perfectly clear. This is bolstered by a number of drafts my good, sweet, angels of students have written me a week before the due date. These papers, folks, were lovely. No confused questions attached with the drafts. No annoying clarifications. Just well-written papers handed in by rubric-following students. I love them.

On the other hand, I am started to get fairly miffed by the handful of students that think that last-minute scrambling to write an important paper and then emailing me at the last minute will go unnoticed by me. It's not. I see you! I know you've been putting this off even though you've known about it for... um, I don't know... 6 weeks! WTF! Grrrrrrrrrrr. I growl at you, students.

Annoyed. I'm officially annoyed. I have about 12 hours to deflate, relax and greet my little students tomorrow morning. Of course, I can't treat my little annoyances any differently than my little angels, so I really have to just calm down and let the air out of my tires. I mean, I never really pulled this stuff in college, but I'm sure I had plenty of friends who did. They're not stupid people, I know. They don't do this on purpose to tick me off, I know. But I suppose I'll never fail to be surprised with what some of my students will think they can get away with.

All I have to say is that if even one of my students comes crying to me on the last day of class about their grade, I'm gonna scream!