So I have one duty left for this semester — to input the syllabi for next semester by next Friday. I said to the office assistant who reminded me of this, “Okay, but if I enter it later, it doesn’t matter, right? There’s some time closer to semester when this is possible, right? Because when I started working here, [previous previous office assistant] told me it was no big deal and I could enter my syllabi later on…” “Oh!” she said, with wide eyes. “But that has a negative effect on your evaluation.” “Huh?” “Your points. You will have fewer …

It strikes me why Korean profs so often get their grades into the computer system so quickly. Yes, now, after so many years here… My grades went into the computer system at the Uni only a little more than 24 hours ago, and already, my email inbox is bursting with pleas. Last night — get this, New Year’s Eve! — I got 12 emails in total. Today, another 3 or 4. Of these, exactly four have been valid (in my books) inquiries. One was from a student who was wondering why she got an F when she’d done all her …

So like I mentioned, Friday I was told that I was expected to submit what I’m currently calling a “teaching dossier” — I’m sure there’s another term I’m supposed to use, but I can’t remember it and I’m too tired to look. Late last night, I finalized my grades, so I had all of today to compile all of the handouts, evaluation forms, syllabi, and other materials I’ve created in the last two years, plus write up a letter describing what, besides my teaching duties, I’ve been doing to enrich the campus, so that someone somewhere will process my department’s …

I’ve finished my grading. It took hours and hours, mostly because I was so busy this semester that all the grades were on scattered pages, listed in different things, and so on. Happily, I don’t need to deal with little attendance papers because attendance isn’t (really) a part of the grades — though I use it as a tie-breaker, on the basis of the notion that people who care more about their grades come to class more. And, as I’ll mention below, I also use it to track and adjust peer-evaluated class participation grades, since one cannot participate if one …

I’m happy to report that I’ve finished the large majority of the grading work I need to do. I have some calculating of numbers, and so on, but I really only have two classes left to enter the data for — unfortunately, my largest class is one of them. I hope to finish that tonight, leaving me all of Saturday to do the calculations. But I will need to collate a bunch of grades that students assigned to one another during the peer evaluation segment of the “discussion leadership” section of my conversation class. Which is very important and useful, …