Sucker! - 3.20 #sol17 Story Challenge

I'm fortunate to lie in a professional bed largely of my own making. That said, the bed has drawbacks like the fact that it's taken me just under two weeks to review the latest round of student work from the end of third quarter. I aimed for a one-week turnaround, and my estimate was badly off.

This work amounts to a digital portfolio where seventh- and eighth-graders are presenting evidence to justify they've met course standards in reading, writing, and speaking. One of my roles in this process is to confirm their mastery or to send them back to the drawing board with guidance. The upshot: I'm doling out more feedback and fewer grades. There's a lot about these dynamics that I like. That said, it has not been an easy path. New approaches rarely are.

So, I was disproportionately happy just before five this afternoon when I rewarded myself with a treat. I unwrapped a Blow Pop that had been sitting on my desk, waiting for just such a pick-me-up moment. I would enjoy it while reading through the last portfolio. And then, having opened that file, I found I'd already reviewed the work; I'd just overlooked entering the requisite grades.

My sigh of relief was almost as sweet as the sucker's synthetic taste of watermelon.

p.s. Follow-up from Sunday Slice: Wildfire danger appears to have been contained for now.