Midterm Fever!

This is what I took home this afternoon just after classes. To be marked and assessed by Monday. But I've got plenty of time to finish all this marking: this afternoon, all day tomorrow and Monday morning. So much for a teacher's so-called "long holidays!" The long holidays hardly make up for the the weekends spent marking my students' tests and homework. Midterm exams add to the load of work. And being your own boss isn't always a bed of roses. So, this is why I haven't been around much lately.

Too much work and no play resumes nicely my "blogless" week. Alkis was away on a business trip in Germany, I came back from work well after 9 pm and there was no one to give me a big hug - the only exception being my Diary...my paper-oriented diary. However hard I tried to explain all the great things I've done for it, like promoting it to electronic, it won't learn!  It's pretty much like switching from the new TypePad to the old TypePad. So My Diary decided to switch back to its...paper version! How sad!

Yet sadness flies away on the wings of time, so I'm sure I'll talk my paper-oriented diary into switching back to its electronic nature. Well, at least I hope so ...hope dies last, after all.But what really makes me happy today is that Alkis is coming back tonight.

Comments

[Agnes]

Well, I hope you get to relax a bit, Anastasia :-)

[Andy]

Good luck with all that marking! I wish I could help!!

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[Lisa A]

I was very busy also and I know how midterm can be very busy. We were having midterm exams too and I will also have to mark a lot of work from my students. In art they do theory and practise. This is mean I have to mark papers AND projects! I hope that you will find time to relax between your marking. And good luck to all your students. Abbracia e bacia

[Alexia M]

I was beginning to worry about you as you very rarely stay away from blogging for more than three days! And I'm very glad to see you back! Like Alkis, I was also at ITB Berlin as area manager of The Netherlands. It was exhausting!I was back home earlier this afternoon. But at least I have a day off tomorrow!! :-)

[Faith Barndt]

I understand your dilemma, Anastasia. We just had report card grades due to the office, which meant a lot of grading, averaging and scanning onto scan sheets. This past wk and this coming week we have FCAT testing (test given by the State of FL) which places so much emphasis on the kids passing it. The third grade classes will be in third grade again if they do not pass this one test. It is totally unfair to them. They have never done this type of test before; they are babies; and all children, ELL just new to the country and the ESE kids with learning disabilities MUST also pass it! It is so stupid!!! Nothing else they have done this year counts in their favor!!! The teachers are so stressed; administration adds more stress because our "school grade", extra money for the school, and of course, their reputations as administrators also hinge on the results of this test. For the past 8 yrs we have been an "A" graded school but we do not make annual yearly progress (AYP) because we have so many ELL and ESE kids at our school. If we do not make AYP this year, regardless of if we are an A again, the government will step in and control EVERYTHING we do and teach next year...including how we present the materials to the kids. It has been a horrendous year thus far. Hopefully, it will not come to that!!!

[Andreas]

The good thing about this kind of fever is that you won't need a doctor!But take good care of yourself as some heart attacks are brought on by overwork. Considering that you smoke like a chimney you are in the high risk category. Take it easy, let work wait a bit and enjoy the weekend. Filakia!!!

[walid]

Habebti.
Hello and a very great wishes to you from the sunny Lebanon.
It is the warm weather which you love to have.So please take a good chance using it for a good rest on the beach.
As they say Woman's work will never Done,it is true for a woman How come for a teacher who work with all her good heart and manors for the respect of teaching the generation.With all respect You are a teacher of life.Home sweet home wish Alkis will arrive safe I know you will be there with a big Hug.Please take good care ,God Bless.
With Love Walid.

[Lakis Ioannou]

I still believe that teachers have a really long holiday - that's about 100 days yearly in Cyprus including Christmas, Easter, the summer and all other official school holidays - October 1/ October 28 / November 13 / January 30 / Green Monday / March 25 / April 1 / May 1 / Whit Monday. Not including the Christmas and Easter holidays, the school year from mid September to end of June has only....38 weekends!

[Christina]

Kalimera Anastasia mou. I have just got up and am enjoying my second frappe while reading your blog. I see that you have a lot of work to finish but I hope that you will make time to relax a bit. I sometimes have to finish work over the weekend - luckily not too often.

[Constantinos]

Hope you get a well deserved rest today.

[Tina]

Like your other friends have already said, I hope you have been able to have some relaxing moments(and with Alkis--even better!) this weekend. As you know, my husband is an elementary school teacher, so I know how much time is spent devoted to his class outside of the "working" hours.

I hope you'll be pleased with your student's grades, once you are done marking them all.

[Anastasia]

It is, indeed, so unfair for those kids to have to take a test regardless of their efforts during the school year and despite their young age! In Cyprus, there are also many foreign children mainly from eastern European countries and Greek is a second language. They can normally enrol to Elementary school and are integrated with Greek Cypriot pupils. However, there are free extra Greek lessons for them just after school which allow them to catch up with the native speakers. And they certainly don't have to take any tests at all. In less than a year, they can use Greek almost as a mother tongue. This said, I'm not against examinations and tests as most students would only study for exams. However, in some cases examinations can exert a pernicious influence on education.

[Anastasia]

Hmmm....I get the hint, Andreas. I haven't given up smoking yet, but I have considerably cut down on it. Work has to be done, though....despite the health risks!

[Anastasia]

It's been sunny and warm over here as well, Walid, but I'm afraid not warm enough to go to the beach. Hopefully soon.

[Anastasia]

To be honest, I haven't really counted a teacher's holidays! I trust you and let me add that these are well deserved holidays despite the fact that most teachers have work to do during these 100 days off teaching.

[Anastasia]

Despite the load of work, I had lunch with Alkis at a nearby village and enjoyed the sunny weather and the green fields. It was a nice break from marking.

[Kofla Olivieri]

Good luck with the paperwork!

[Stefania]

Well in a few days it's easter so I'm sure you will have plenty of time to get a good rest and enjoy yourself. Take care.

[Faith Barndt]

Anastasia and Lakis, I agree 100% these days off are WELL-DESERVED!!!! I am coming up to Spring break at the end of this week and I must say, I am looking forward to sleeping past 5:30 a.m. and not being in bed by 8 PM (except on weekends). It will allow my blood pressure to resume normal levels and my energy to gain a normal level (one can hope). We get about 60 days off during the summer and people here complain because we get a salary during the summer, however, we have our checks pro-rated so we can have a summer pay. My brothers are always complaining about how many days off we have but now they cannot... My one brother is a fire fighter and every 3 wks he gets a full week off and he works 24 hours on shift and 48 hours off. My other brother is a postal worker and they are going to Monday - Friday and no more weekend duties.... so they get time off too... plus their vacation time. AND he rides in HIS car all day, with no small children irritating him and he listens to music all day while he does his job!!! I guess our jobs are all relative!

[Anastasia]

Just like you, Faith, I love working with kids and I do have a good laugh when they...imitate me! However, it's high time people realised that our holidays are well deserved! I work on Saturdays as well while many friends of mine are office workers who can have days off whenever they like PLUS all weekends. I can rarely enjoy a long weekend away and I often have marking to finish on Sundays!