I’ve been teaching every semester since 1982. If you want to get all mathy about it, I also taught summer classes for several years. That means—except for four semesters, during which I’ve had sabbatical or a sick leave—I’ve spent a whole lot of time sitting at a table (almost always my kitchen table, for some reason) over the last 30 years, grading papers, exams, and essays.

You’d have thought it would’ve gotten easier by now, wouldn’t you?

Ha! The only way you’d think that was if you didn’t do your own grading.

The rest of you know exactly what this is about: For myriad reasons, the process of reading and critiquing the written work of dozens of students (this semester I have a total of 54) never becomes what you might think of as “easy.”

Maybe it’s because I insist on reading what they have to say (I have friends who argue passionately against this method) and giving…

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