Mathing. Whenever I grade papers, be it tests, quizzes, or essays, I always tell the students to math behind me. I can't add worth diddly squat, even with a calculator.
I make mistakes sometimes. Usually I say, "Merry Christmas. I'm not going to penalize you because I added wrong." Only yesterday, I couldn't say that.
The last class of the day I made a HUGE addition error. I had no idea how it happened. I had clearly written the correct amount and then I'd overwritten it with an incorrect amount. I added the first three elements of the rubric wrong when I was RECHECKING the grade, of all things.
I remember the essay distinctly. It lost points for being vague... not enough details. Great ideas; insufficient supports. I'd already squeezed as much as I could squeeze out of it.
So I regraded everything. And I checked all her other grades. I looked for every single point I could, and there weren't enough. She finished with a 92. She needed a 93 for exam exemption.
I felt like dirt. She went through the entire weekend thinking she was exam-exempt. She showed up on Monday, thinking it was a time to chill with friends. Nope. She had to review. She has to take the exam tomorrow.
I think we both kind of wish she hadn't double-check my math. Integrity is painful sometimes.
And sometimes teaching is hard.
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