Midterms

 

I've spent the better part of the past nine hours drafting two midterms for the English courses I teach. It dawned on me as I went through the process that writing the exams was actually a test of sorts for me. 

As I poured over the material we've covered thus far in the semester, I reflected on all those classroom hours, and I began to wonder just how much of what I tried to teach actually soaked in. With every multiple choice, true/false, and short answer question I created, I had to ask myself:  were my teaching methods effective? Did I clearly communicate this concept? Later, as the night dragged on, I thought about the phrase parents often tell their kids:  this hurts me more than it hurts you.

Off to bed now. My head hurts.