Investment Tip

I just posted final grades for the semester. I realized tonight that my overactive conscience - the thing that keeps me up at night feeling bad about the time I said the f-word in a high school assembly - is counterproductive when it comes to teaching. Here is why:

1. I spend an inordinate amount of time fretting over the grades my students earn on assignments, even when they clearly wrote the paper in a pot-induced haze or in some dialect of Esprianto.

2. I spend a ridiculous amount of energy worrying about the final grades my student earn - even those students who are absent a total of 18 times for a class that clearly warns: "You must attend class. I will allow for 3 absences throughout the semester. For every absence after 3, I will deduct 1/3 grade."

3. I am now experiencing butterflies in my stomach because I have posted the grades and will shortly receive any challenges to the grades.... and the student evaluations of the class.

Even with all that, I enjoy it too much to stop teaching. I love to watch a student "get it" and write a really fantastic sentence, or craft an excellent argument, or explain to me why a piece of strategic communication is or is not effective.

I guess I just have to learn to deal with the internal combustion this career is creating. A little financial tip for you: Invest in Petpo-Bismol. You'll make a killing off me!