Last updated on November 26, 2023
Night after night, I find myself grading papers well into exhaustion. Often, well after midnight. My weekends are spent grading, too. In fact, right now I’m pausing between papers to gather my thoughts before yet more grading.
Teaching this semester continues to interfere with everything that isn’t school-related. At times, school interferes with school, as grading and preparing lectures keeps me from completing various tasks required of professors.
Feeling overwhelmed is too much for me. Teaching matters to me, but I cannot maintain this pace and function well.
I could manage smaller classes or fewer classes. Grading over 100 assignments every week or two is simply too much, especially since I’m teaching first-year composition and reading courses. The amount of feedback necessary to help students precludes simple assignments and quick grading.
Teaching still has its fun moments and I know I’m helping some students. That might be enough for many people to fight through the exhaustion and long hours.
Right now, I’m leaning towards doing something else after this school year. Most likely, I’ll search for contract work and freelance projects.
We cannot relocate for family reasons, so I cannot apply for work at college or universities in other places.
I had thought about applying for a tenure-track post at the university, since that would pay much more for the same amount of work. But, I decided that even more money cannot offset the cost to my family and me.
The semester ends in four weeks. During the break, I’ll be busy preparing for the next semester. It might be one last semester, something I’m trying to process.
Pride and ego suggest I try to keep teaching because that career path was my goal; all these years of study was so I could become a professor.
Family and health, however, remind me that most jobs aren’t 60 to 70 hours each week, plus two hours of commuting five days a week. That’s 70-80 hours, total, invested in teaching. Sure, you get winter and summer “breaks” to recharge, but that’s simply not enough for me.
Again, if I had 20 students per course? That would be 80 papers to grade, slightly more than half the workload I will have next semester. If I had three courses of 25, that would be 75 students. Again, quite manageable for a writing course. And if I taught something other than writing, the larger courses would be less demanding.
Writing and teaching are things I love.
I love my family and want to maintain my health, too.