If I wanted people to not listen...

...I'd stay at home with my kids. Well, another term is winding down, and I find that a record number of people want to test me and see if I'm playing when I tell them: don't do X, Y, or Z on your research paper and you'll get a zero. I have a record number of zeroes in one class: 8 out of 21. One got it for not handing it in on time; one got it for not meeting the length requirement OR the source requirement; one got it for not submitting it to the mydropbox site and having only one source on his paper; one got it for missing the length requirement by three lines, not having the right MLA header, and not submitting it to mydropbox.com, and the other four got it for not submitting it to mydropbox.com. I had maybe one or two zeros in my other classes PERIOD, and this one class alone had eight. WTF? I'm totally depressed. These fuckers really think I probably get some sort of magnificent glee out of smacking a zero down on their papers, when in fact I'm horridly sad that they can't listen and just DO as asked. They are going to have a rough time when they end up at a job and decide to do their own thing, too! I have told them before that if they have a job and the boss tells them to do a project in X format and it's due by Y time, and they fail to meet that criteria, they can be fired. Then I point out to them that "Fired" starts with an F, which is no small coincidence. I fear that because I joke around with my kids and so obviously love teaching, that they think that they can get away with crap and I'll just ignore it. Well, it's not like I haven't TOLD them repeatedly: I'm not playing. You WILL get a zero. Please do NOT test me!!!

Now, the four people who have no submissions for My Drop Box might be able to resubmit. My boss told me that there had been a few hiccups with the system this term, so it's possible that the kids submitted them and the system didn't process it. There's no real way of telling. But the other four have to stand. YIKES.

And I can just now imagine the scuttle across campus: "Damn that Kira, she's such a bitch, she GAVE me a ZERO!" No, fucker, you gave yourself a zero when you tried to test me! I could not have been more clear. I spent THREE SEPARATE CLASS TIMES in each class going over the criteria needed to get a graded research paper. If the student missed all three classes, I can't be arsed with him or her. Blaming others for your own mistakes may have gotten you far in life as of now, but the bus ride stops here!

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So, I had three separate male students come up to me after their exams and thank me for wearing "interesting" shirts to class :P Apparently my fashion sense is what got 'em to class. You know what? I'm ok with that. If my tits can get them to come to class, maybe they'll learn. I never thought a decent rack would be a teaching asset. Once upon a time, a guy who was hitting on me in college told me that he found Medieval Literature boring, and the only way he'd come to a class like that would be if I were teaching it and wearing a mini-skirt and a low-cut top. I thought he was just joking around with me. Now I know the truth: he's right. T and A WILL get your male students to show up more regularly and pay attention to teacher.

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I am now traversing the gauntlet of fire. If I can make it until noon on Thursday without losing my mind, I'll be fine. I have SO much grading to do, and that is when the grades are due to the school. Then I have to attend a girl scout meeting that night. Alex will be in Paris then, so I should be able to get a decent night's sleep at least. Then on Friday I can clean up the house in preparation for Master Alexander's arrival. I can't wait! The kids will be with Rob from Wednesday until Sunday, and then I get them back Sunday so that we can take off on Monday for my sister's house in Texas. My mom reminded me: you'd better not let Alex give you a massage at Rose's house! That made me laugh. She's probably right. I love my sister dearly, but the fact that I take my shirt off to get a proper back massage with massage oil would shock her to her core. How on earth are we sisters?