Today I started The Annual Great Marking Marathon - marking national exams in English. I look just like the lady in the picture: young, blonde, long-legged and wearing high heels. Or not.Q: Why do I do this?
A: I don't really know. I do it because that's what I do at this time of year.
Q: Do we really need the money that much?
A: No.
I've done it almost every year since 1979 and I suppose I just have a sense of duty and thrift. It's a way of earning extra money (not a huge amount, but a useful sum) so I feel I ought to continue; and in a strange way it brings satisfaction. Well, finishing it brings satisfaction. But I'm a long way from this happy stage. So far I've marked 3 scripts. Out of 240. And it's taken me two hours.
Back to the grind. Let's hope for some really silly answers; like the ones some of you may remember from last year, when candidates had to discuss the expression "The wind is starting to come out of the sails" and two candidates misread this as "The wind is beginning to come out of the snails". They tried hard to explain what this meant but... no.
Right, that's it. Back to work. No time to blog. No time to read blogs. Life is hard; life is earnest.
Ido hope that anyone who managed to successfully explain the wind coming out of the SNAIlS got at least half-marks? :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add that the wind really comes out of the snail's sails when I put my foot on them!
ReplyDeleteHappy marking!
The real question is .... will you continue to do the national marking after you retire?
ReplyDeleteI imagine you to be the sort of marker we need...strict but fair.
ReplyDeleteA friend IRL is just starting on it too except she's doing Uni Law Property papers....sounds sooooo dull and magnificently ernest (even to me a property solicitor!). I bet she longs for snails with wind coming out of every orifice....!
ReplyDeleteGood luck. Hope it goes fast. Lesley x
Happy Marking! Hoping for lots of fun answers ;)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to some of your "best bits"...!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your marking pile.
You could the throwing down the stairs method - no perhaps not. I was never so relieved than when my husband gave up exam marking, it used to hang over the house like a heavy cloud! (though we could do with the fees, come to think of it)
ReplyDeleteHope the cats and Mr life are standing by with tea and treats and encouragment!
Work apace, apace, apace, apace
ReplyDeleteHonest labour bears a lovely face...
Make sure you have a few breaks, though.