I never wanted to be an editor, but I feel like it now. Over Thanksgiving, I graded more than 480 pages of student research papers. I’m at it again for the second drafts. I have one more set to go, and I’ll hopefully be done with most of the last round before the break. I’ve probably written a novel’s worth of corrections, but I don’t mind. I feel like it’s my responsibility to give them feedback, and I can be much more focused if I write the comments. However, I wonder if they understand the scribbles I leave them, or if they percieve my comments as rude or harsh. I see each comment, underline, suggestion, and added apostrophe as an act of love, but they may see it differently. I don’t know if they know how much work I put into each paper, but I’m starting to feel it. It’s going to be a long week. I also collected my biology students’ lab notebooks, so the long week will undoubtedly turn into a short weekend. I know I’ll be grading until the new year. Here’s to formative assessment and a good night’s sleep.