In my Archaeology class we just turned in our second take-home test for the semester. After deadline had passed for the papers to be turned in (10 minutes after the start of class), the professor began picking up the pile of tests that were on a desk at the front of the class. But rather than just straightening them into a pile she could slip into her briefcase, she seemed to be carefully reorganizing the order they were in. I asked, "Are you sorting those tests?" She said, "Yes, from crappy to happy. And yours by chance is on the bottom."
She went on to explain to the class, or at least those close around, that she liked to sort them in that order so that she could get over the drudgery of reading the crappy tests first and then enjoy spending more time actually grading the decent tests. She expected that after the first 4 or 5 tests the rest would be all B's and A's anyway.
I guess that's a variant on the old idea of tackling your hardest tasks when you're fresh and then reward yourself with easier or more pleasant tasks when you've got them out of the way. But I don't think I've ever heard of a teacher being so up front about doing that. And now, even though I did the best I could on the test, I worry that I may have let her down. She's got me pegged for an anal retentive perfectionist anyway.
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