Journal: Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Yesterday I made a wonderful discovery. In between teacher-parent conferences, I managed to read, comment on, and grade 37 student essays – all in less than two hours. (In the past, that many papers would have taken at least seven hours.) I did this by employing a very simple strategy: read more quickly, make only a few marks on the paper, and comment briefly. It was a marvelous experience for me. I felt like I was sailing through the essays instead of slogging through them. What I find especially astonishing about this is that these kinds of discoveries happen to me all the time. I’m constantly finding new ways to do things, new things to notice, and new ideas to ponder. In that sense, I guess I’m somewhat of a pioneer or explorer, hiking the uncharted territory of each day and keeping a sharp eye out for strange sightings and unusual breakthroughs. Oddly enough, my little discovery yesterday turned the entire day into a relaxing, satisfying experience. My conferences proceeded in an orderly, professional fashion, and later I spent some quality time in the April sunshine in Wilcox Park. I’m sure I made some discoveries in the park, and as I enjoyed a quiet dinner with my son, although I can’t recall them specifically now. Perhaps they will dawn on my sometime later today.