Instead of relaxing like the students over break, teachers find themselves looking at a large pile of exams.
On average, Providence Academy teachers teach four class sections, which results in around 100 final exams a year. The teachers might not think of this as a break. They have to prioritize their family, Christmas traditions and grading dozens upon dozens of pages filled with multiple choice, short answers and essays.
Teachers all consider essays the hardest to grade.
PA teacher Ms. Angela Lambert stated, “The hardest portion to grade is the essays. They require a great deal of reading and thoughtfulness.”
Teachers also make sure that the tests are graded on time. Mr. Ian Skemp stated, “I usually take a day to go to a coffee shop or my local tobacconist to get a huge chunk done. Otherwise, I’ll stay up after the kids go to sleep. Grading into the night isn’t so bad if I don’t have to go to work the next day.”
Teachers must juggle the regular Christmas traditions too.
Mrs. Angela Lambert, a PA teacher, stated, “Christmas is a very busy time in family life. I focus on the tasks at home during Christmas and spending time with family. It is also one of the only times a year I get to see my sister and her kids who live in San Diego and my brother who has been in the Air Force for the past six years.”
Though teachers have a very busy Christmas season, their opinions about whether or not they should happen before or after the holiday break vary.
Ms. Lambert stated, “I see pros and cons to finals being before break and being after break. It’s hard to pick a side, a person has to apply prudence either way. The work has to get done either way, and students have to balance prayer, family and school no matter what.”
On the other side of this debate, some teachers enjoy having exams before break.
Mr. Skemp stated, “I like having them before. Otherwise, I have to grade them while teaching at the same time. I don’t care what the students think about it.”
Even though grading takes up a lot of time, teachers still enjoy their break from school.