Assistance

Last week I started covering a different class. A math class this time. One of my priorities was getting their gradebook in order. 

I had to figure out what had been graded, what hadn't, and what was in the gradebook. 

My next step was to grade all the ungraded assignments. (At the same time I was, you know, teaching the class. I mean, I had some time while the kiddos were working on their own, and there was time before and after school, of course.) It was doable. But it felt like so much.

But then I realized that the class had an instructional assistant... 

The instructional assistants (IAs) haven't been input into Google Classroom, so they can't actually access the students' work. But in normal times they would help out with the grading. And I wondered if the class' IA would be willing to try grading in Google Classroom.

So, I asked her. And she was willing. I input her into Google Classroom (I'm not sure if this was technically permitted, so don't tell anyone), and I gave her a brief overview of how to access their work (it's pretty simple once you figure out how to navigate it). 

Since the IA had worked with the teacher for a few years, she knew how Ms. F liked things graded. She knew just how strict to be, just how easy to be. 

And she finished the grading backlog (of two to three months' work) in two days. 

Such a relief. Suddenly, I had one less thing to do.