One of the reasons I loathe grading in intermediate courses, and my mood is bleak, is that I have to read too many texts like this:
The adoptive mother discovers that her son’s birth parents may still be alive, and may not have given their child up willingly. She makes a great effort to contact them, and to discover the truth. Her concern for the birth parents shows that she does not love the child.
This may be why people give true/false and multiple choice exams. It is not just about ease of grading, it is self-protection.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Ouch!
…and thanks for the comment on the “Sweet Dreams” entry. When I wrote it I didn’t hold anything back. Must have been the chardonnay. I didn’t think anyone would ever see it. I know. I know. This is the INTERNET! Your comment and empathy warmed my heart. As for the apps., I guess, I feel they must be perfect and that I have so much riding on them that I have obsessed to the point of near madness…The most important one is for one of the better schools in Newton. I want it so badly and have obsessed over the essay questions on standards based education and teaching diverse populations….
Ouch, yes: I should remember the days of teaching English 1A, people wrote down every kind of nutty argument as though they were reasonable. I took it with more of a sense of humor then.
Job applications, you know I am not usually one to say ‘stop being a perfectionist and just send them out’, but this may be one of those cases. Adages: the essay is just to land you the interview. You could consider saving some of your brilliance for the interview, so that they will say the essay was good but the interview was better…reel them in nice and steady! 😉
Thank you! Thank you! I did it…It’s done…A weight is lifted.
Yay, Barbie !!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
And just think, the student who wrote the paper you quote will probably have children at some point (if they don’t already).
*wince*