Tuesday, 01 June 2010 -- Day 163 (176)

I finished the last of my grading for the fast track class......now my summer can begin in earnest. Kenzie talked w/ one of these fast track students who happened to be talking to one of my former students. My husband and in-laws like to tease me that my students probably call me "Bitchy Burns" so Kenzie asked these students if that was true. They both agreed that it wasn't, that I was tough but very fair. This assessment pleased me b/c I try very hard to be fair in my grading and in my treatment of all students. I learned that fairness from Mom. For example, she worked hard to keep all of our Christmas presents equal, almost down to the penny. She wanted to make sure none of us thought she loved any one of us more or less than the others. As another example, when I received my master's degree, my family gathered at a restaurant to celebrate my accomplishment. Mom and Dad gave me a beautiful piece of luggage, and then Mom proceeded to hand out envelopes w/ money to each of my siblings w/ the same amount as they spent on my luggage. She had to keep it equal, keep it fair. My husband thought this was unnecessary, but I knew, as a mother, she didn't want any of her kids to feel better than the others. It keeps us humble, that no matter what we accomplish, we're not any better than anyone else.