There are certainly things that I hate to do. Grading is right near the top of the list. This is, of course, the backbone of teaching work and what I am paid to do. So, reluctantly, I must do it. But I don’t ever really want to.
Here is the problem as I see it: Too many iterations of the same thing. It is not so much that it is boring. Grading is depressing. I see students making the same mistakes over and over again across the board and I see the same shoddy plagiarism efforts over and again and slowly become jaded on all of those minds. This is in sharp contrast to how things are in the classroom where they are often lively and creative and bring strong talents to bear.
So what is the difference? I don’t really have an answer. I know that it could be the same problem I’ve been having as a writer: Butt in Chair or BIC for short. Taking the time and patience to sit down and do the work is really hard. Sometimes it is hard because you don’t have the time, but more often it is hard because when you do have the time it is much easier and more fun to drown in distractions.