A good chunk of this day was passed crunching numbers. You know I'm not a numbers man - no numerista me - but every now and then there's no escape. The only way out is through. So I hunker down to count them beans.

Today's beans involved a course feedback survey that I presented to my classes a little while ago. I asked them to be honest - and anonymous - and it seems they were. Of course, the best any poll like this can do is to present a more or less accurate picture of perceptions, but it's a good thing to see from time to time. The results were about what I thought they'd be.

No real surprises, though I wish there had been a few. Across the board there is dissatisfaction with my approach to grading, yet more than half of my students expect a higher grade in my course than in others they are taking this year. Also, in my 10th and 11th grade classes, the majority claims that other classes demand more of their time. I'm going to have to ponder this ... ponder ... ponder. One question (J) elicited a perfect bell curve from grade 11. That was pretty spectacular - and I have no idea what it means.

Q: So what's the big picture, the bottom line?

A: I ain't perfect.

After all these years, I'm still mixing and matching...nudging this and tweaking that...up on the roof bending that antenna over here over there.

These numbers - and my own sense of what they mean, grounded in day to day experience with these folks - serve to keep me on my toes. In my not so secret heart, I fear they are just what somebody needs to prove that I really ain't no teacher after all. That's my irrational daydream. So, to ward them beasties off, I submit my imperfections to a candid world. It's just another day.