Decoding teacher-speak

I have a stack of papers to grade this weekend. A large stack. The challenge with grading student writing is, as usual, coming up with just the right words to both encourage the writer to do better but, at the same time, convey my dismay (despair) over the lack of effort put into the assignment. In procrastination mode this afternoon, I'm thinking instead about how much I like to volunteer at my son’s school (they have a very generous open-door policy), and whether or not I can fit in an hour or two there next week.

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