1. Pretend the phrases "I will", "I promise", and "I can" are the vilest profanity imaginable, especially when they proceed the word "by" and a date. Students will understand if you don't get their papers graded, and they'll be content to do boring book work. However, if you promise you'll have grades calculated or a fun activity prepared, they'll resent it if you don't follow through. Promising things you may or may not be able to deliver is a losing proposition. If you do make good on your promise, you won't get any "extra points" for having made the promise in the first place. In fact, your good deed will be more appreciated if it comes as a surprise. On the other hand, if you fail to live up to your word, you lose trust and credibility. Working your tail off to keep the promises you can and feeling guilty about the ones you can't are two sure-fire ways to burn yourself out.

2. Minimize paperwork. The Supreme Court has ruled that it's ok for students to grade each other's papers. Some teachers and students view this practice as lazy, but in reality it's both an efficient grading strategy and a good way to review material. Have the kids trade papers and read off the answers to a quiz or worksheet. Hearing the answers and having to check the classmate's paper will reinforce the objectives of the graded assignment.

Have students keep notebooks or journals of daily work. You can collect them at the end of the quarter or semester and glance over them rather than rigorously grading. The notebook should not be a large part of the grade, but it is a good way to keep students doing daily assignments.

Give multiple-choice tests with scantrons whenever possible. If you want to ask the students to show work on a math problem or write a paragraph, give the test in two parts, one scantron, one written. Teaching communication is important, but if you've graded one or two essays or long problems, you have a good idea of the student's abilities. The rest of the test can be composed of brief questions that assess basic skills and knowledge.

Use problem sets and worksheets that come from the text or a related teachers guide. A lot of teachers feel like they can and should write better materials than those that come with the text. The "can" part is probably true, but the "should" part is just silly. After all, do the textbook authors come to class and teach your students? Do they grade your papers? Go to your faculty meetings? Didn't

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