Taking a break

I forgot how exhausting it is to read and mark essays. Every time I teach high level writing courses I tell myself that I never want to do this again, and it's only because of the marking. I love reading their thoughts and watching the development in their writing style. What I don't love, however, is all the time it takes to give helpful feedback. I understand now why English lit. teachers and professors simply give what appears to be a random grade to essays - they don't have time to justify their decision when there's a stack of essays still waiting for them.

How useful is essay writing anyway? Outside of the academic world, when and where do people ever write an essay? It reminds me of a dialogue from my dear friend "C":
"And now, Tarkheena, tell us your story. And don't hurry it--I'm feeling comfortable now."
Aravis immediately began, sitting quite still and using a rather different tone and style from her usual one. For in Calormen, story-telling (whether the stories are true or made up) is a thing you're taught, just as English boys and girls are taught essay-writing. The difference is that people want to hear the stories, whereas I never heard of anyone who wanted to read the essays. The Horse and His Boy