Teachers ... taking exam papers out of town

[debthaven]

I'm working six days this week, two of them out of town. I also have 41 finals to mark.

I want to take my exam papers with me, but I'm extremely anxious about it. I do occasionally carry around exam papers, but until now, only when I'm driving directly from home to somewhere else (ie I took them to my dentist appt last week, and marked a bunch in the waiting room. Then I came straight home from the dentist.) I'll probably bring some to my second job next week because I have a long lunch break. But again, I'm driving from home to that second job, and straight back home again.

In this situation, I'm driving to the local train station, taking train 1, then train 2, then train 3, and then a bus. Ditto on the way back (but in reverse).

I'm thinking I should photocopy a bunch (10 or 15 or 20), leave the copies at home, and only travel with the ones I've photocopied.

I'm very careful but you never know what can happen. 

Thoughts?

ETA: My colleagues all take theirs with them in this situation, they think I'm crazy to be so concerned about it.

[debthaven]

Good thought Sroo, and faster too. Thanks!

ETA: I'm still curious about what other teachers do though (or people in other professions where their documents aren't digitalized).

[irishpad]

When I was in your situation before (taking exams with me to grade) I made copies as an insurance backup.   I took the originals with me and would only have made use of the copies if the originals were lost.    I didn't want to risk losing the students hard work either through my fault or misfortune.    I no longer teach, but now I would use the scanning method since that is so easy!  

[Deleted]

I am VERY careful about student work because I refuse to get into the "I turned in, and you lost it" argument.  I don't lose anything.  Everything is clipped together.  Make-up work goes into a specific box until it is graded.  I frequently go to school just so I don't bring things home, but when I do, it is in a bag together with nothing else.

All that said, in this day and age, I am much less worried about losing anything.  Almost everything is saved on the chrome book we issued.  If they happened to say I lost it, I would simply ask them to reprint it RIGHT NOW.  

That's not exams, though, which I assume are handwritten.  I've never taken them home since the schedule gives me plenty of time to grade them at school.  Back in the day, as they say, I probably did as an adjunct, but I don't know that I worried about them.  The truth is that exams change very few grades unless they are heavily weighted.  I only taught freshman comp classes where the exam was just a final paper.  Not really a big deal one way or the other.

HOWEVER . . . I once had a friend who is a college professor leave a set of research papers in an airport bar.  That was also back in the day.  What a mess to recreate them.  

If they are easy to scan or copy, do so.  If not, I wouldn't stress that much.  Just be careful and keep up with them.  And stay out of bars!

[debthaven]

Yes these are all handwritten, and they count for 30% of the final marks.

I'll scan 10 of them today and take the originals with me.

Thanks!

[tractor]

My wife takes her students papers/tests everywhere, even on vacation ☹️. She does have to be careful who sees them, but other than that she has no issue traveling with them.

[debthaven]

I'm really careful but you just never know.

I ended up scanning 15. I'll take the 15 originals (as irishpad used to do).

But then, oh irony, this morning a colleague asked me to pick up her papers and bring them to her ... out of town. LOL! But I'll pack hers in my suitcase (unlike mine which I want to mark on the train).