Teachers are adamant about their students turning in assignments on time, and effective time management in general. But when it comes to returning papers? The same principle does not necessarily apply.

This double standard is frustrating, especially when it means that we students have to stay up all night finishing an essay, only to receive feedback months later.

Strict deadlines are necessary, because they give a class structure, and without them hardly anything would get done. Yet, the same standards should apply to teachers as well. If an assignment is returned to the class during a different unit, after the class has already moved on to new material, feedback is no longer as relevant or imperative.

But I am not here to tell teachers how to do their jobs. Rather, I am writing this to appreciate those that take the time out of their busy lives and prioritize grading, because it truly enhances our learning. Not only does punctually returned work help us know how well we are doing in the class overall, it allows students to analyze what went wrong, and learn the material correctly before the next exam.

Besides, even if there wasn’t much to be corrected or much feedback to be received, it’s nice to know if you’re on track, so that you can stay on track.

Overall, assignments that are returned quickly make it much easier for us students to improve on our skills and knowledge, to reflect on previous assignments in order to keep them in mind as we expand on new concepts.

Many teachers already know this, and incorporate speedy feedback in their teaching. To all of those teachers, thank you. We could not appreciate this enough.