Early hours

I've been awake since 2am. I went to bed super early as I wanted to get a proper night's sleep, took a couple of tablets and read for a tiny bit (Sophie Kinsella - author of Confessions of a Shopalholic: very light, very funny and easy to read) and then went to sleep immediately. Woke at 2 and been awake since then. Not funny and not nice. I have that heavy head feeling and gritty eyes sensation and I know it's going to be a shit day. I have my personal tutees to see, most of whom have not sent me the material and will not turn up and then a course this afternoon on designing modules.
The more I think about it the more I realise that law students are a bunch of ingrates. For the module I teach on there is a piece of course work to be handed in this Friday. It really could not be any plainer and yet the questions we have been fielding on it: they want their essay written for them. The questions are not even legal but asking the meaning of not very difficult English words (eg catalyst). And these are students who are supposed to be the creme de la creme? I don't think so. we give them no end of feedback and yet our student reviews in the National Students' Survey are pretty bad and the reason for this is that apparently students don't realise they are being given feedback. Hello? There is generally a large FEEDBACK in bold on the piece of paper? And we teach so as to get them to pass their exams rather than instill any learning or understanding in them. I'm not silly enough to think that everything should be about higher thinking but a bit of thought occasionally goes a long way.
As well as all this it's clearly time for "got to get a summer placement" as I've been asked for numerous references. I don't mind giving the reference but sometimes I wonder what a student wants me to write: "He appears well prepared for tutorials but really I can't say for certain as he never opens his mouth." "Exam results are good but I have no idea why he wants to be a barrister as he couldn't argue his way out of a one-sided argument."
I might as well go to work: I may doze off on my desk there