Monday morning argh

Already was in a not-too-great mood (busy week ahead of me and too little time for myself) and I went in to set up the lab for today and ready things for doing prep for Wednesday's lab, which will require me to sieve soil that the students brought in.

My soils class - which is today's lab - needed to sieve some of the soil they have collected. I have explained, I think three times* that if there is soil stuck in the sieve when they get done, they need to fill one of the dishpans with water, rinse the leftover soil out, and leave the sieve to dry on paper towels, so the next person can go straight to work.

(*And honestly? I expect adults to clean up after themselves anyway)

Guess what I found this morning? Gunked up sieves, along with a couple dirty pieces of glassware.

I don't even know, guys. I can talk about certain things until I'm blue in the face and no one listens. The problem is, if the glassware never gets clean? The faculty member I share the lab with complains at ME about it.

My inclination now is just to LEAVE the dirty stuff, and if someone comes and says "I need to sieve soil but the sieve is dirty" to shrug and go, "I'm really sorry your classmate left it like that. Clean it, and then ask around to see who it might have been, and talk to them."

I mean, I needed the sieve today or I would have just left it.

I don't know the magic words to use to convince people of the need to clean up their stuff. Some people do already, but there is a critical mass - somewhere from three to five people in a class of about 20 - who either think it's my job to do it (It isn't, it so isn't) or there's a TA (there isn't and I've told them there's not) who gets paid by the hour to clean up, or that somehow it's not their responsibility.

I am not a "yeller." I might have to become one. I have too many things to do this semester to get derailed for fifteen minute segments to have to clean up mess that's not mine. It also bleeds away my goodwill - something I do not have an excess of these days.

I have a strong suspicion of WHO is doing this but I can't prove it so I can't just deduct points. It feels unfair to hit the whole class with it but it is really frankly unfair to me to expect me to wash up stuff, especially when the majority of the class is washing up after themselves.

It's a little thing, except it really isn't a little thing.