Having read what we are supposed to do with student papers,
and what actually happens with student papers (meaning that I have seen some teachers simply thumb through them without much regard, and they seem to have ALL KINDS of time on their hands), I am compelled to ask: where do
we find a balance between theory and practice?
I spent my weekend correcting essays. I began by reading, without an
implement in hand, and focused on what the students had to say. For the most
part I found students who did not cite properly and students that seemed to
have a grasp on the material but didn’t trust their own voices to get that information
across without throwing the same two or three thoughts about again, and again.
The second time around. I corrected minor grammatical errors
and then mentioned that error in my notes if it occurred multiple times. I noticed various takes on the misuse
of their, there, they’re, also with tense, and sub-verb agreement issues, but nothing too out
of the ordinary. However, if I did, come across a line or two that I thought was interesting or insightful, I made a thoughtful comment in the margin.
In my notes, I told students to be very, very, careful when
using sources, and to make sure they credit ANYTHING that they did not think of
on their own. The whole process went as
Dr. Cauthen said it would, except for one problem. IT TOOK HOURS AND HOURS!!! Will this
part of it lessen in time, as we become more skillful? I am almost afraid to
ask, if as English instructors, are we just going to have to clone ourselves in
order to deal with grading papers? UGH!
I am handing back our first major assignment tomorrow, at which time I will have a short conference
with them. They will be given the opportunity to revise, and begin planning
their final essay. Actually in this regard, I think I will have them turn in
drafts this time . . . since this is not an English class, is that blurring the
line? I realize it’s my class, and understand academic freedom and all that,
but I just mainly want input.
Lastly, I wonder how do deans, colleagues, hiring committees expect these sort of issues to be dealt with? As a part-timer wanting a
full-time gig, I’m curious, since most application and interview processes have an essay that needs corrections, and comments, included in that process.
Wow, I can only imagine what it must be like to read hundreds of essays for many hours. I mean working with a few students at a time on their essays is taxing enough. Anyway, it may take a long time, but if anything, I think the students will benefit from you taking the time to look over their essays in the way you did. Pointing to interesting or insightful line or ideas in their essays will hopefully motivate them to develop that idea. It's worked for me, but then again, I was already in junior college and my motivation had probably changed by then...
ReplyDeleteThe process works wonders (most of the time) when tutoring students one on one from my experience. I have some co-workers, some who are English Instructors, who prefer to work as tutors at our writing center because they feel working with students one on one is more effective then lecturing to a whole class.
I think students would benefit if their schools had writing center much like community colleges and universities do.