This blog started as a blog for my senior English class. Now, in my junior year of college, I'm writing a blog for yet another class. It has to be on my opinion of something in education and involved in my end of the semester Unit Plan. That Unit Plan happens to be on the writing process, so here we go.
I strongly believe students should be more challenged in their writing abilities in high school. When I was in 9th grade, I remember having an English teacher practically use an entire red pen on one of my research papers. At the time I was disgusted. How dare she do that?! That paper was golden?! Now, I'd be mortified to go back and see what I thought was "A" material. Six years later I am so thankful for the criticism I received.
These days in education, we are failing to provide the correct constructive criticism to students. Instead, educators try their best to not step onto toes and encourage the child with false compliments rather than showing them how they can improve. Does this sound harsh? Why yes, it probably does. "How dare she think we should bash our students!" Not what I'm saying at all. This is how I hope my classroom will operate. Disclaimer: I know I have A LOT to learn about education...no need to tell me.
In the classroom we have to remember to grade to the childs' expected ability due to their age and maturity. I'm not going to grade my 9th graders' papers to the same level of a 12th grader's paper. That would be so unjustified. Rather, I will mark the paper to the high heavens and at the end of the paper focus on their strengths and give them the grade they earned based on the outline of grading provided for them at the start. Time is limited when it comes to a teacher and student schedule, but I believe there should be some sort of paper conference to ensure the student understand what they should improve on. Also, there will be a second re-write opportunity given to the student to try and up their grade.
If we continue to be easy graders the students will not improve. Majority will simply do what is the bare minimum to get by. They're teenagers for goodness sakes. By the time a high school student graduates they should be ready to enter English 101 at the collegiate level and it be more a refining and refresher course rather than time to learn what is expected in their six-page paper due for another course.
Maybe I expect too much out of students. But really, I think that it is current teachers don't expect enough.
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Katie I agree with you 110%. As a English Secondary Education major, who also by no means knows everything about education, I believe that students are not pushed very much when it comes to their writing. Fortunately I was not left completely in the dark because of one of my English teachers but most kids are not that lucky. When kids arrive at college it often times is a rude shock when they are assigned a 8 page paper and then get it back with helpful criticism and take it instantly as the Professor being out to get them.
ReplyDeleteWith your suggestions I think many high school teachers could improve their students' outlook on helpful critiques.
-Chris