October 1, 2007
-
Every so often, I am wacked upside the head with the fact that students just don’t read, or, if they do read, they don’t comprehend the material like they should/could. I created a handout for Paper 1 in English 120. It had the basic layout I was looking for with their papers – what to write about in the first batch of paragraphs, what to write about in the second batch, etc. I thought it was a fabulously, helpful little handout. Some of them followed this nice outline; most have not thus far. Why many haven’t received automatic As and Bs is beyond me.
I don’t even think it’s a matter of bashing them over the head with these things. Some are going to read what they are supposed to read, and some will not. Do I continue to lay out everything for them? Apparently, this will only benefit a minority of students who really, probably, don’t need things laid out for them. Is it about creating assignments that they’ll enjoy and just naturally do well at without a step-by-step procedure? Are those assignments realistic? What’s so wrong with having them being able to write a simple argument & defend themselves? Nothing.
Writing is required because it makes you think, or at least gets you to write down what you are thinking so you can REALLY figure out what you think about your thoughts. Students like to complain about taking English, but, essentially, they are complaining about having to organize their thoughts. On paper/screen. They are complaining about having to think which shouldn’t surprise me. Many don’t have original thoughts… and if they do, they are hiding them.
Am I stereotyping? Yes. Am I right about them? A little bit. Am I searching for an answer? Always.
