February 18, 2013
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Let's "Be" "Honest."
I'm going to tell you, whoever you are (?), something I don't think I've told anyone else.
Yeah.Here it is:I worry about my students not doing their work. And sometimes I feel guilty that I (gasp!) ask them to complete things "quickly" (the definition to this word could be debated f-o-r-e-v-e-r).Example: Project 3 in my Eng110 (College Comp I) asks the students to mimic the "List Essay (yes, a genre I "made up")," as seen on ThoughtCatalog.com & McSweeneys... This is assigned and completed in about a week (maybe one day over that, but you get the point). I ask for 1000+ words on ANY topic; they will, on the due date, read their classmates' list essays (yes, this is the only project where they see everyone's final projects & get a "say" in who did super well for their audience) & vote on their top 5. During this week, we have a few smaller assignments here & there (like reading George Carlin's book and completing a new activity I call the Perfect Paragraph), but they should be working on this project throughout that week. I know some of them, if not most, procrastinate and probably write the bugger at 3am the morning of the deadline, but yeah. That is my very strange secret.I mean, what kind of teacher* worries about that? Of course it's enough time. I give them about a month on their first project (which is a memoir and a profile that adds up to 1000+ words) & their second project is a research paper we take a bit of time on. This may be the only one that is "quick." But it might be the most fun. And there aren't sources/citations involved.*The college comp teachers I had assigned us all kinds of daily writing (for the next class period - especially my College Comp II teacher who didn't think I could write as well as the College Comp I teacher had; they were both TAs...) which had to be typed with sources, etc. I recall forgetting one paper & having to write it up at the library around 4am before its 8am due date; it was on legalizing homosexual marriage or homosexual adoption. I think it was really good, but I had been thinking about that topic a LOT before I wrote it, so yeah. It was my own fault for not watching the deadline closer, and I'm pretty sure I skipped a research day in there, too. Whoopsie.So, I wonder why I have this little teeny worry in me. I hear the worry peep up from time to time even with how much daily work (reading and writing) I'm having the students do, but then I have to remind myself - like I have to remind them - that this is COLLEGE. Not only do I feel my strict NO LATE work policy helps them with the upcoming "real world," but so does giving them a few tasks to complete at each class period. Our daily lives, once out of college and grad school, are all about remembering to do things and balancing work and play. They should constantly be learning how to manage their time. Duh.There you have it, folks. A weird little thing I was thinking about today. In fact, that Project 3 is being covered in one class right now = the others are covering Project 2 (the research paper). Many, and I mean many, skipped class (I'm looking at you 1pm class!) on Friday. I bet only 10 were there to sign up for Prezi Presentations (of their Project 2 topic). I was planning on having some students present their Prezis Wed & Fri of this week & Monday of next. But, of course, no one signed up for this Wednesday because not everyone was there. I don't know what to do with this... I might have to have them all smoosh into two days, I guess? Doesn't feel right to let those skippers off the hook, but I don't know if I want to fight them.Anyhow... night night blog world.
