As I prepare for tomorrow's classes, I can't help but feel a flutter of anticipation for the essays I'll be receiving from each of the four sections I teach. Will they be good, bad, ugly, or just acceptable? Experience tells me that there will be some of each.
When I opted to use "Choosing Civility," at least one person warned me that today's 18-year-olds wouldn't "get it." He told me that a precious few of my students would already understand and use Forni's list, and the others wouldn't be mature enough to grasp the concept. I hope I'll be able to prove him wrong.
One important part of writing instruction that I haven't introduced is workshopping, the idea of sharing what you've written with others and using their critiques to improve your writing. I've decided that now is the time, and this week we'll be exploring some of the writing we've done so far. We'll work anonymously at first, then in small groups using our civility essays.
The next assignment promises to be interesting: a process analysis. I want each student to write, in an interesting way, how to do something that has multiple steps. I hope they'll be able to teach me something new.
In the meantime, I'm anticipating their essays and hoping for the best.
Mrs. B
When I opted to use "Choosing Civility," at least one person warned me that today's 18-year-olds wouldn't "get it." He told me that a precious few of my students would already understand and use Forni's list, and the others wouldn't be mature enough to grasp the concept. I hope I'll be able to prove him wrong.
One important part of writing instruction that I haven't introduced is workshopping, the idea of sharing what you've written with others and using their critiques to improve your writing. I've decided that now is the time, and this week we'll be exploring some of the writing we've done so far. We'll work anonymously at first, then in small groups using our civility essays.
The next assignment promises to be interesting: a process analysis. I want each student to write, in an interesting way, how to do something that has multiple steps. I hope they'll be able to teach me something new.
In the meantime, I'm anticipating their essays and hoping for the best.
Mrs. B
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