After watching the Take 20 video, my first thought was that while teaching writing is both challenging and complex, it can still be fun and rewarding. Teaching writing, much like writing itself, is a process and teachers have to figure out what works and what doesn’t and ultimately stay current in the field to be the most effective. A theme I saw emerge was the idea that it is really all about the students and getting them to develop a skill set that they will be able to apply in the future. I found it inspiring that all of these teachers started off unsure, nervous, rigid, or clueless and yet still persevered and still love teaching writing, and most importantly, learning from and interacting with their students.
Responding to student writing
This section jumped out at me because, since I’m a DI, I’m always wondering if my comments are truly helpful. Sommers mentions that responding to student writing is one of the hardest things teachers do. I agree with this; I also think it is one of the most important. It is hard because a lot of the assignments we are reading reflects how well we are teaching the material, but of course we don’t want to admit that. It is easier to blame the students. It is important because students need to have some direction and guidance in order to improve their writing. Tinberg’s discussion about summative and formative comments reflects what I struggle with when grading. Of course I want to give students comments that help improve their work, but I also feel like my comments need to justify the grade I’m giving them. Does anyone else feel this way? I also liked the distinction made between evaluating and responding to student writing. Most of what we do as graders is evaluate because we have to give it a grade. However, when I worked in the writing center, I was able to just respond to their writing; the students and I were on the same level, and they seemed to take the advice much more willingly.
I agree with you on many fronts. Student’s work does reflect the teaching they get in the classroom. There were definitely some things I could have made more clear for my students. And, another important point you make, it is that commentary needs to be reflective of the student’s grade. Those two elements should most definitely agree.
I also thought the section about responding to student writing was interesting, because as a DI, that is my sole responsibility and only interaction with students. At times, I certainly agree with you that it feels as though your comments have to justify the grade you are giving the students, and that makes it hard to focus on truly trying to help them improve their work.
Having to assign a grade to an essay seems to defeat the purpose. One of the instructors on the video commented that writing is never finished, it is just due; I completely agree. Providing comments that guide revision are helpful if students are actually able to revise. Otherwise, comments given on papers that will never be revised do little more than justify the grade assigned. The writing center is truly beneficial to students for that very reason.