Me First! Me First!!

I think this is the first time I've ever been the first to post. Savoring the moment....

Okay. The main thing that I've learned from grading these papers is that no, most of them don't read the comments we write in the margins, or the long, helpful explanations at the end, and yes, many of them try to get away with doing as little as possible. BUT...(the silver lining)...there are a few who really put forth a good effort, and the rest do seem to be improving (it's kind of imperceptible, like watching grass grow, but it's there...I think).

Also, because of grading papers, I've become a lot more critical of and insecure about my own writing. While writing my emulation essay, I kept second-guessing myself on my word choice, etc., and thinking, "Aaaaghh! I'm sounding like my 1010 students!" Yes, I think my writing is gradually going downhill as a result of tutoring and teaching. *sigh*.

The best thing about writing the emulation essay was that, for probably the first time in my life, spent more time on pre-writing than on actually writing. My usual method for writing papers is to gather all my sources around me and sit at a computer with a 2-liter Coke (diet, of course) and a head full of ideas and just battle the blinking cursor. It's a terrible method, but it's worked for me so far. But I decided to try writing the way I had advised my students to write--I began by drafting answers to the questions I had asked them, then wrote my intro and thesis according to the guidelines I had given them and then organized my ideas with sticky notes...yes, sticky notes, Dr. Rogers. It actually worked great, and the writing part took less time, though I can't guarantee that my writing was actually better (see last paragraph).

So, over the past week or so, I've become a little more cynical about teaching and about student writing, but I'm determined to prepare them better to write their next essay. And...I've discovered a new, less self-destructive way to write papers. It just might add a couple of years to my life.