One of my classes has final essays due Monday. They're part of their final portfolio and they've been working on the essays in stages all semester. One student has been emailing all day asking little questions and updating me on how hir revision is coming along today. Ze is so cute. In one email ze thanks me for suggesting a different order to the paper than ze had on an earlier draft. Then less than an hour later ze's emailing me to let me know that the paper is one page longer than required and that ze's willing to have points taken off because the paper just won't be as good if ze cuts it. I'm sending back encouraging replies, but not to every message. Just the ones where an actual answer is needed. It's gratifying to see how much ze cares about this essay.
One reason I love this class is because students usually come to care about their essays. It's because we spend so much time on the essays and they work so much. Students have reflective essays as part of their portfolios, and those are always a good read. They remind me how much the students change over the semester. I always do a reflective writing prompt the last week of class to help them get started with the essay, and I read them while students are doing the course evals and I'm relegated to the hall. This semester, most of the students remarked on how this class has changed the way they see writing. One even write that although ze doubts ze will remember the essay in 5 years, ze will never forget the class because it changed hir so much. Even the ones who wrote about how much they hate writing acknowledged how much they learned and how much they've grown. I know that some could just be writing what they think I want to read, and I'm sure a few do, but it's so gratifying to see how much this class works. During the semester I question my methods and what I do and how strict I am about certain aspects of the class, but these reflective pieces remind me that it's worth it. It's a good boost before getting all the final portfolios to grade. And the reflective essays will help keep me in a good mood as I read essay after essay after another freaking essay next week.
I say I love this class, but I don't love it in the beginning or the middle when it's all hard work and patience with complaining students who don't understand why they have to do things the long, hard, complicated way. I love in the end when all the hard work pays off and students go, "oh, that's why we did that. I'm glad we did that."
1 comment:
That's not to say that every student reacts this way. There are always a few who hate the class or me or both. But that's to be expected.
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