At the beginning of every semester, I enter the classroom feeling like I've gotten a fresh start. Adding to that invigoration is the fact that teaching developmental students means we're often getting students who are in college for the first time ever (or the first time in a long time) sitting in our classrooms. That mix of excitement, possibility, and a hint of fear is a…
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I just finished up the first semester of teaching developmental writing with Dorian Lynskey's 33 Revolutions per Minute as the central text. The book is a historical look at protest songs arranged chronologically in 33 chapters. While there are some cross-references within the chapters to past acts, the chapters more or less stand on their own, which is good because there was no way I could…
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Since we've been discussing code switching and culture on this blog, I wanted to share a post I published previously on my personal blog Balancing Jane. (more…)
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Last week, one of my students, when confronted with a bad grade, asked me why I don’t like him. In 8 years of teaching college writing, I have had several students ask some version of the question, “Why don't you like me?” They have asked with genuine confusion, hurt, and disappointment, either about a bad grade or my refusal to excuse a late paper. I have genuinely liked all of these students, and many ended up acing my class. But the question from last week and semesters previous has me wondering: what does my students’ perception of my liking or disliking them have to do with their grades, meeting expectations, my role as a teacher? I am trying to piece all these things together: Often when my students get a good grade, they say joyfully, “Oh, I’m so glad you liked my paper.” Or, “I went to the writing center to clean it up so that you would like it”; “I like this paper and…
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