Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
I was listening to your show today when a college professor was seeking advice on responding to student writing. Sometimes I write "Powerful Word Choice" or "Creative sentence structure."
I was inspired by an instructor at CSU San Marcos, Laurie Stowell, during my masters program. On my writing she would write comments like "Yes!" and "I agree!" I felt empowered. I now try to do the same when I comment on student work. On their drafts, I'll suggest tips on revising or help with GUMS (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and Spelling). But, on their final draft, when they now feel the most vulnerable . . . I write positive comments to help them feel empowered, just like my professor did for me in college.
You seem to have good experiences both as student and teacher. But this is just the hardest thing there is. The same thing you say that works as encouragement or complement to one student can be too cloying or even insulting to another. Even your own honest thoughts shared with them can both raise esteem and cause points-off for yourself. It's a human minefield- no safe methodologies at all.
I had a HS English teacher like Jeannine (and as did Jeannine) who always took the time to add comments, positive and negative. On the other end of the spectrum, some teachers just provided the overall grade at the top of the first page. To their credit, many would remind us that we were free to come in early or after school to discuss the reasons for our grade. But I have the feeling they expected few students would find the time to do that.
While I taught science and math (for some 30 years), I did much the same thing. But with calculations, my "comments" were circling questionable steps and writing a question mark near that circle. Incorrect values were likewise circled, but with a written X. Correct steps were given a check mark, since I always awarded partial credit in proportion to how much was done correctly. A student could get 4/5 points with a wrong answer, if that final answer was just a calculator error.
PLUS (and I know the students appreciated this because many told me) instead of grading with the traditional red ink (a color which carries a lot of psychological baggage), I used green ink.
I can partially agree with RobertB. There's always a potential mine in the field. But I speak from the experience of secondary education, at which point most students have learned to accept praise and criticism, especially when both are used fairly on the same assignment. That may be less true in primary education.
The most memorable comment I ever received on an essay was "Eminently publishable." I'm not sure the paper really was so, but the unusual affirmation was powerful indeed.
I typically use phrases such as these for positive feedback: "Coherent and cogent" or "Articulate and insightful." One advantage of such phrases with younger high school students is that they must now investigate the meanings of these "big" words.
RobertB said
You sure, rjh? Joe Biden got in trouble with these compliments to Obama when Obama was wet behind the ears :"I mean ... articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy..."
"And he's fresh. He's new. He's smart. He's insightful."
Most of the comments I heard were about Obama being called clean.
My thought was that when you're talking about clean and dirty in reference to a politician, it has to do with ethics, not thye use of soap and water, but you know, Obama being half-white, it could be taken as a derogatory racist comment, as there are a lot of whites that could use more frequent bathing.
As an editor, I used "nicely worded" and "good turn of phrase", but I used them sparingly. In non-fiction, one ought to use "invisible writing" so that ideas take center stage.
rjh said
The most memorable comment I ever received on an essay was "Eminently publishable." I'm not sure the paper really was so, but the unusual affirmation was powerful indeed.I typically use phrases such as these for positive feedback: "Coherent and cogent" or "Articulate and insightful." One advantage of such phrases with younger high school students is that they must now investigate the meanings of these "big" words.
Welcome rjh. Sounds like you were/are a teacher too. Loved your suggestion of adding comments that inspire kids to look up what the words mean. Sneaky way of increasing their vocabulary. 
Back when I drove a VW Bus, along with all the other obligatory bumper stickers required for that vehicle, I had one that said "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm." Added it for the same reason you used "big" words on your comments. Actually had a person run up to me from a car parked behind me at a traffic stop. Wanted to know what the bumper sticker meant. Didn't have much time to talk, so I just said "It means you should go against the grain, or to challenge assumptions. Look up the individual words in a dictionary." The light turned green about then, so end of conversation.
Makes me wonder if she ever looked that up. It was inbound rush hour, so the incident was likely forgotten.
deaconB said as there are a lot of whites that could use more frequent bathing.
Lo, how did you do that? Spot-on bidenesque.
( puts me in the mind to be gentle and sympathetic to a colored child: Take heart and fret no more, child : us un-coloreds ain't that pretty or smart either )
Funny thing about language: it won't quit revealing thoughts.
Heimhenge said
Back when I drove a VW Bus, along with all the other obligatory bumper stickers required for that vehicle, I had one that said "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm." Added it for the same reason you used "big" words on your comments. Actually had a person run up to me from a car parked behind me at a traffic stop. Wanted to know what the bumper sticker meant.
You have to watch that sort of thing. I used to have a piece of clip-art pinned up in my cubicle of a smiling 1940s guy in a fedora with the caption "Remember! Don't cravenate on your drelman!" On at least two separate occasions, an Indian contractor came by to ask me what it meant.
guy in fedora said: Remember! Don't cravenate on your drelman!
I could immediately picture that poster you described (to the point that it made me laugh w/o even seeing it). And for some reason it immediately reminded me of this poster. I can't explain why, but something about it always cracks me up too:
On further reflection, maybe what makes me laugh here is the discontinuity between the smiling face from a bygone, more-civil era, and the vulgar language "punchline." I'm not an expert on humor, but those that are claim it's the element of surprise that makes something funny. And the punchline still "surprises" me every time I see that image.
There's actually a ton of variations on this poster, most of which I would not put up on my cubical wall. Just take a look at the results of this Google image search. But the one I inserted above seems to show up the most, scattered here and there on the web. And I think it's the funniest variation.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)