Tell me what you really think.
We work like a horse.
We eat like a pig.
We like to play chicken.
You can get someone's goat.
We can be as slippery as a snake.
We get dog tired.
We can be as quiet as a mouse.
We can be as quick as a cat.
Some of us are as strong as an ox.
People try to buffalo others.
Some are as ugly as a toad.
We can be as gentle as a lamb.
Sometimes we are as happy as a lark.
Some of us drink like a fish.
We can be as proud as a peacock.
A few of us are as hairy as a gorilla.
You can get a frog in your throat.
We can be a lone wolf.
But I'm having a whale of a time!
You have a riveting web log
and undoubtedly must have
atypical & quiescent potential
for your intended readership.
May I suggest that you do
everything in your power to
honor your encyclopedic/omniscient
Designer/Architect as well
as your revering audience.
As soon as we acknowledge
this Supreme Designer/Architect,
Who has erected the beauteous
fabric of the universe, our minds
must necessarily be ravished with
wonder at this infinate goodness,
wisdom and power.
Please remember to never
restrict anyone's opportunities
for ascertaining uninterrupted
existence for their quintessence.
There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity
under heaven. A time to be
born and a time to die. A
time to plant and a time to
harvest. A time to kill and
a time to heal. A time to
tear down and a time to
rebuild. A time to cry and
a time to laugh. A time to
grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones
and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a
time to turn away. A time to
search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to
throw away. A time to tear
and a time to mend. A time
to be quiet and a time to
speak up. A time to love
and a time to hate. A time
for war and a time for peace.
Best wishes for continued ascendancy,
Dr. Howdy
'Thought & Humor'
P.S. One thing of which I am sure is
that the common culture of my youth
is gone for good. It was hollowed out
by the rise of ethnic "identity politics,"
then splintered beyond hope of repair
by the emergence of the web-based
technologies that so maximized and
facilitated cultural choice as to make
the broad-based offerings of the old
mass media look bland and unchallenging
by comparison."
***************************
I do this in middle school, except I grade primarily on content. Of course, I mark up their papers with red ink in order to cover the spelling and grammar errors, and I work in the days following an assigned paper to ensure some of those grammar and spelling mistakes are fixed.
But it's really the content, isn't it? If the student can get a point across, even with a few grammar errors, it's the idea that counts.
As for that student with a paper filled with problems, I give a grade of "Great job!" or "Awesome!" But then I follow it with a "See me about ways to make this paper better." And I give that student the opportunity to fix the errors in order to recieve a better grade.
I have a quote on the wall of my classroom: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." (Thomas Edison)
If a student gets a paper back without a grade, he/she is almost required to do a revision before recieving a grade. If a student gets a paper with a grade, he/she has the opportunity to fix it for a better grade.
I too give two grades, one for content/following directions and one for mechanics. I don't teach a remedial class now, though I have in the past. That's where I came up with the system. I also require that they rewrite at least one paper, fixing all their grammar errors (or losing double the points). If they attempt to fix the error, but create another one, that's simply the normal points off.
I had a student whose paper was returned today with a lower content/following directions grade than she made on her initial paper. She lost 20 points on the first paper for leaving out a section of the essay that I had required, a full paragraph. But she didn't even attempt to put it in on her rewrite and she lost 40 points.
My husband says that I allow too many rewrites, but I figure that my job is to teach them to write well and if they can rewrite their own papers and fix their own problems, hopefully they will learn what those are.
I average the four grades (two per writing) and give them a single grade, usually 10% of their semester grade.
If they are willing to fix their problems, I am willing to re-grade their papers. But I'm not just going to give them the rewrite grade. They earned both of them.
Okay, that was a bit more lengthy than I had planned.
OK, I have to ask: how did that poor girl get out of high school??? I want to find her teachers (all 12 or 13 of them) from her public school education and make them explain themselves.
Even worse is the fact that there are people working at my company that don't write significantly better than your student. And they're managers.
Well Denise, the answer is that the teachers have no choice. We are no longer permitted to fail students. The students are pushed through, whether they have learned the material or not. And obviously, this student didn't get it the first time 'round. Hopefully Mamacita can help her. What am I saying. Of course she can help! She's the best!!
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