teachers commenting on teachers, but at this present moment I just can’t see it happening. It is definitely
something that I look forward to seeing in the future though.
Let me get back to the main point of why I chose this article. Throughout my academic career I have had the opportunity to experience both the good and the bad when it comes to teachers commenting on my academic papers. I have had teachers who just simply gave me a letter grade after I had
poured my blood, sweat, and tears into a ten page research paper for a week that consisted of very little sleep. Teachers like that were the ones who I questioned whether they had even read the paper and if they were just waiting for their paycheck at the end of the week. I have also received papers back where teachers absolutely destroyed my writing in their comments. Comments like these made me question whether I even really belonged in school or not. The teachers’ comments that taught me the most about writing were the ones that showed they truly cared about helping me become a better overall writer. Their comments were for the most part positive, instructive and extremely clear. They illustrated what I had done right, what I had done wrong, and how I could improve on my next paper. I’m sure other students have very similar experiences to mine.
I think teachers need to find a happy medium where they aren’t writing too much on a student’s papers, that the student won’t read the comments because they are overwhemled, but that they also aren’t just simply giving the student a letter grade with no explanation for it. The best way for a student to learn how to become a better writer is by understanding his strengths and weaknesses in their writing and how to improve. Effective comments go a long way in helping a student significantly grow as a writer.
This topic immediately made me think of the scene in “A Christmas Story” where the teacher is grading her student’s papers right before Christmas vacation.
-Brian Grossman