My Worth in Ink: Editing, Guidance, Grading

     The real worth of my classes is the student’s practice in writing.  I tell parents that to be good at anything simply requires practice and play. To be a good soccer player, one practices and plays with the ball. To be a good painter, one practices and plays with color and shapes.  To be a good writer, one practices and plays with words. My job is to steer students toward the play while they practice.
      I work hard to establish a rapport with each student, and I do it in two ways: attention in class and feedback on papers.  The students know I read their papers, often twice, because I write all over them. I feel it’s most important to compliment on each paper, to point out the positives.  I may write clever, or haha, or terrific simile.  But in the body of a paper, I also correct all spelling and punctuation, circle words to replace, write reorganization suggestions, and point out what is missing (usually a thesis if it's an essay). Then at the end of the paper, I again comment on positives and/or ask for specific revisions.  For high schoolers, especially, I ask all papers to be revised if they are not close to the best possible for that student. For middle schoolers, I ask that essays and stories are revised. I tell all students that they will learn the quickest if they revise their papers. I also praise them constantly.
        I only grade high school papers and only because charter schools demand it. I don’t agree with the distraction to learning that grade anticipation and fear evokes.  My students work hard, and I reward them with A’s for their labor, not necessarily for their finished products. I am focused more on that hard work at playing and practicing, for the eventual goal of proficiency or art. In my experience, it takes two years at word play to become proficient, a third year at moving proficiency into art.
      I should note that a very few students do not like me to write on their papers. This is often a younger child or a special needs child. Sometimes it is a parent who wants all papers written in a journal with pages that don’t tear out. For these students, I take a photo of their papers, print them, write on those, and return them to the student.
     Enthusiastic elementary writers often slide into the classroom, asking to share their homework with the whole class.  Sometimes middle schoolers do too. Rarely does a high schooler, but I can see the enthusiasm when students hand me their papers. They are excited for me to read them. Surprisingly, they like that I scrawl all over them.