"We do not recommend a red pen under any circumstances simply because of its negative connotations" (Dornan, 186). Eva anybody? I felt sort of special last semester when Eva gave us each our very own spankin' new green pen. It was symbolic of who we are to become - conscious, mindful teachers. In my opinion, there is too much red in a world that needs to reflect much more green. Life is full of mistakes. Watch out! Don't look around the corner. You're about to make another mistake. The moment of truth comes like two roads diverged in a wood. Do you choose the worn, yet comfortable path of regret where mistakes symbolize failure? Or do you embrace the road less traveled - shaping your own destiny laced with growth and enlightenment - learning from your many mistakes? Education empowers students. Their writing improves with guidance from teachers who spend time constructively commenting on their papers. As a young student, I can remember being devastated getting back papers (that I devoted 110% to writing) covered in red pen. "Woe is me. I can't do anything write/right." As a college student, I can remember the firey hot anger I felt getting a paper returned with a marginal grade at the top (for me, at least) and NO comments. I'd put many hours and a lot of heart into that beautiful piece of writing. "Professor Emeritus, my ass." Yikes. The two extremes must make peace somewhere in the middle. Too much or too little is too confusing. Praise and constructive criticism from a respected teacher are invaluable and give students the motivation, self-esteem, and sense of self-efficacy vital to improving writing. I'm glad that Dornan takes the time to share these kind of thoughtful ideas and experiences. I'm going to need all the help I can get!
That said, I think it's also important to praise those who spend all their time praising everybody else. Sometimes it's the littlest things that make the job worth it. And sometimes, it's the big things. For the last 43 years, Minnesota has elected a teacher of the year. It's the oldest and most prestigious award given in Minnesota education. Check out Mike Smart's blog. He's the current Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
3 comments:
Yay!! I got those papers without comments, too. It always seemed that the papers I didn't care about and tossed off the night before they were due in under 10 hours were the ones I did the best on. The ones I really cared about, spent time on, and put my whole heart and mind into were the ones that were devastated by red ink. I know I quickly developed a thick skin when it came to my own writing, but I don't want my students to endure that from me. I want to do better. I hope I can.
Of course Mike Smart is a good teacher and wins the award with a name like SMART... I didn't know that this award existed -- thanks for pointing it out. ...I also like green, especially since I learned that it is a symbol of hope in THE GREAT GATSBY. I also think that it is a symbol of life since so much plant life is green...
personally, i prefer purple. i, too, wrote about the same comment-less papers over the course of my college career. thanks for the poetic post, angela.
--Elizabeth
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