Back to Work

Only it's not really like work at all.

My Lit and Language 11 class will be finishing Fahrenheit 451. I tried to push this class harder than I've ever pushed a class before. My goal was to read The Jungle, The Crucible, Fahrenheit 451, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

But I'm afraid I didn't leave myself enough time to get to TKM!

I could fit TKM in, but it would be at the expense of a lot of other interesting things. Plus, we really wouldn't be able to dig into the novel the way I wish we could.

In fact, we didn't even get to dig in to 451 the way I wanted to. We usually explore whether or not Bradbury's concerns for entertainment-addicted and desensitized masses has actually come true.

But I'm afraid we won't be able to get into that too much. Part of the problem was that I missed some days during the start of the novel, so we never really got off on the right foot. Then Christmas vacation hit at the wrong time (they were to read the final part, "Burning Bright" over break - we'll see how that goes!).

So instead of trying to cram TKM in, I'm going to slow things down a bit and do a comparison between 451 and the film The Village using the themes of conformity and the price of seeking the truth.

Then we'll spend 10 days or so on poetry. That unit is based around the film Dead Poets Society. The kids usually enjoy that.

Then I'd like to take a deep look with them at "Young Goodman Brown" and then watch the sci-fi film District 9 and write a comparison.

Finally, it would be fun to delve into some Hemingway - "A Day's Wait," "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," "The Killers," "Hills Like White Elephants," "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," and maybe a couple other pieces.

When I start thinking about what we could do, it makes me wish we had another 9 weeks together.

****

I spent much of the past two days in a blind heat of correcting essays. Namely, persuasive and literary analysis essays. I have to get these back to the students before we roll up our sleeves and start to work on our major novel comparison theme.

I handed back the persuasive essays on Monday and saw many students look at the scores and then shelve them into their folders.

Damn near broke my heart.

Of course, I'm hoping they wait until they get home at least out of the room before they open their papers back up and take a look at my comments.

But my hopes are not very high.

In fact, I asked the class once how often they actually went back and looked at my comments.

There was a few hands in the air.

Then why do I knock myself out so damn much trying to give them feedback on what to do to make their papers better?

I've toyed with just putting a grade on it and moving on if that is all they are looking for. But I just can't do that.

Now, I know how they feel. I was the same way when I was an undergrad. But it was finally good old Dr. Helen Bonner at BSU in an Advanced Writing class that finally got through to me. I would get my essays back from Dr. Bonner and actually sit down and revise them based on her comments.

And you know what?

She was right. I made the corrections and revisions and, damn, my prose sounded better, was tighter, and was more vivid.

Now if I can just get my College Comp classes to do this.

I suppose I could make them revise their papers and re-submit them. But where in college will they ever do that?

Plus, I already spend so much time reading essays, that reading a second batch of revision papers for every paper I assign just isn't feasible.

I do offer them one chance per quarter to revise one essay. I guess then they do actually look at my comments then. But I try and stress to them that - just like in sports - it does little good if you don't reflect on and learn from your previous efforts.