Most educators think that "in the end" it's a disservice to our strong students if we don't assign a letter grade or a percentage. The following is a student's self assessment of his major project on poetry - apparently, not all strong students want what we think they want. (Posted with permission.)
I struggled as I attempted to write this self-evaluation. I looked through all my [explication] essays and poems trying to come up with a grade assessment for my work. I couldn't. Instead, I came to this realization:
The purpose of marking an assignment is so that an individual can see his or her own mistakes from a different perspective. When these mistakes are realized, the student can decide if he or she values the input. If so, he/she can put it to use improving him/herself and his/her skills. For this reason, I don't think it is entirely appropriate for me to provide a self-mark for my work, as I am stuck in my own limited perspective. I feel that I can only grow as a student if someone [else] helps me recognize where I can improve. I cannot ask myself, "Is this a 6 [level] essay?" I can only evaluate myself based on one criteria: did I do the best I could with the resources that I had?
I completed the assignment to the best of my abilities. I worked hard not so that I could achieve a high grade, but so that I could become a better person in one area of my life. Instead of taking an indifferent attitude towards the assignment, I challenged myself to write the best darned essays and poems I could write. Using the skills that I have learned, I did the best I could. Now, I can only wait for another perspective to provide constructive criticism and help me improve myself. I am happy with the work I have handed in; this is the only evaluation I can give.
21 May 2012
14 February 2012
Trending Third in Vancouver: #ibblk
Today, something very interesting happened: I asked my B Block English 12 class to write love poems in 140 characters and by the time I repeated the class in D Block - an hour and half later - #ibblk was trending third!
Now, I have to admit that I don't often pay attention to what is trending, preferring to read the tweets and retweets of people I follow, who in turn, I hope will have the latest and greatest news and opinions. It was actually one of the students in my D Block class who noticed it and by then, there were comments from other twitter users who weren't connected to my classes in anyway whatsoever:
"What the heck is #ibblk?"
"Can someone tell me what #ibblk is?
It began as a Valentine's Day activity - there were balloons around the room and unopened treats on desks... I knew there was no way we were going to have any serious conversations around what we were currently reading, so I thought we'd have a break and write - what else - poetry! (I had planned on reading and discussing poetry in the next month anyway.) I gave students the time to compose (what they deemed) poetic tweets and asked them to hashtag: #ibblk.
I am a bit embarrassed by the quality of the tweets; the poems are not really that great. I can say that because my B Block students admitted to just having a bit of fun. They also didn't like the 140 character limit and felt bound by rhyme. My D Block students were a bit more creative with sound and image (especially since I tweeted about it earlier)... in hopes of trending too, I think!
This isn't the first time I've done tweet poems, but the fact that #ibblk actually trended today was surprising. My students got a kick out of it and realized that they do have voices and that other people can and do read what they write - even if it's just out of curiosity or trend. It became a lesson, too, in understanding audience and the great responsibility of leaving something meaningful even when "just tweeting".
Now, I have to admit that I don't often pay attention to what is trending, preferring to read the tweets and retweets of people I follow, who in turn, I hope will have the latest and greatest news and opinions. It was actually one of the students in my D Block class who noticed it and by then, there were comments from other twitter users who weren't connected to my classes in anyway whatsoever:
"What the heck is #ibblk?"
"Can someone tell me what #ibblk is?
It began as a Valentine's Day activity - there were balloons around the room and unopened treats on desks... I knew there was no way we were going to have any serious conversations around what we were currently reading, so I thought we'd have a break and write - what else - poetry! (I had planned on reading and discussing poetry in the next month anyway.) I gave students the time to compose (what they deemed) poetic tweets and asked them to hashtag: #ibblk.
I am a bit embarrassed by the quality of the tweets; the poems are not really that great. I can say that because my B Block students admitted to just having a bit of fun. They also didn't like the 140 character limit and felt bound by rhyme. My D Block students were a bit more creative with sound and image (especially since I tweeted about it earlier)... in hopes of trending too, I think!
This isn't the first time I've done tweet poems, but the fact that #ibblk actually trended today was surprising. My students got a kick out of it and realized that they do have voices and that other people can and do read what they write - even if it's just out of curiosity or trend. It became a lesson, too, in understanding audience and the great responsibility of leaving something meaningful even when "just tweeting".
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