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March 31, 2003MY APOLOGY
MY APOLOGY
It came to my attention last Friday that some of my students (and their parents) are offended by the anonymous appearance of their essay bloopers in my website’s journal. Quite frankly, I was offended that they had turned in essays laden with such errors in the first place, but that’s neither here nor there.
It’s been suggested that I have assaulted my students’ collective self-esteem, that the inclusion of their bloopers was mean-spirited and cruel on my part, and that I have a responsibility as an educator to build them up instead of tearing them down. While I’d take issue with the first two assertions, I agree with that last part completely. It is my responsibility as an educator to build up my students. If I didn’t care, or if I honestly thought that what they had given me was the best of which they were capable, I’d let their errors slide by without comment.
Because of how they fared with their Oedipus/Antigone essays, I set down rather stringent grading standards for my seniors’ next writing assignment. After ten typos, I stopped reading their essay and graded it based on how far I’d read before hitting the tenth error. While that probably sounds capricious and draconian to my detractors, the result was that my seniors actually proofread their essays before turning them in, and the essays were of a higher caliber.
I’ve observed that people usually give you what you demand of them, and there’s no reason to think that high school students are somehow exempt. Aside from the few students of mine for whom reading is intrinsically fun, or for whom writing comes naturally, my task in the classroom is that of the religious zealot proselytizing to the unbelievers. It doesn’t help matters any that the day of reckoning—the point at which they will be judged by their actions—is only about ten weeks away.
Melodramatic? Not really. As I’ve told my students, people in the “real” world will judge them on a variety of criteria. Right or wrong, their ability to articulate themselves through their writing and speech is one of those criteria by which others will judge them. I’d rather not have future employers, co-workers, classmates, professors, friends and acquaintances of theirs sell my students short because their writing isn’t up to par with their cognitive ability.
When left to its own devices, life is stagnant. Change is spurred by a lack, an unmet need, a feeling of dissatisfaction. Oysters don’t whip together pearls out of the goodness of their hearts, and aposomatic coloration isn’t just a matter of self-décor. As humans, we’re no different. Anybody who thinks my students’ writing will improve without an externally imposed standard is naïve, and anybody who contends that I’m mocking their best efforts is dealing them an insult far worse than that of which I’ve been accused.
And that’s for what I apologize. To any of my seniors who might be reading this, I apologize on behalf of those who have hobbled you—or, worse, taught you to hobble yourself—in the name of self-esteem and cheap complacency.
I only have you guys for one more quarter, much of which will be sabotaged by the inevitable post-Spring Break wanderlust. There’s not enough time for the easy fix, even if such a thing existed. All I can do is try and cross-pollinate you with dissatisfaction at your current lot and hope that something blossoms. For your sake, catch that scent of blood on the air before the Judas goat nudges you all into line.
Posted by patrick at March 31, 2003 04:06 AM
CommentsI was one of the fortunate students who was smart enough in high school to slack off and still get A's. But, I have also been a 4th grade teacher and have seen that today's children are inundated from their birth with "You're great the way you are and you don't have to put any effort into anything". The first, I have no problems with. But, kids are told that they have so much self worth that they feel no need to EARN their self-worth, making them more sheep-like than they would have been without the early "all-about-me" plug in. As seniors in high school, this is a student's last chance to figure out that turning on your brain and working hard are important. And besides, they're 18 years old. The babying and bottle feeding should have ended about 15 years ago.
Posted by: Hope at March 31, 2003 09:37 AM
So... your students wear diapers to class? I can't wait for that first moment in the real world when someone criticizes them. What are they going to do then? Run screaming to mommy when their boss mentions that, perhaps, it might be a good idea to not be an hour late every day? Throw a tantrum and hold their breath because their work wasn't up to par and someone DARED to mentioned it?
You know which teachers I most admire from my school days? The ones who, at the time, I despised as being the most incorrigible hardasses on the planet. The ones who wouldn't let me be lazy, and who refused to pat me on the head and say, "That's okay. You did your best." The ones who always made me try to do better. And trust me, howling errors and gross stupidity were not allowed to slip under the radar. Such things were gleefully pointed out (pardon my passive voice), and most of us made it to adulthood with self-esteem more than intact.
Advice to your kids, from someone who has had to examine many an incoming resume in his day to cull prospective job applicants: the FIRST typo, grammatical bollox or mangled bit of syntax sends the resume into the reject stack. Period. Why? Because there are plenty of applicants who take the time to proofread, proofread again, and make sure the thing is perfect.
The rest of you will be destined to a life of asking, "Paper or plastic" or "Would you like fries with that?"
And, changing the subject, it is blatantly cool that you actually used the phrase "aposomatic coloration" in your blog.
Posted by: Jon Bastian at March 31, 2003 10:30 AM
On behalf of a few, "NO SEITZ!"
Posted by: Student at April 2, 2003 08:50 PM
I think this is fair treatment. I myself am a student at Notre Dame and in order to strive for excelence I need teachers and fellow students to critique my work. This is the ONLY way I see that I can learn from my mistakes and use them to better myself. People have to come to the harsh reality that high school isn't a picnic and envolves time and effort, which you need alot of both to succeed. So if Mr. Sietz happens to say you messed up, than don't cry like a baby. Use his advice to help you do beter next time. So on behalf of the students who are more involved with thier studies, and care about thier grades: Thank you Mr. Seitz for caring enough to point out our errors.
Posted by: NDHSstudent52 at April 8, 2003 07:48 PM
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