Wrapping up the semester / Part 3

First, I guess those Republicans in Douglas County who defiantly proclaimed that the pandemic was over had information most people didn't have. Or maybe they were lucky. Or maybe even a broken clock is accurate twice a day.

When the CDC announced yesterday that anyone fully vaccinated can dispense with masks in most social situations, that was the end of masking as either a way to protect oneself or others or simply to show solidarity with children and the immuno-compromised.

Second, this surprising turn of events comes at the very end of another trying semester for most students, the third in a row. No matter how students performed, or teachers performed, we now have a reason to look forward rather than back. 

It's tough to pay attention and focus on education when you don't feel well or if you are consumed with worry about your family and vulnerable relatives and friends, or if you feel isolated and beaten down by the world. But many of my students found a way to rise to the challenge, did what they could, met deadlines, and generally demonstrate their thinking and writing progress.

That ain't nothin'.

I am still frustrated, though increasingly philosophical, about problems students have showing me that they see the fundamental point of "no claims without support." I have simplified my teaching approach over time and find that some progress can be made simply by going back time and again to some basic truths about writing. The need for evidence lies at the very heart of persuasive writing.

I am still frustrated that students mostly can't find an extra couple minutes to read over posts and essays prior than submitting them. I remain mystified that some students can't bring themselves to even click on words that the software has underlined as being misspelled or misused.

I see so many incomplete sentences that are clearly not intended to be incomplete as a syntactical choice. And comma splices are so common that it can't be long until the "grammar powers that be" will be throwing in the towel (as they did with "hopefully" a couple years ago). After all, language is an artificial construct and the rules can change rather quickly.

I am disappointed to find that many students can identify and correct grammar and spelling and usage errors in a multiple choice test but can't translate that knowledge to their own essays. 

I have a hazy theory that many students hate writing so much that they want nothing more than to STOP writing. What is the minimum word count, they ask. Who in their right mind would spend extra minutes re-reading a discussion post prior to hitting "send"? Thank the lord that's over.

And so ends another semester of seeing the very same errors and loose logic and missed opportunities ("you were onto something, and then you seemed to lose interest"), along with the occasional insightful, passionate and compelling arguments and narratives.

Too few of the latter, but writing teachers don't need much in terms of positive news to find hope and begin creating new approaches and searching for new writing models and fine-tuning curriculum.

After all, a new school year brings a new group of students. They aren't blank slates but August will provide a new start. 

And who doesn't appreciate a new start?