Saturday, March 29, 2014

The Bliss of Marking Papers

        

        So the way I like to tell the story, the disciples approach Jesus and say, "Hey. We want to get this enlightenment thing.  Do we tear our clothes? Do we eat gluten-free? Do we confess that we cheated on our taxes?"  And Jesus says, (and what follows is for real): "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate." This is from the Gospel of Thomas in The Nag Hammadi Library, a series of scriptures found buried in urns that didn't make the cut for the Bible as we know it.  No wonder: Don't tell lies? Don't do what you hate? Institutions~whether family, school, church, government, business, or the local book club~would not exist unless we lied and did what we hated. Truly, think about it.  We all specialize in sailing down The River Denial. We lie to ourselves. We lie to each other.  And we drudge through things we hate. So the founders of the early church were not about to give these truth-telling gospels air time.

        So if what Jesus is purported to have said is the key to enlightenment, this means that teachers marking papers are destined for hell~or, at the very least, wrecked weekends and no time to watch "Lost" or "The Voice."  Because traditional ways of marking papers~copy-editing and co-writing student papers; assigning  numerical grades to everything; tabulating for report cards~are boring and onerous. The only way to keep doing it is to lie and do what you hate.

       In the beginning of my career, I truly hated marking papers, and I assumed the position that I just LOVED it~bled all over my students submissions (yes, that's the word for it) first in red ink, then in green (as if that was more "with it"), then in carbon pencil. I pored over every word as if it were the proverbial gospel truth.  I would end up putting more effort into responding, and often lay down more footage, than they did.

       Then I enrolled in a post-doc MFA program for poetry, and my over-zealous mentor bled all over one of my essays. I was a published author by then, had blissfully written a dissertation (no lie), was truly engaged in learning, and for a month I couldn't even read all the comments.  I couldn't revise.  I felt as though she had co-opted my work.  I was disenfranchised~literally, had lost my freedom of thought. If I was so affected, what about students who are insecure and discouraged~and therefore rebellious?

        WOW!  All those months and months of moiling over student papers~an agonizing, futile, backfiring waste. Then I read The Nag Hammadi Library.  Ever since, I have lived by that quote: "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate."  OK.  I approximate that as best I can, so I can still have students to teach and draw a salary that allows for massages. I also teach students to not tell lies and not do what they hate. Yes. Read on.

       Surely, it is worthwhile to review how students are thinking, learning, "progressing."  As I have grown as a teacher~and learn how to support their creative and critical thinking~the papers have become much more engaging.  But still.  So I ask myself these questions:  What exactly do I hate about marking papers?  How am I telling myself and my students lies?  I ask the students corollary questions: "Do you hate writing papers?  If so, why? How are you living a lie with them?" Then I ask, "How can we do this so that we can tell the truth and love what we do?"

       From my point of view: I hate stacks of papers~they overwhelm me.  I hate marking every error.  I hate reading unreadable work. Students hate being isolated from each other. They hate writing papers that don't reflect who they are. That's a whole other topic, but focusing on marking papers, here are some strategies that helped me transform our experience.  And the guy was right~the teaching and the learning got much, much better.

      (1) For all assignments, we focus on audience and reader engagement.  I draw a line where I become disengaged in a paper. This is far more helpful and awakening than the lie of plodding on. I will ask, "Did you write this in a rush? Resent it? Not care? Why?"  The ensuing discussion is where the learning happens.  Then I send the student back to write a real paper.

      (2) This is important~we learn what we do.  I don't need practice in revising their papers for students.  THEY do.  Either for themselves or for each other. (And fragments can be more effective than "complete sentences.")  See (3). I will identify an error pattern, but not do the work of finding all of the instances of it.  I find ways to encourage them to teach each other.

      (3) We respond to assignments in person. This truly solves the problem of leaning towers of spilled papers. I will put the paper on an overhead projector, either on a tray or digitally.  Looking at the same screen is a powerful communal act.

      (4) We do workshop the first pages of first drafts. "Yes but the good stuff is on page 3!"  "Well then, bring it to the front.  It's your job to get and keep us engaged."  

      (5) On submission days, students gather in groups of four to read and respond to each other's papers, while I one-on-one privately for grades.  KNOW THIS: we can all tell by a quick look where a paper is going.  Study the literature, not their papers. I ask students to tell me what their peers said.  They report back to the groups what I said.  It might take more than one day.  But we're done.  

      (6) Students come to me with a proposed grade, referring to criteria that I sometimes give them, sometimes have them develop together.  It's rare that a student is off by more than a plus or minus.

       The Benefits: No stacks.  Students get immediate responses and ideas for revisions.  They practice writing and reading for audience. They teach each other (which is the best way to learn).  We tell each other the truth, and we do what we love~exercise the power of language and community.

       "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate."  How can you be more authentic in the classroom?  How can you find bliss in your life?

                                
  
© 2014 Susanna Rich

36 comments:

  1. I can be more original in the classroom by bringing original work to the classroom. I can also be original in the classroom by making more meaningful comments to help other writers. How I can find bliss in my life I do not know how I can find bliss in my life. Maybe I can just relax and calm myself. That is how I can find bliss in my life.

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  2. I will use all my own ideas no matter how much or less there is. I will also use supporting details from the tex to support my ideas. I am finding bliss now know that life had got me unexpectly by relaxing, staying calm, and staying stress free.

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  3. A blog about bliss and authenticity, huh? Well, I just love looking up words in the Thesaurus. (I especially love the right click on a PC? There’s just so much stuff in there, so the Thesaurus is always right at my fingertips. I digress.) Bliss is all about heaven, happiness, enjoyment, pleasure, and harmony. Authenticity is all about being genuine, valid, and truthful. When I put those two things together, I get my time in Advanced Poetry class. Where else can I enjoy a few things I love and the pure happiness I derive from those pleasures? Take it from me and know that there aren't that many places to accomplish those two things at once.

    To seek bliss in my life I try to live by a couple of simple rules: the Golden Rule takes care of my behavior, and I also try to not let people or events give me stress if it is out of my control. I’m not a control freak by any means, but there are times in my life when situations arise which could send me right over the edge. I just don’t let those situations get to me. If I caused the situation, I will try to remedy it as soon as possible. If it is out of my control, I just let it work itself out, which those situations tend to do. I also like to read these little books called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and It’s All Small Stuff.” There’s a lot of good words of wisdom in those little books. Qué será, será…what will be, will be.

    Being authentic comes easy to me, since I tend to speak my mind and can’t necessarily always control what comes out of my mouth at any given time. There’s a country song about a guy who can’t get his heart to tell his mind to tell his mouth what to say, but I don’t have that problem. My problem may be the opposite, and I can’t get my brain to tell my mouth to stay closed, because in my heart there’s something to be said, even though it may be better that it isn't said, but that’s part of me being me. Good old reliable me. I can always be counted on to say something inappropriate or opposite to those around me. It’s almost a curse on me, this whole being truthful the entire time thing. Maybe it’s just that I’m supposed to be truthful, so that it validates some point in a conversation, or to look at an alternate point, and that’s my point! I might just take the opposing view on something, so as not to just follow along. I like to hear opposing views, as long as there is no shouting, name calling, foul language, or bodily injury of any kind, and that’s the truth.

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  4. Dr Rich,

    I can't be any more authentic in my life other than being myself. Over the course of the semester with taking your class I have learned to use more of my own ideas. Because what I have to say is important, and it's good. With this, comes bliss. I don't have to research and find data or tons of imformation about the subject. I can just be myself and share my own genuine and intellectual thoughts. Which is pretty blissful if you ask me.

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  5. Dr. Rich,
    Reading this blog post has brought together my past, present, and future which describes the writer I am today.
    Past: I remember having a paper handed back, full of blood. It was terrible. I would get upset over my bleeding paper, even if they professor/ high school teacher meant well. There was only one form of a draft, and it was never an immediate response which ruined the process of my writing-not knowing where or how I could be improving when I went home that same day.
    Present: The six points you mention have helped me in two different ways. The first way is by knowing how to critique other’s work, and help my peers create a paper that is ‘worthwhile,’ like you stated previously. The second way is through my own writing. I have learned how to better my writing without having you bleed all over me (no grotesque meaning behind that phrase intended for all of you non-sarcastic readers out there). Noticing my repetition of adverbs or finding where my writing drifts has redirected me. It helped me get to where I want to be without all the excess words.
    Future: As an aspiring Language Arts teacher, your posts are extremely relevant to me. I really enjoy reading through the ways you learned to teach us and how we can teach others.
    Overall as a current student and future educator, something I strive for and will strive for is authenticity in the classroom. Having a professor or being the teacher that hates marking papers is a reflection on the teacher themselves, not the students. If I want my students to hand me a paper worth reading, I have to show them how to get there.

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  6. I really enjoyed how you related it back to the disciples and Jesus itself. Indeed, we are all liars and sometimes we do fall in that state of denial and self-pity. We rather conceal lies as much as we can than exposing them, that's the ultimate difference. I have learned over the course of the years that I'd rather be blatantly honest than do something that I detest as much as it hurts, being true to yourself is essential. Each and every day I strive for authenticity and creativity, both of these ideas correlate. I feel as if one is an authentic individual, they will portray authenticity in a classroom as well because that is just their persona.

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  7. Dr. Rich,
    Another great post! I love the relations back to Jesus, and I especially love the quotes, "Do not tell lies." and "Do not what you hate." As a future teacher, my goal is to always offer authenticity, and come up with many new ideas and fun learning styles as I can. These quotes really remind me of growing up with my parents. They are pretty religious, and raised me in a way to always tell the truth, to be honest, to follow my heart, and to always do what I love. They taught me not to follow the crowd, and not to do things that I hated or would get in trouble doing. From this, it made me into the responsible and unique human being I am today. I am doing what I love, and don't do anything that will stress me out, or something I strongly dislike. I try to find bliss everyday, even on my worst days. I keep a journal, and write down all my "blessings" for the day, such as being healthy, getting to college okay, getting an A on a paper/test, and so on. I think it is important to have that positive mindset, especially in your work environment. Whatever you say and feel will rub off on your class, so the more positive, passionate, and enthusiastic you are, the more you will get their attention and respect.
    -Valentina Quesada

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  8. Wow Dr. Rich, That was an absolutely great post. I can definitely relate to some of the point you've made. I had learn about writing freely more effectively from your course. I never had any problem with writing a paper, because I love the idea of expressing myself through writing. However, my set back was mainly that I was conditioned to write an "academic" paper so much so, that it took away the fun and freedom of writing a paper where it was authentically me. So I love the hidden Quote from Jesus to his disciples. That is something that, we, as people need to start living by. Nothing is sweeter than the freedom to be authentically creative with your mind and to express your truth.

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  9. Dr. Rich,

    "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate.” This quote is an advice that should be implemented to the society that we live in. To me, it seems like too many people lie to themselves and do all the things that they hate. One thing I learned from my other classes, about writing papers, is that your audience shouldn’t just be your teacher. When we write for our teachers, we write what we think THEY would like. If we write for an audience, and assume more than one person will see it, then we are obligated to put more effort into the writing we do. Many students prefer when the teacher holds their hand in the classroom and that's the issue I find with marking papers. Marking papers should be simple enough that students can figure out how to improve their written work on their own. I am currently taking your poetry class and I enjoy the group collaborations and the help with editing our work. My partners in the groups have given me valuable insight that I take and use for my poetry. I think that in order for students to be more authentic, they need to know first who they are and what drives them. This is how I began to be more authentic inside the classroom and my everyday life.

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  10. HOLY JESUS! Finally, a teacher who gets it and also lets us get it. I always wondered growing up if my teachers actually read any of my papers of if they were solely looking for errors in order to not give me a good grade because they can’t have all students get As.
    I wonder if she realized I looked in the thesaurus?
    I wonder if she knows I used the English-Spanish dictionary to write this whole paper?
    I wonder if she knows I really liked writing this?
    I wonder if she knows I hated writing this?
    I wonder if she knows that red blood ink makes me burn with self judgement inside?
    These were all of my thoughts growing up but I guess teachers had to give grades and therefore a letter grade or a number is what they were seeking from me and not a good paper that they cared about and wanted to read. I wish they would have stirred in me the love and confidence in writing that would’ve made my papers an enjoyable experience for then to read. This is another goldmine I have taken from professor Rich! My students will have the confidence to write and I PROMISE to be the kind of teacher that says FUCK the A, YOU ARE A WRITER.

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  11. Dr. Rich,

    First, I want to tell you that I appreciate your honesty with my work. You do not sugar coat and you do not praise, however, you provide constructive criticism "This works because it foreshadows this..." or "This doesn't work. It made me bored. We need to change this..." Your honesty is more valuable to my success than your compliments. What do people do with compliments anyway? I usually forget compliments, but spend more time thinking about criticism, even better, thinking about how to correct the things that were critiqued.

    You're proposal about the world being a different place if we didn't lie to one another, or to ourselves every situation I have dealt with would have had a different outcome. If I told my boyfriend's niece about her surprise birthday party when she asked why we couldn't play at home, she wouldn't have gotten her surprise party and I wouldn't have gotten pictures and videos of her that make my heart melt while my smile reached from one ear to another. It was such a fun and joyous experience that could have gone completely different if I told Ginny that we were having a surprise party for her. Life would not work the way it is supposed to if we didnt tell little white lies.

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  12. The part of this post that stuck out to me the most was "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate.” If everyone operated under this theology, the world would be so much of a better place. Hipocracy is one of the most crippling elements of our society. People say one thing, do another and point fingers constantly. Being in denial IS lying to yourself. Many people are guilty of this. As a writer, you should write with your audience in mind, but not FOR them because that is tainting your lense and voice as a writer, you’re not being true to the essence of your being. At that point you are molding yourself into what you THINK others wish to see. I think marking papers should be more than just a grade, it should be corrections and insight and questions, like how our peers do in poetry class. It makes for a way more authentic voice, which leaves out room for cliches.

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  13. Dr. Rich

    The struggle is real ! Thank you for being honest about how you felt towards grading papers and how you came to love what you do. I can definitely relate with some key points you have mentioned in this post. I learned to be creative and to embrace myself through writings in this course. I love the idea of having students look over their classmates work over the projector. Somehow, we can all learn from other each other's mistakes. Just by looking at the beginning of a sentence, we can already figure out the direction of the paper. I used to get mad every time a teacher would torn down my paper with red marks... it was discouraging. Now, I think differently ... I love to be corrected because it makes me a better writer. Great post! I also love the quote :)

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  14. Dr. Rich,

    When I was younger I always loved reading and writing and was told from a young age that if I were to pursue a career in it, I would "find nothing and be bored." This exact quote from the exact family member still sits in the bottom of my stomach today and I still do get thoughts about it.

    When I was a freshman in college my major was biology. I chose this major because at the time I "thought" I wanted to be an occupational therapist. Well, I was surely wrong. I barely passed the basic biology class at my community college and I thought my self, "This is something that I do not love. Why am I doing this for someone else and not doing something for me?"

    And with that, I changed my major to English and am truly happy with what I love to do. However, I still get shit for my major choice particularly from customers at my job. They always ask if I will go into teacher and answer them truthfully and say never. I do not want to teach anyone or grade papers. I want people to read my work and I want to be proud of my work getting published eventually.

    I would by lying to myself if I stayed with biology, I wouldn't be true to myself and I can't live like that.

    Kristen Calderoni

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  15. Dear Dr. Rich,
    This blog was interesting and brought up a view I never really thought of. I remembered one class I had in which the professor would have us look over another person’s paper. It was done at random so no one would know what you thought about theirs. It was a fun experience for me, I enjoy writing and being given the opportunity of read someone else’s work and correct it was thrilling. I’ve been so accustomed to being the graded and never the grader. There was a lot to go through, and the writer made plenty of grammatical errors for me to check off. It took a while but I was finally able to make enough notes and write feedback for them in hopes that it would make the process of improving their paper easier. However to do that for a whole class, several times a week, for each class I taught, it sounds overwhelming. I can see how tiring it could be for you, and the strategies you came up with I found to be very helpful. If I were ever to become a teacher, I would be sure to follow the guidelines you wrote in this blog.
    Stephen Corrales

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  16. I think this paper gives me an insight to who you've become as a teacher. Its actually interesting to read how you wanted to develop a way to not hate papers. It is like you took "Do not do what you hate" and turned it into rather something you liked. Four years later and I am going to assume that you figured out plot summaries is what made you despise marking papers. Though the brain storming at times this past semester may have taken a few hours, I actually have a good time writing my paper halfway in. You were helpful (I put right before but I knew you wouldn't agree with being right) when you taught us that you can explore the text and give the details of a Shakespeare without writing three to five pages of plot summary. In a sense, I would not like graded the relative action summaries, the usual "interpretation" of what Shakespeare MAY have been saying. You really took this idea of a creating a way that worked best for you so you would never get tired of same thing. And by the same thing I mean grading over forty pages of Romeo and Juliet.

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  17. Dr. Rich,
    I loved this blog and was definitely able to connect to it. I have had numerous teacher and professors along the way who have made my essays and other written assignments look like a genocide on a page from how much red I found. I have made many mistakes in writing, but I found that most of them were being very nitpicky. I found that what they found wrong in my papers I found functional and proper. The worst part is that they would tell me every little thing that was wrong without ever proposing how to fix them.As this continued, I grew to dislike any writing assignments, let alone papers.

    However, from my years of being an upperclassman in high school to my present-day college career, the teaching styles I have experienced have restored my love for writing. My educators point out mistakes in the beginning and leave it to me to learn for myself throughout the rest of the papers. I find that learning on my own with a little guidance has been the most effective way for me to grow and make the changes I need to make.

    If I look at this teaching method in the perspective of an educator, I would find that there is less confusion and paper stacks everywhere. Letting students learn for themselves and pointing out their own flaws rather than depending on an instructor to do so gives them a sense of independence and self-efficiency in the classroom. As you have pointed out in your class, you want to teach things that relate to the world outside of a classroom. I find that by implementing this system in your classroom, you are exposing the students to the world of independence, self-teaching, and working to improve themselves based on their self-evaluations.

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  18. Hi Dr. Rich,
    Great post! I am at the moment struggling with my trained brain. But I am winning this battle, because it is important to know how to write a paper that is true to yourself. I used to write this way, and many professors (and teachers) used to tell me I needed to do an outline, stay within the confines of the rules, dont have my own opinion. Now that I am taking your class and you are allowing us to really write what we feel and the way we understand something, it is difficult for me to let it go. Once I started though, its like the dam broke, I feel free!! Yes, my mind is been given a chance to work. Writing an assignment will no longer be a sentence (as in prison) and it will become a walk in the park of our understanding. This is an excellent tool to use as an educator as well. Soon I will be teaching young minds and your post will be something I will come back and refer to. Not only are we giving them the chance to exercise their creativity, but we would offer a chance to work as a team and help each other. It is true that when we view other peoples point of view, it enriches our own and that is an important part of learning. Plus there is the added factor of having less papers to grade that as a teacher is a win win situation.

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  19. I really appreciate what you shared about how much you hate marking papers, sometimes as a college student forget that teachers are also human beings who also needs a break in life. I am a very introvert person and I am beginning to embrace of just being myself, it may take a while to express my ideas or thought in public or on the papers that I write, but I am willing to do it when I feel confident. Over my college years, I had many mistakes in writing and learned that nobody gets right at the first time, there will always be mistakes. As I learn from my mistakes I try to do better if the opportunity presents itself, if there is no opportunity, I know I need to work harder next time to learn and take the good things and apply it to my own life. I do appreciate how you give pointers on how to better, and lets us revise, correcting the mistakes, not just for a grade but to make me a better writer, not many professors cares so much how well I write a paper. I appreciate your teachings because it helps me think out of the box, take a challenge, get out of my comfort zone. What I am learning in this class will stay with me forever.

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  20. I actually just finished marking papers for an eighth grade class comprehension assignment on the novel The Outsiders. It is a tedious task but one that is very beneficial for the teacher, student, and even their parents. Marking students papers holds students accountable for their work and helps the teacher understand what is not clear in lessons. Marking papers varies for each subject in math there are concrete right/wrong answers to equations, however when grading a paper the lines are blurred. In order to justify equal grading for all students a grading rubric should be followed. I understand the issue of over grading and heavily marking someone's work but that is not the only way. When teachers read my papers and marked them it showed me as a student that they were taking the time to read my work and give me feedback that could help me which I appreciated. I think it is important to get the students point of view on assignments and check in with the class. I agree with the strategies in the post I can see them being helpful in a classroom. Being authentic in a classroom is seeing students academic growth throughout the year. By babying students and not pushing them to do better and correct them they will not grow.

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  21. Sometimes I write papers that I don’t even want to revise because I get bored of reading my own work. This is why I understand that teachers find it annoying to grade papers. If find my own work boring, why would a student revising my paper or even the teacher find it interesting? This is how I learned to make my work more interesting to read. If I don’t even have the will to revise my paper to make sure it is good, then it probably isn’t. However, this would be the problem in classes that I have to write papers in but I can’t be original and express myself. I remember in high school when I took AP history, I had to write a ten page paper on Genghis Khan. I wrote the paper but I didn’t re- read it because it was honestly so long and boring. I spent most of the paper just writing “fluff” so I can take up space. I can also honestly say that I don’t remember half of the information that I wrote in that paper. When I got the paper back, it was full of red marks because of grammar mistakes. I’m sure my teacher hated reading my paper because I hated reading it myself. Now I am learning to writing freely while taking risks to make my writing more interesting and worth reading. This will hopefully help my teachers enjoy grading my papers.
    Priya Jhaveri

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  22. When it comes to writing papers I tend to enjoy those that catch my interest. However, for those that don't catch my interest I tend to just write the paper poorly all because I get to bored of the topic at hand. I even feel bored writing the paper and when I go to hand it in, I know that the professor might not like it and also find it boring. This is why when I read this blog it's all about how revising other papers can be quite beneficial because it can describe how the other people writes and how they use language when it comes to their essays. As long as I'm able to attract my readers to my story with the proper markings this would help me become a better writer. Also by grabbing interesting contextual evidence this will allow me to become a better writer. So what will make me become a better writer is how we need to mark each others papers in order to become better and make improvements. This also enhances how we speak and translate words within our heads onto paper as ell. So writing the boring paper will be nonexistent. So hopefully when I write my papers from now on the teacher that is reading my paper won't become bored while doing so because I want my papers to as interesting as possible.

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  23. Nadia Radwan
    I can only imagine how sucky it is to basically read the same paper 100s of time. That's why I never understood teachers who force the students to write about one topic. I mean how many times do you want to read about what caused WWII? Why not have the kids write about different aspects of WWII and what it means to them. That makes for a way better experience AND paper. I mean yeah I can write about anything, but is it going to be good? I mean if I really just HATE the topic or i'm thinking about how great it would be if I could write about a certain topic within the topic but mr/mrs/whoever has a stick lodged so far up their ass that they can't walk straight, how good can this paper really be? Chances are not good at all. I mean I get that we have to suck it up and write things we don't to but does it always have to be like that? I remember loving history but hating having to write about it because it just felt like we were rewording our shitty textbooks. But now that I am trying to become a teacher, what's even more annoying is trying to understand why they even assign shit like that. I mean do they really want to read something like that? In mass?

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  24. Nicole Diefenbacher
    Dr. Rich
    ENG 3000*01

    The Bliss of Marking Papers

    I find it so much easier to be authentic in your class because you are authentic with your students. I have only ever truly felt that way with one other professor here at Kean, Dr. Fitch in the Comm department. I think because you are real with us it allows us to be more honest in class.

    Being my authentic self is a process. It is hard to be myself sometimes, I think, because of that worry of what others think of me. It’s silly, and I hate it. I’m working on it. When it comes to classes I do not really pay much attention to what others think of me because odds are I probably will not be seeing those people outside of class. I overthink a lot about things I say to others though because for some reason my brain likes to keep me up at night over things I have no control over.

    It’s silly, but I am definitely trying to let loose a bit and not overthink as much, and hopefully this will help me to become my true authentic self.

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  25. I used to be so disappointed when I saw the red marks on my papers. At some point, I stopped caring because the instructors were not saying anything new or innovative that made me want to revise my papers. I wanted them to tell me what they understood from my paper, were my arguments clear, or were grammatical mistakes so bad that they couldn’t understand the point I was trying to prove. There are a lot of meanings for the color Red, but the meaning I got from it is "danger." So if an instructor is using a red Bic pen on my papers, all that is running through my mind is that this is really bad and that can really ruin my spirit. I think this was a part of the reason I was so scared of writing in general. I did my very best to run away from writing, but in the end, it became my content area and then my second major. I made sure not to let the blood on the paper to intimidate because, in the end, I met professors who answered my question for me. The ones who helped me revise my paper.
    Priscilla B.

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  26. Dr. Rich,

    I appreciate the fact that you put the power in our hands when it comes to writing our papers. You allow us to openly comment on each other's work and make it better. This, although seeming scary at first, is so much more fun and less scary than getting blood all over your paper. It gave us the opportunity to help each other and make our classroom more like a family. Thank you for doing this as it has shown to be extremely beneficial for me and others as well.

    Sarah Otero

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  27. Seanette Martin
    April 8, 2019
    Eng 4817
    Prof Rich
    The Bliss of Marking Papers
    I must be honest when I first began writing for my assignments in your class and received feedback from you I was distraught and very angry. As the weeks went on I took a closer look at my work and realized that you were actually helping me not trying to hurt me but I guess I was scared to step out of my element and see things from a different perspective. I played around with my work and it showed me that my professor wasn’t the issue it was me. I became so accustomed to a bunch of writing on my work or comments on google docs that I wasn’t ready to get the feedback verbally.
    After playing with my work I took a look at the mentor pieces that we have been issued and noticed that I could love what I was working on even though this wasn’t in my element. The six pointers shown in this blog is also very helpful. As a future educator I know that I don’t want to have a stack of papers on my desk and I also know that I don’t want my students hating what they write I want to be able to be as authentic as possible to help them become a better writer just as Dr. Rich has done for me. I have also learned that having students come up with the criteria together enhances grades because it’s not a surprise what is expected because we came up with this together. I am very thankful that I am able to learn new ways to write from Dr. Rich it feels great to know someone actually cares and is willing to share their knowledge with me.

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  28. Marking papers has always been something that I hated doing. I sometimes feel like I am taking away someone's hard work, and suggesting something that they wont even like or take into consideration. I understand that it is only helping, but sometimes I feel as if they might think that I am offending their work. As for my own papers, I don’t mind when classmates or professors mark them up. However, I sometimes get offended when I worked on something that I truly appreciated and then someone tore it apart. At the end of the day, I need to realize that these marks are only suggestions, and that they are only there to help me. Another thought when reading this blog was if I will ever not get hurt over harsh criticism? I sometimes feel a pit in my stomach when someone tells me that my work isn’t good enough for that particular assignment. With every workshop, I often take the suggestions and try to work with them to satisfy my own work, as well as to satisfy my readers. I always wonder if maybe I am not used to these “marks” yet, since I am still a very young writer. Maybe, I need these marks more often to motivate me to not be hurt over them.
    Getting back on track with the blog post, I am very appreciative of the six pointers that were addressed in this blog. I believe that they are very helpful when it comes to workshop, and reading over others’ work. Pointer number four related to me, since I was in the situation where my story did not really start until page three. This blog post was a fun read, and it really made me think about my own experiences just by reading the title!

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  29. When teachers mark my papers, I always expect the worst, but hope for the best. During this semester, I have been able to see the way that you grade, and the way that you mark papers. I have enjoyed reading the comments you put on my paper, because they aren’t always negative. Through the years I’ve had teachers that put what felt like a million negative comments, and some teachers that put no comments at all. I received my first paper from you, and my heart sank. There was a long paragraph on the last page, and all I kept thinking about was, “great, she just ripped me a new one”. To my surprise, I read the excerpt you wrote, and it was both negative and positive. I appreciate that you highlighted what worked in my paper, and what didn’t. That is one of the most difficult things to fix when it’s time to rewrite papers. When going back to rewrite my paper for you, I know exactly what wasn’t working, and what I was able to leave alone. I truly do appreciate the comments I receive, because I freak out when I’m told to rewrite papers. But if I have the guidance like what you give, I won’t freak out as much. With that being said, I always take what you say to heart, but not in a negative way. I know that you are always saying things in our best interest, and never to hurt us. I have learned so much as a writer, simply from the markings on my paper.

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  30. As I am reading this post I am thinking about this as a student and teacher perspective.
    As a student I believe I can be more authentic in the classroom by being more open minded to what I am learning. I feel when I go into a classroom for the first time I ask around about the teacher, the work load, how hard the teacher grades, and all the other questions that typical student asks. I never go into a classroom for a first time with a fresh open mind to just seeing what happens and dealing with it head on. I think as a student I need to be more accepting and wanting to learn new things in different ways. This will help me find more bliss as being a student and create less stress for me within my work.
    As a teacher I believe I can in the future be authentic in the classroom by being unique and working hard. I want my students to be inspired by me and not just another teacher that passes them through a corrupted system. I want to be more than a teacher to my students, but someone who truly cares about them inside and outside the classroom. I think by doing this I can find bliss in my life by knowing I am changing kids lives for the better.
    In general my life is pretty crazy. I believe helping myself better my health and the people I surround myself with will make my life more blissful and happy to live.

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  31. Dr. Rich,

    This post is essential, because it is realistic and more people need to be aware of it. In our lives, honesty can be one of the best policies to live by. Honesty equals authenticity, and that is real. i mean that it really real. Most people do not have a clear understanding of what it means to be authentic. Authenticity is similar to originality. That is what we as future educators want to encourage our future students to be; original. It would be wonderful if students could feel like they could be original, and to think outside of the box. Unfortunately, students often feel like they cannot express emotions, expressions, or opinions of their own which are the most important things of all! All good teachers welcome authentic, and original thought from students. Newer teachers, on the other hand often do not encourage original thought which is a sin. Students, young or old should never ever be discouraged from any academic thought - unless if they are misbehaving. That is a different blog post. A healthy challenge for students to come up with original thought and base their findings off of that for a project such as a vision board. A vision board - consisting of goals, dreams, and some accomplishments must be unique. A vision board is not meant to be copied. That same attitude should be applied to other assignments such as homework or group work. Students should know that with that determined original game face, they can carry it on all throughout their lives.

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  32. I had a issue with teachers marking papers of errors that I made. Growing up, I had reading comprehension problem. I didn't like to read because I was not interested in reading and always watched tv. That was a problem and when I had a hard time understanding something, I was smacked and yelled at. That made it less interest for me to learn. Someone showed me in a fun better way how to read and I was happy with that, that it made want to learn more. How can I be authentic in the classroom is maybe giving supporting ideas to think outside the box of things to be creative. How can I find bliss? I can't answer that to be honest because there's still an empty whole to fill in.

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  33. As a student, writing papers is the epitome of annoyance. Writing more than one paper for multiple professors with at least a two to three page minimum really takes up one’s time. Especially when we have other things like work, sleep, and studying to do as well. However, one of the things that I have realized with writing papers (similar to grading papers as well) is that it’s similar to cooking. If you do not put your heart in it, the audience can tell. It’s always going to miss that oomph if you follow the recipe to the tee and not put your own little flare to it. Why write what the teacher wants when you can write about what you like or something that interests you?

    One of the other things that I have noticed why you may not like grading papers is the reason because it is more left brain rather than right brain. It doesn’t encourage the students' creativity and really focuses on right/wrong.

    There are many ways that I can become authentic in the classroom. I can talk to my classmates and form real bonds like we have in Writing Poetry. Something that I have been doing, which has been kind of effective up until now, is creating or being in a group chat. I find that this helps everybody because as college students, we are very busy and sometimes forget things. Having the whole class in a group chat yields for quicker responses. We are able to bond over things that happened at school, upcoming homework, tests, etc.

    In my everyday life, I live peacefully through activating my right brain. I let myself be creative and do activities that help enrich my soul -- meditation, journaling, yoga, etc.

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  34. This was my first semester where I was able to choose what to write on in poetry. loved that I had hold of the reins and I can explain and prove my own interpretation. When I was grading papers I felt a mix of emotions I felt bad for marking so many answers wrong and I was also annoyed that m students hadn't studied for a vocal quiz. I trained myself to only mark the correct ones with a 'C' for correct and the wrong ones I left blank so that there wasn't a whole ton of red ink poisoning the page and I found it worked more positively towards my students.

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  35. "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate."

    I think I’m living up to this statement right now. I left teaching in June 2019, not because I hated it because I hated lying and convincing myself that I was happy. I was taught the word hate is very strong and to try to use other words to describe or explain the real feeling. I am what people consider assertive by nature. It is the cream filling of a passive and aggressive person. Well, I needed to tap into my assertive side and advocate for my needs. Before I left teaching, I wanted the children to be children and understand that life is filled with tasks that we may not want to do but we need to do them. If you can explain to 4-6 year olds the difference between wanting and needing then you’re ok in my book. If I can explain to them then why should I struggle for myself.

    In July 2019, I signed up for the graduate program at Kean to help me find the writer within. This was a side of me that I loved and cherished, so to know That side is lost or broken is hurtful. I choose to use this time at Kean to create a better version of myself. Hell yea, I’m still in the process but I am a step closer than I was months ago. I do fear the unknown and in a way that’s why people lie whether to themselves or others. Control is questionable and if you feel like you don’t have it then it’s scary. I want to feel happy or at least content in life. In order to do that, I mustn’t do what I hate. Find and do what I love.

    Meagan AWP 5000

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  36. "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate."
    I do not know much about grading and what it feels like grading paper. But that approach you have done with your students is very effective. Wishing all professor uses this approach. The first my professor did this approach to discuss paper in class and in group and give each other feedback was a little nerve wrecking because it too me out my comfort zone. Was not confident with my writing didn’t not matter the topic, I was always so insecure with my writing along with other things. But back to papers, I feared the feedback I was going to get and in person. I’m so used for Professor/ teacher use couple of words on my paper and I either took the advice or not. It did not matter as much as another student and teacher giving feedback right then and there in person. That was more effective to go back to my paper and make the changes. Now I appreciate the all the feedback I can get to make my paper stronger.

    Jessica M.
    AWP4000

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