Today in class, on Ms. Baskin’s birthday (Happy Birthday!), we gave her the gift of helping her grade some old quizzes. My classmates and I were so excited to see what the process entailed, and also to avoid fondling the details of a new story, that it felt more like a gift for us. I have long wondered what it is like to grade any work in an English class. So much of what we are graded on in English is abstract and answers certainly can vary. Thankfully, this was not at full display today, as the quizzes were just reading checks with only one right answer. However, it is easy to forget that knowing the material you are reading is only half the battle. The other half of the battle is being articulate.
I was fortunate enough to grade the quizzes of two students who had neat handwriting, and, for the most part, strong grammar and spelling skills. There is not much you can do about the handwriting, as that had become muscle memory long ago, but I was amazed at some of the strange combinations of words that were passed off as answers in the tests around me. By taking a second to read over their answer, the student could have realized that the words on the page did not make sentences, and they could change it. The best way for an athlete to learn and prepare is to watch film, and I feel like, through this exercise, I was just watching some film to become a better student. With the deadline for the Winesburg essay looming large, I know that I have a ways to go. I must proofread my essay several times over before I hand it in. There is only a year or two of experience separating me from the kids I could chuckle at this morning, and, if I don’t read over my work, Ms. Baskin will be chuckling at me.
I also found it very interesting to be on the other side of a test for once. While it was pretty amusing to see what some of the students had written, I'm sure I (and most if not all of our classmates) have had a few test answers in our day that gave a teacher a good laugh. Building off of that, I'm sure a few of our essays will have some wording or explanations that Mrs. Baskin will find very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI did not have the opportunity to grade tests; however, I do know how important it is to proofread. There have been so many instances where I have turned in work without checking it over, only to receive a poor grade due to simple mistakes. My performance in math classes over the past years reflects this, as I do not like to check my work, which often results in losing unnecessary points.
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting to grade the tests. What I liked the most about grading the tests was that it showed how far we can come in two years. From what I remember from Sophomore English, I don't think that my responses on tests were quite as bad as some of the ones that I graded, but that being said, I definitely devoted more time to English class my sophomore year than any other class I took that year.
ReplyDeleteLike Dan, I did not get the chance to grade these tests, but I have had plenty of first hand expirience with making small, easy to fix mistakes. While reading this post I could help but think if I had let any small mistakes slip past me on my Winesburg Essay. Of course I did read it over, but sometimes, while reading my own work, I will subconsiously edit my work in my head and not even notice the error.
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