As the three long time readers know, I hate grading. It's vitally important, but I hate it. Mostly I hate it because woefully disappointing. My regular english students see little value in anything that goes on in the classroom (and when the B*&#$ of teacher won't let you text while waiting for the outcome of your parent's trial, who can blame them?). At least one third of the papers are so poorly written that I really can't decipher what is written. I'm pretty good at reading chicken scratch, but our middle school decided several years ago not to "worry" about penmanship and the result is radom slashed on the paper that make no sense to anyone - even the writer.
So, the two thirds I can read... well, about half are barely completed. Mostly they contain answers like "he did that." I've gone over the proper way to answer questions... I've done mini-lessons on the use of complete sentences... We've gone over pronoun useage... God, I'm tired of saying the same thing twelve different ways and still getting blank looks. No, I can't make it more interesting. No, I can't make it more relevant. Believe me, I've tried. The only thing the majority of these students find relevent is where the next party is and who is txting who. English is just a pothole on the road of life.
Lest you think my AP classes are a ray of academic sunshine, think again. A significant number still write the WASL formula they were taught in 6th grade. Introduction that includes "I believe" or "I agree" as part of the thesis. (Usually "I agree with the author." and that's it). Each paragraph starts with a carefully crafted transition word... either "first, second, last" or "first, next, finally"... and a conclusion that starts "in conclusion" (usually, "in conclusion, I believe the author is correct"). There's little thought involved. I ask a question, they stare. I stare back, counting in my head, praying for someone to say something. They stare back. Only the lack of drool convinces me that they're not actually voodoo zombies.
I need to reevaluate before I go nuts.
Comments
Hang in there with grading, I hate it too. I hate planning as well, but when I do it I'm damn good :)
One thing I do for my sanity with essays is create a VERY specific rubric that includes a "Yes" test. This is a pre-check done by peers and if they can't answer yes to each item, they are not allowed to even turn the paper in. What's in a yes test? 1 inch margins, Times font, 12 point, proper heading, works cited, no "I" or "you". I also include specifics so for your challenge with your AP kids, the yes test could say, "Begins paragraph one NOT using Firstly". Or something like that.
Feel free to email me if you want a copy of one of my rubrics that you can just edit for yourself :)