Yesterday (Friday) was one of those days. We are finishing up literature circles in 8th grade language arts. Our focus has been novels that deal with the Civil War era. It's been fun, good reading for the students, plenty of work to do for those who are actually doing their work. One of the quirks about this results in me writing individual tests for each group. Now... to be honest, I don't exactly write totally individualized tests. The first page is always vocabulary based on the words that the students have chosen to highlight: new, interesting, or difficult words. The second page has the same essay questions, framed around the elements of literature, which the students answer based on their particular novel.
Thursday afternoon I began preparing the first test over Across Five Aprils. I dug into the folder, pulled out all the word list sheets, and began to read: wonderful, picket, idle, --- WHAT? The little darlings had chosen wimpy words, thinking they would beat me at my own game. So... I typed up their word list and next to each wimpy word I place a word that would challenge their learning. And no, I did NOT give them the definition! I finished the list and saw that only six of their words had survived the exercise. I printed one copy and gave it to a young lady in the group, telling her that she would have the dubious honor of presenting it to her group the next morning. The look on her face quickly confirmed that she knew exactly what was up! I went through each of the lists that afternoon, finding one more group who thought it would be a good idea to produce wimpy words. I doctored that list and gave it to a young man... who told me a few moments later that all his words had survived the cut because he had taken his responsibility seriously. I agreed with him; he did a good job choosing his words. However, he knew exactly what the others were doing and he didn't stop them nor did he choose to tell me what was happening. Brandon announced that there ought to be a banner in my classroom that simply states: Don't play around with Mrs. K or you will pay! I understood and agreed with that concept. To be fair, there was only one group who did not have any words replaced or added to the list but the four other groups had obviously taken their job seriously, I mean... prestidigitation? Good word. So last night I finished the tests.
Friday night, 8 o'clock, and there I was, working away... ridiculous but necessary. I have a ton of essays to grade this weekend and I didn't need those tests hanging over my head. As I worked, two of my former students dropped by to visit. There were basketball games going on in both gyms on our campus. Both girls are sweet, bright students. They didn't get all As from me but they did fine. One attends the high school on our campus and the other is at a nearby public high school. Miss Public High School Student began to tell me about her Honors English class. My head snapped up, "You are in honors? Congratulations." All the while my brain is saying, how in the world did that happen? I don't mean to belittle Miss PHSS; she's so sweet, a good reader, but certainly not among my top students. We chatted amiably for about 30 minutes and then the girls headed off to the game. I sat for a few moments, thinking of my students who had moved on to public high schools. Every one of my former students is part of an Honors English program in high school. I did not think Miss PHSS would be one of those, nor Mr. R, nor Mr. S, but they are. All of my former students tell me that they have yet to work as hard in high school as they did in 8th grade. And remember... they are in honors! I learned last night that they read one or maybe two novels each quarter and that their grade is based on a 50-minute timed essay. They will write three timed essays during the quarter and they are allowed to choose which one gets graded. The teacher rolls a dice which determines which part of their essay she will grade. R-e-a-l-l-y!
I think... no, I honestly don't know what I think! Good writing, in my very humble opinion, is not about a student's gut reaction to a topic. Remember, students have 50 minutes to make some notes, organize their thoughts, write, edit, and rewrite. I suppose that this works from a strictly testing point of view but to my understanding, this is the only essay writing these students will do during the year.
I am hearing this everywhere... timed essays... just sayin' - I'm not a fan.
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