NUMBER 1

Assignments that Kill

A 10th grade teacher, Mrs. P., assigned the following lesson to her 10th grade class:

Your "Dear Mrs. P" letter should be formatted as that of a friendly letter.  It should be typed in 12 point font, double-spaced, and at least four paragraphs long.  The content of the letter should reflect the following:

·         What have you learned about the use of literary devices?

·         What have you learned about the use of rhetorical devices?

·         How have you grown as a reader of expository text?  What do you pay attention to now that you didn't before?  What do you still need to learn to be a more successful reader?

·         Evaluate your growth as a responder to expository text.  Do you understand what a Reader's Response is?

·         How have you grown as a writer of expository text?  What do you know now about writing that you didn't?  What kind of writer are you?  What do you need to learn or practice more in order to grow as a writer of expository test?

·         What does it mean to be a responsible writer?  Do you feel that you have the necessary skills to NOT plagiarize?

·         Overall, evaluate your efforts in this class.  What do you need in order to be a more successful student?

·         Finally, evaluate the content of the class thus far.  What things that we have done this year, have you liked?  Was there anything that you would recommend that I toss or revise for next year?  Why or how?

This is the essay the Learning Disabled Student wrote:

Dear Mrs. P.,

            I came into your class late.  I really do not understand what you want me to write in this letter.  I do not understand what a rhetorical device is.  I also do not understand why you would assign this letter and not explain how to do it.  The most amazing thing about your class though, is how I was not taught this by you at all.

            To tell you the truth, I did not grow strong in expository text and if I haven't grown strong in this subject, I can't really pay more attention in it because I don't really know what this is.  I need your help.  Please help me be a better reader because I cannot read very well.

            I do understand what a reader's response is, because I have done reader's responses before your class.  I don't know how to evaluate an expository text because I don't even know what it is.  I really need help in understanding what a lot of this stuff is.  I was not taught any of this in my previous schooling.

            I do have the necessary skills not to plagiarize.  Being a responsible wirter means not stealing other peoples work, and I don't do that.  I need your help to become a more successful student and writer.  I was not helped a the beginning of the year, so I'm so behind that I'm starting to get really lost in your class.  I would say toss the feature article and do a research paper that makes sense because your making this paper complicated because saying it's a research/newspaper/narrative essay is really confusing.  These are my thoughts on your class.              

                                                                                                            Sincerely,
                                                                                                           Kathy R.

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