Mistake #1

I shared an AP student essay with my on-level 12th graders (I asked for permission first). I had read her piece, "Thicker Than Blood", and loved how she weaved figurative language throughout her essay. Her effortless words took me on a journey and I thought, My students need to read this!

But I made one giant mistake: I failed to complete a close reading. When I distributed the essay and my students began reading/annotating, I noticed the error. And it's a big one.

In her piece, Sonia* argues that tattoos and its artists should be considered art. She dives into religion, explaining how churches view individuals with tattoos. Then, in her last sentence within that paragraph, she rants. It's a beautifully written claim, but it's still a rant. Without supporting her opinion with evidence or analysis, she moves onto her next paragraph. And while I walked around the classroom, observing my students' annotations, I noticed that many circled or starred that sentence. The room was divided: some liked it, others questioned its validity and connection to the entire piece.

How do I deal with this?

Here's what I did. I made sure to clearly state that Sonia's essay, except for that one flaw, is perfect. Her use of imagery, metaphors, and personification help readers open their eyes to a new way of viewing tattoos. We studied how she crafted her piece, paragraph-by-paragraph, unpacking her use of diction, syntax, and semantics. Then, we talked about why that particular sentence did not fit. Many arrived at the conclusion that because the sentence, while beautiful, does not offer any support it weakens the piece's overall effect and the writer's ethos. I ended the class by explaining the importance of making sure every word, phrase, and sentence connects to the piece's greater whole and that workshopping -- having other eyes read the piece -- can help spot the weak places.

Although the class went decent, I could feel an undercurrent of negative emotions. Was it fear? Anger? Defensiveness? I'm still not sure. I do know, however, that I made an error in judgement. And that feeling does not please me.

So, what lessons have I learned from this awkward situation?

1. Critically read the student's piece, evaluating its usefulness and purpose for the lesson(s).
2. Edit, if needed, the weak places so as to not embarrass the student.
3. Choose student work that are good, that will help build her credibility as a writer and that will fuel inspiration for other writers.
4. Don't do this again!

*names have been changed to protect student confidentiality.