Essays

Hey to all, y'all out in cyber space, hope life hasn't been too vacuous for you. (Vacuous = empty/ inane/ stupid/blank/vacant)
I have been reading and grading essays as of late, which is at the same time entertaining and irritating. One such assigned essay was a "Writing Performance Assessment", or as it is better known a "WPA". This test is a district mandated assessment. It was not difficult, and involved how a particular rule affected the student on a personal level. You would think adolescents would find it very easy to discuss and give examples about how a rule has affected them. Some of the essays on this topic were very eloquent, some got the point and did acceptably well. Mostly the complaints were directed at the predictably, and hotly debated dress code. One student sadly did not take this test very seriously and directed his focus on how much he hated writing essays. Now, this is not a student without ambition. As a matter of fact, he is very serious about his grades, and going to college. I predict he will not be very happy at college when he discovers the depth to which he will be required to write essays. To begin with I hope he does not take his college entrance writing exam so lightly as to react in such a facetious manner as he treated the district writing test. On the other end of the spectrum one student wrote about a brother that was not allowed to attend their mother's funeral when she was tragically killed in an auto accident because he was in prison. The funeral was held outside the country, after taking into consideration the family's inability to be liable for the cost incurred when an inmate has to be transported and supervised to attend a family funeral inside the country. It is absolutely forbidden for a prisoner to attend such a funeral outside the country. The student discussed the doubled grief that the family had to bear due to these rules regarding inmates attending funerals. Tear this mean old heart out now please.
And then I open an email from CATEnet, an educator's web info sort of site, and the author of a particular commentary on the weakened state of reading education today, has written an essay riddled with spelling, grammar and professional errors. I think I'll go back and add ten points to my student's essays. Maybe this commentator should examine the state of writing education.
Anyhow on the lighter side, I did enjoy the holiday weekend. The husband hauled my backside to La Jolla Cove on the Harley. It was a beautiful day, and it stayed that way to the end.
Watched the film The New World. It was like watching a really long ballet, beautiful scenery and people, but stultifyingly boring. Collin Farrel stood around looking morose while the acterss who portrayed Pocahontas danced around throughout most of the film. I guess this was supposed to be significant of her native naivete. I was happy to be sitting on my couch watching it rather than have spent a gazillion dollars on seeing it at the theater.
On the music scene I did something somewhat mean to my students. I had recently acquired the new Flaming Lips CD and I made them listen to the "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah Song" . It really did apply as we were preparing to begin a study on "Macbeth", and the song addresses the issue of power and the possible danger of its application. I'm just so silly sometimes, I make myself smile. Hope you're smiling too, Bye Bye