Random thoughts

First, I have tried to comment on several blogs, only to lose the entire entry when it asks me to choose a profile. Does anyone know why this happens? I choose Google account, because that's where I have an account. Is this the right thing to do? It's so frustrating to hit "post comment" only to lose the entire thing!

Second, first drafts of paper one came in this week. Oh how that first round of papers brings a reality check. (I tried to comment on Becky's recent blog about procrastination, but still no luck:/) Anyway, it tends to take me WAY too long to read each student's draft and offer comments--we're talking like sometimes an hour per paper, especially the first draft. I feel obligated to do this because their writing is just so far away from what is expected of them at the end-of-semester portfolio review. This isn't their fault, of course, and they are there to learn. But the pressure of knowing another teacher essentially decides their fate in the course is quite stressful. (They have to pass the portfolio review to pass the course). Thankfully, as a graduate student, I only have one class of 20 students. Still, you can imagine with 20 students at an hour a paper.... I eat away virtually an entire day on papers and then need to catch up to lesson plan and keep up with my own coursework.

Third, I offer my students this website from the UNC's writing center. It's chock full of pointers, information, explanations about everything from writing introductions, using evidence, coming up with a thesis--you name it. I find myself using it sometimes as well when I just want to read something concrete about writing. It's useful for us as teachers, but also as students ourselves, so I thought I'd share it. In addition to being a helpful tool, sharing the link also helped me to practice making a hyperlink! Thanks SWM for showing me how easy it was:)