Any teacher who fears that she is losing her humanity and compassion need only go back to school to get it back. Today I received comments from my advisor on my latest instalment of new writing. I was doing the quick first pass through the comments when I got to the last one, which said, “of course I can’t wait to hear more about xxx.” Well, the thing is, there was a whole scene about xxx in the piece that I meant to send. The piece I got back from my advisor ended on page 16. Where were pages 17-21?
Now I’ve had several students over the years who claim to have turned in the wrong draft. Did I listen to their pleas for leniency? No, that wouldn’t be fair to the other students. They should be more careful in checking over their work before they turn it in. They should proof read. What a persnickity bitch I’ve been for the past fourteen years! It is soooo easy to hand in the wrong file. I hereby resolve to be more forgiving, even giving students the benefit of the doubt (at least from time to time).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
A hard pill to swallow,yes? We just keep learning our lessons in life!
LOL TI. I am SO paranoid about doing that! It's a good lesson to remind us all to be more forgiving. :) I'm sure Tony isn't half as persnickety as you are (were!) towards your students. Were the rest of his comments helpful?
Hehehehe...I agree...it's different now that we're on the receiving end of comments, isn't it? :)
What did T think of the new installment??? Was he as excited as I was...especially with the "neithers"????
Bug and FC, you both asked abotu T's comments. T thought the 'neither' stuff was key, just as you did, FC, and I sensed. He also had some of the same suggestions as you, FC, about withholding information for dramatic effect, as in the first scene - not using "that word" until later. Generally, he likes the direction I'm going in but (and here I agree) thinks there's a lot of work to be done. I feel encouraged. He won't be able to get to the 5 missing pages right away, btu I'm letting that piece simmer anyway so that's okay.
Post a Comment