Mousing Around - MGuhlin.net - Editing Student Writing
Miguel writes about a discussion list posting about editing student writing that is going to be put online or, really, published in any way. I had seen the list postings when they were made but somehow or other I didn't connect to them until I read about them in Miguel's blog. (Does that say something about where and how I get my real professional development? I think so.)
The gist of the question was whether or not teachers should "tweak" student writing so it is "perfect" prior to publication. On the list several arguments were presented for both sides. Miguel talks about how he had decided to not do that kind of correcting when he was in the classroom full time.
The post got me to thinking about my own situation.
A couple weeks ago I decided that my students weren't careful enough in their blog posts, so I had them look at other class blogs to see the quality of the student writing. (This was the basis of my "failed experiment.") They didn't see what I had wanted them to see there.
But I am wondering why I want their posts to be perfect. Is it for them or for me? I think I know the answer and I don't like it too much. I have to think about this some more.
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2 comments:
Ooh ouch! I didn't even KNOW I needed to reflect on this, but I do. Thanks for the uncomfortable wake up call.
I suppose it does reflect on me, but my first thought is for the students, what sort of image do they present to others. But even if I'm fooling myself about where my first thought is, we can always ask the students what they think about it.
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