Grading the War Story

Autor/in	Burdick, Melanie
Titel	Grading the War Story
Quelle	In: Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 36 (2009) 4, S.353-354 (2 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0098-6291
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Writing Assignments; War; Foreign Countries; Personal Narratives; Depression (Psychology); Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Emotional Response; Teacher Role; College Students; Afghanistan; Iraq + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Krieg; Ausland; Erlebniserzählung; Emotionales Verhalten; Lehrerrolle; Collegestudent; Irak
Abstract	This article considers the emotional and psychological complexities of responding to personal narratives when the focus is war. The author teaches at a community college and she always begins her semester with a narrative assignment for the usual reasons: students write better when they write what they know; teachers should scaffold writing assignments a la Moffett--to enable students to move from what is emotionally close to them to more complex and seemingly faraway topics; narratives allow teachers to get to know their students and their students' writing in more multifaceted ways. Those are all good reasons, and they have worked for her in the past, but this semester, a part of her wishes that she had never given a personal narrative essay assignment. Many of the stories that her students told were connected to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her mind spins wondering how to critique these writings just the right way, without becoming lost in depression. She knows that she must overcome her fear and her despair at the tragedy of these stories. It is an essential fight and one that takes courage. It is weighty and, although it would be easier to turn her back, she must make her attempt so that her students' voices can be heard and the truths in their stories can be heeded. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10