deeper evaluations...

I see both sides presented in this week’s readings. I agree that students should not be graded in such a way that causes them to stop writing, and I agree that there needs to be some sort of evaluation process, which results in academic grades. There needs to be more conversation between the student and professor for the student to gauge his/her progress other than a grade. This debate clearly is not finished.

I personally tend to want more feedback then what is usually given to me by professors. The grades I receive are good. I have never been given less than an A for any writing course I have taken, but many times I feel that the A I got was too easy. It is evident that professors have to evaluate each student on what they bring into the classroom, but it is harder then it seems to find the balance when grading an entire class. One thing the readings did not discuss in detail was that every writing student is not necessarily on the same level as his/her peers.

I have set in classes with students who are much more advanced then I am, but I have also set in classes with peers who are not as advanced as I am. Over the past couple of years, I have come to the point in my own writing in which I feel that I am ready to move into a deeper discussion of the craft of writing. Deeper than many of my professors are able to go due to the level of the majority of the class. I have found the level discussion I crave by reading material outside of the classes I have taken, discussing reading material options with those professors I feel most comfortable with, and reading the textbooks a friend of mine has gotten from her MFA classes.

Ultimately, the grading of a writer's work falls on the evaluation of the professor and how said professor wishes to balance the grading process in his/her class, but they can only do so much. I agree that professors should not only evaluate their students, they must teach them how to find the information they seek, at whatever level they are at, outside of the class. Only then can a novice writer truly grow.