Would I lie to a student in writing? Of course not. That would be wrong and awful and very, very bad. Nevertheless I confess that this morning I kept inserting this comment into certain students' drafts: "I'm sure you can find more about this in your notes from class."
It could be true. Some of my students take copious notes--I've seen them! But others, sadly, never crack open a notebook or pick up a pen in class. Some don't bring the textbook to class, and I'm afraid to ask whether they've bothered to open the book or, indeed, buy it.
(You should have seen the blank looks on the faces of my students yesterday when I said that of course I expect them to do a bunch of reading over break: "You carry a book with you everywhere you go, right? So when you're stuck in a traffic jam or waiting at the dentist's office or standing in line at the bank you can read a few pages, right? Of course you do! Right?")
Some students sit through class after class with nothing on the desk in front of them except an early lunch. I suppose it's possible that a really dedicated student could gnaw some pretty good notes into the crust of a chicken finger, but I'm not betting any money on it.
So now I'm not surprised to be receiving papers that show no sign that the writer has digested anything from our class readings and discussions (except lunch). "You might find the phrase 'objective correlative' helpful here," I write. "I'm sure you can find it in your class notes."
Sure. Right. Look for it next to the chicken fingers.
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