First Essays

As I mentioned, I gave my students their first essay assignment last week, based on the "This I Believe" theme, one to two pages. This weekend, I've been reading and grading them. I've graded many essays before, having been an active reader at the junior college for the last 5 years. It is different though, knowing that I set the boundaries and expectations now!

Overall, they are good. Most of my students followed the prompt and samples well. Here is the actual assignment:
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Due at the start of class, Thursday, September 1, 2016.
Read the attached sample "This I Believe" essays, then craft one of your own. Make it a topic that you connect with, that you are passionate about, no matter how small it seems. I don't care if it is something huge, or tiny, or even something you might think is silly, but it has to be something you believe, and follow the same general format as the sample essays. I will not be grading this essay down for grammar, or misspellings, though if I see a lot of errors, I may take the time to address some skills we should work on.
Please aim for one full page, and no more than two pages! This essay will be turned in directly to me (typed, please), though future essays may be uploaded through Moodle.
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My favorite one by far, and which followed the samples most closely, was one on ice cream. I did learn a lot about my new students through this essay -- one has parents that have taken in a couple hundred foster kids over the last 20 years. Another coached Little League for four years, during high school. Two of them wrote about the importance pf music, and playing instruments.

I feel overall, this was a good start to the semester, as far as assignments. Not high stakes, plenty of freedom within it, and I feel I know them a little better!

Such a Good Day!

I know my first day was not the best. I was actually scared to go back the following class day. But, I persevered, and made it through a whole week... then a week and a half. And it was less painful, but still not great.

Then today happened.

My class went SO well today! I started with a check-in, something I learned from a former professor, to gauge how my freshmen are adapting to college life. Overall, it seems to be going well for them, although they cited some difficulties in getting used to the homework load (lots of reading!).

We had a fairly thoughtful discussion on stereotypes, white privilege, and media portrayals of minorities, basing our discussion of a series of articles I gave them to read:

The Critical Media Project: Race & Ethnicity
Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotyping
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

My issue with the topic we are covering in regards to my students is that some of them fully believe their generation does not have issues with racism, that they have eradicated it, and that only us "older" folk are still practicing it. As for white privilege? Truthfully, I think there's a lot of it in this class, but they won't admit to any of it.

Finally, as a break from all the serious stuff, we ended the class on a lighter note with a collaborative story writing exercise, which we will finish up next week! Basically, each person pulled out a sheet of paper, and wrote the first sentence of a story of their own imagining. Everyone then passed their papers one person to the right, and so on, around the room. They are looking hilarious so far!

I also collected their first (short) essays, on the "This I Believe" theme, which should make some interesting weekend reading. I gave them an "easier" first assignment, as I want them to have a little freedom in their writing, and I want to see who they are and what they hold dear.
 
I teaching so far!