Freshman year of high school I had an amazing English teacher who challenged me in every aspect of her class. Every week we had to submit three short "journal entries" that could be on whatever topic we chose. The next week we would get them back with two grades—one for grammar and one for content. I still have no idea what her grading criteria were, but they frustrated me to no end.
Admittedly, I usually cranked these reflections out three-at-a-time during my lunch period every Friday (I never was one for planning ahead). That probably explains why I never got 'A's on my grammar, but the content grades drove me nuts. Since she gave us no criteria for what to write on, I had no clue what to say. But I knew I had to write them. In my attempts to sound sophisticated and win that content-based A, I inevitably ended up with rambling, childish attempts to say something significant and poignant. I think I missed the point, really.
I wasn't supposed to be recording earth-shattering revelations that would paint the world in a new light for readers. I was just supposed to get used to writing. Whether I used the space to recall thoughts, foster new ones, or just entertain my reader, writing was the key. Taking an idea and putting it into words. As I look back, I regret wasting that opportunity by cramming it into a half-hour of frantic typing each week.
I keep thinking I should use this blog to do more writing. Truth be told, I'm still not sure I have anything worth while to say. But the ability to express my thoughts is important to me, so I'm going to try something new. One reflection a week, posted on Fridays. I'll try to keep the length between 300 and 500 words. I invite anyone reading this to join me. If you do, let me know, I'd love to read your stuff! I promise not to leave comments grading you based on grammar OR content.
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7 comments:
You realize you're just begging me to post you a grade, right? Bwahahaha!
I was clearly trying to avoid the whole grade thing. Mostly because I conceived of, wrote, and posted this at one in the morning. And I didn't want to think about grammatical constructs or the fact that it is rambling and sentimental.
You're a mean sister. But I guess I'm asking for it, since I posted it on facebook too. At least you didn't actually post a grade. :)
you got it!
You should have written poems. I always got A's when I wrote poems, mostly because those have no required format or content and the point of them is to do whatever you want.
Nicely done. Now, we'll all be grading you on whether you can keep it up or not.
"At least you didn't actually post a grade. :)"
I'm nice like that. Evil, but nice.
Fine, I'll do it if no one else will:
Grammar: A
Content: B
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