The Impact of Teaching on Students

A number of people whom I have heard recount their former school days with an overall sense of calm or detachment have been moved to more intensity when speaking of their experiences with writing. Their stories either enthusiastically celebrate the encouragement and praise offered by teachers who facilitated their self-confidence and pride, or are miserable tales that depict feelings of humiliation, disappointment and failure. A closer look at these two extremes is imperative as we consider teaching writing and the impact of that teaching on the students.

While listening to recollections of English classes, I have found that it is not unusual for the stories of a single individual to weigh as heavily in one direction as the other. One of the reasons I feel strongly about this issue is that it mirrors my own experiences as a returning student. Like the others with whom I’ve spoken, I have been applauded by some teachers and judged harshly by others. Comments on my papers have ranged from, “An outstanding essay. I enjoyed reading it immensely,” and “This is one of the best papers I’ve gotten in years. I shared it with a colleague of mine,” to “Who ever taught you how to write?” and “What? What? Cut, cut, cut. So wordy. Not more backfill!” A simple explanation might be that disparaging comments were directed at early writing and praise at later work, but that is not the case. What then can be the reason? Inconsistent work, of course, or perhaps the incongruity can be explained by the subjectivity inherent in the judgment of writing, particularly when contrasted with a more systematic assessment tool like multiple choice tests (there is subjectivity even in these, as regards wording and interpretation of the questions, but that is ...

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