I just collected an orphaned class of ENC 1101. My kids lost their teacher due to a medical issue. Now they have me.
And apparently it's a good thing they do. They were only on their first paper (it's half way through the semester!) and hadn't yet received a grade.
Well, they hadn't received a grade until yesterday when I sent them back their papers with my comments. Things are going to be quite different for them from now on.
For example, they'll have to have a paper due every week in order for us to catch up. Our class is going to be a lot more like a summer session class than I'd like. And I have to pretty much instantaneously learn 22 more names. I now have a total of 75 kids. 75.
I love how different they all are. Within each class and when compared to each other, each student has an entirely unique personality (oh man, am I going to counter to my own special snowflake argument?), but at the same time, they have similar attitudes, ways of communicating, and perceptions. For instance, I can tell when I'm reading a paper about what grade level the student is. Most freshman write an awkward version of what they believe to be academic sounding language. Usually by sophomore or junior year (hopefully by their senior year at least), they have either fully adopted academic language, or have moved beyond academic language altogether and into something really authentic (their own voice).
The difference in age and maturity between 1101 and lit classes is really interesting. ENC 1101 kids are softer, more like actual kids. My lit kids have been through this before. They have expectations about me and their class. The 1101 kids, well, they still have the blush of high school.
It's sweet, but it can be frustrating to work with them. They have more trouble seeing the worth of complications in arguments. They mostly prefer absolutes. But then, I know many adults who feel the same way.
I brought the 1101 kids candy the other day. I mostly brought it because their old teacher had kept promising and then forgetting to bring it in, and I wanted them to know that I'm not like that. That I'm totally committed to them. That I'm thinking about them and want them to succeed.
But I also brought them candy because they are kids. And I'd forgotten how much so freshman are.
