That was a quote from "The Office," possibly the best show of all time. Except for JAG:
OMGbestshowever.
Anyway. Email consultations.
I'm a little apprehensive of starting to consult through email. When I've had friends send me their papers through email before, I've been unable to NOT copy edit. I remember one particularly frantic friend in high school who sent me her paper in chunks through instant messenger the night before her paper was due, and I copied it into Word, edited it, and chunk-sended it right back to her. I love picking out errors and correcting them. It's cathartic. It's like getting on your hands and knees and scrubbing your kitchen floor. It's like vaccuuming under the couch. It's like popping some sort of festering sore...too much? Sorry. I do realize that I'm doing them a (this was the word of the day, yesterday:) disservice in correcting them without explaining why I was correcting them, or giving them examples so they could correct themselves in the future. Still, though...it's more for my benefit than theirs. And it seems I've found the problem. I guess I'll just have to focus on the big things first, and then I can nit-pick just a little about grammar. Maybe.
I've been thinking of some different ways I could introduce myself in email consultations. How about:
Hi, my name is Sara. You'll find that I've added a music file to your paper. I would prefer you listen to it as you read, as I believe it provides the perfect theme music for my response letter.
Or maybe:
Good day to ye. This unworthy maiden's name be Sara, and she hath had the merry privelege of markingeth thine essay. If thou dost careth to taketh this maiden's suggestions, then apply them, and then, go forth and slayeth the dragon!
OK, so I'm still working on it. Sue me.
Now on to less pleasant things. I had my first bomb consultation on Wednesday. It upset me so much that I actually threw a small tantrum in front of RE and Joy. RE seems to have grown used to my idiosyncracies. Joy was so terrified that I felt the need to apologize in my last journal entry. Here's how it went down:
A non-trsditional student comes in seeking a consultation on what I thought was a simple communications paper. Instead, she starts pulling out paper after paper out of her notebook and piling them in front of me. There were, I kid you not, eight separate essays/assignments on the table. She kind of explained what she wanted, but then she jumped to something else she wanted help with, and then something else. As she spoke, I tried to take notes, but eventually, she just decided to go on a 45-minute long rant about how awful her English teacher is. I tried to organize all the papers in front of me, only to have her pick a few up, flip through them and put them down somewhere else, creating even more confusion. She just went on and on about how incompetent her English teacher was, and how great of a writer she (the student) was, and how the English teacher just couldn't recognize that. While looking over one of her papers, I tried once or twice to stop her tirade to point out a few mistakes, but she wasn't having it. She said her English teacher is an idiot, because she had been to the Writing Center a dozen times, and she showed me bits of writing pad paper from the Writing Center that were scribbled over with notes. I can tell you right now that none of of those notes had been applied, and then, if you can believe it, she pulled out MORE assignments/papers...GAH. I wanted to stab my eyes out. This went on for an hour.
An HOUR.
GAH.
Aaaand that's when I threw the temper tantrum.
But today's consultations went looooads better, so it's all good.
The end!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey, Sara.
ReplyDeleteI actually like your suggestion about embedding a music file in a response to an email consultation. Better yet, how about a video file from SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK? For example, if a student is having problems with conjunctions, we could correct all the errors with a red font, then embed "Conjunction Junction" as a way of explaining our changes. Whaddya think?
Bummer about the consultation that caused you to throw a temper tantrum. I gotta admit, though, that I don't blame you for being upset about how the student behaved during the session. It does sound pretty frustrating. On the other hand, I would've liked to have been there when you threw the tantrum. You're always so cute and pleasant and amicable in class, it's hard for me to picture you getting upset. But you do have a dark side, eh? Hmmm... It's, like, Dr. Sara and Ms. Hyde. ;)
Have a great weekend!
Michael
"anger, fear, aggression--the dark side of the force, are they!"
ReplyDeleteHi, Sara.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about editing papers--it is completely gratifying in a weird, OCD kind of way. And when you're staring at a piece of writing, it's hard not to reach for a pencil/pen/crayon. Here's the beauty of email consultations: it forces you to put down the pen, prioritize your concerns, shape your thoughts, and THEN respond. I find this helpful practice for face-to-face consultation--it'll help you shape your conversations there, too.
I like the intros you're toying with--I can't wait to see what you go with!
So you had a difficult session, huh? Yep--it happens to all of us. And, without you even saying her name, I know which student you're talking about. She's become an infamous Writing Center character. So, now that you've had time to step back from the session, throw a (well-deserved) tantrum about it, what would you do differently? Fake sick for the day? Be a little more aggressive on getting the student back on track? Offer to review ONE assignment at a time? While this student seems to be an exaggerated caricature of a "difficult student," you will unfortunately run across a few students like her in your stint in the Center. Sometimes it is up to the consultant to grab the wheel of the bus to make sure it doesn't burst into flames.
Talk to you soon!
mk