For the past 3 weeks now, my students have been writing essays at least twice a week, sometimes 3 times. We finished the AP textbook between the last week of March and first week of April, giving us around 4-5 weeks of review, which is soo needed for these guys!! Because let's be real: when they entered my class in August and September, they thought it was going to be another blow-off history class, and well, it's not. They did not take me seriously about reading... about how hard it is to choose between 5 answer choices instead of 4... about how even worse 2 of those answer choices are right, but one is better... about how I don't give extra credit for anything- period... and most importantly I'm not your momma and I don't care if you cry, whatever the reason may be. I'm a hard-ass, I know, but somebody has to be!!
So..... the review is very necessary because all of that stuff I taught in the first 12 weeks, they did not really learn, so we have to go back and hardcore re-teach and re-learn that stuff. It is a vicious cycle every year. So, I have them write a ton over the last 4-5 weeks for multiple reasons.
1. THEY. CANNOT. WRITE. PERIOD. Their spelling is atrocious. They cannot form a paragraph to save their lives and oh! Thesis statements! Yeah, I still don't get those, even though that is one of the first things every paper should have. Even better, asking them to argue a point, take a stance or debate a factual position is like asking them to learn rocket science. Only an itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny percent ever actually make it into space aka learn to write a true essay.
To a person (like me) who used to be the editor of her high school newspaper and has been writing full essays and papers since she was around 9, it is absolute torture to grade and re-teach these concepts over and over and over again. But, you only get better at things if you practice so.... we practice. A LOT.
2. I got this idea for writing so much the last month before the AP exam from MY AP history teachers in high school. I have tweaked their format significantly to fit my brand of students, but I learned from the "17 Days of Hell", our affectionate name for that last month of AP US and AP Art History. We wrote an essay for 17 days straight in class and had to turn in a completed outline for each essay as we walked in the door that day. If you were going to be out for school business, that outline better be in the teacher's box by the time school started in the morning, which was around 7:30 for us. I have vivid memories of turning in essay outlines at 5:30 am before we left for tennis tournaments that day. I also have memories of writing my outline on the bus home from tennis tournaments, worrying my teacher would not be able to read my handwriting because of all the bumps from the bus and the road. It was work... hard work, not gonna lie. But man! We sure knew our stuff at the end of that month!!!
Now, there is no way on God's green earth my kiddos would turn in outlines each day. Heck! They don't even turn in a 10 question WS for homework on a normal basis so.... yeah, outlines were not happening. Plus, my administration would frown on 3 weeks of straight essays every day because I am not "differentiating" or "meeting all academic levels and needs" of each student this way. Hahahahahahahahaha!!! How times have changed! I'm sure my old teachers would laugh at this idea of creating 3-4 different assignments each day for all of the "levels" in your AP classroom we are forced to do in 2013. It was either get with the program or there is the door. Yeah, that doesn't happen where I work, so once again, I tweaked from the old style.
3. I do this because we are done with the book. Technically, my students should know about each topic and should be able to write on anything I give them with a little preparation the night before. Should.... being the operative word there! Writing is a great way to show a teacher, to show your boss, to show anyone, you actually know the information. It is painfully obvious in a history course if you BS something because we teach FACT all day long. So I see who is really studying at home and who really wants to do well on these exams and in my class because their essays reflect the correct insight and factual information. Now, I'm not a total meanie!! They get the prompt the night before so they can study and make their own outline (most won't make the outline, but I encourage them to).
4. I get a sick satisfaction out of marking essays with a RED PEN. Now, before you go thinking doom and gloom, I write BOTH positive and negative comments on each essay, but I write them all in red pen. This is thanks to Mrs. McGill, my newspaper teacher. She always said "the bloodier" the article, the better it will be once the final copy is complete. So true!!! She always carried a red pen with her, no matter what, and I find myself doing the same thing. Plus, red makes the students nervous... little side benefit for me! hehehehe! I also grade harder than normal readers/graders would. This is thanks to newspaper as well. I learned early on the harder and pickier the grader is in those first few essays, the less mistakes are made in the future. Students see all the red.... dripping down their paper, and most will work very hard to make sure they can actually see their own hand writing next time. Plus, it makes all of us, kids included, feel better knowing the graders in July are not going to take off as many points as I do so the students will probably do much better on the real exam.
5. The essays push the students yes, but it also pushes me as an educator, and I would be a terrible teacher if I did not push myself while pushing my students at the same time. I have to really know my stuff in order to give all of these essays and accurately grade them. I mean, my class covers 8000 BCE to 2013 all around the globe, so the essay topics are never on the same category or group. I repeat: I have to know my stuff. So, I study and read, continually making myself re-learn about topics I think I'm set on, or tackling a new topic I just don't particularly like, but need to get better on. Japan... you are my challenge this summer!
6. In conclusion, I have been grading essays non-stop for 3 weeks now. We have two more to go.... Did I mention I have around 140 AP students? Did I mention we are writing essays 2-3 times a week? Are ya doing the math?! (Insert pause as I get out my calculator because you KNOW I cannot do anything in my head math-wise!) 280 plus essays a week... Sucks to be me, eh?! Well, only 2 more weeks left and then my kiddos take their test.
Plus, they haven't mutinied on me yet!!!!
In all honesty and seriousness, they really are working hard. I'm proud of them, no matter how much their writing drives me insane! I mean, we gave a practice AP exam on a Saturday morning at 7:30 am a few weeks ago, and we had around 80 students show up- our biggest group yet! They ate over 144 donuts and 3 bags of Easter candy while testing too. Was the food a bribe? You better believe it! Amazing what happens when you promise food to 15 and 16 year olds and tell their parents they get a free morning off!! (Test takes around 4 hours).
In conclusion, I will leave you with a conversation I had with an AP student of mine just yesterday as they wrote another essay over the Cultural Achievements of MesoAmerica:
Student: Mrs. Carey, can I use this statement in my essay? Will that work?
Teacher: You know I cannot answer any questions. This is an essay.. a major grade. Plus, what are you going to do during the real AP exam when you cannot ask anybody any question whatsoever, and you have to write 3 essays all by yourself?
My student stood there very seriously and thought about his repsonse for a minute or two and said: Ask God the question and hope He knows how to write AP World History essays and can make my hand put down the correct answer.
Well AMEN to that one! That is my kind of reply and my kind of kid!! Have a good one guys and enjoy the weekend!!
