Blog Prompt: What should a FYC teacher come to class knowing? What should a FYC student come to class knowing? How can we prepare for “Plan B” when they don’t?
I think a FYC teacher should be able to come to class with a basic knowledge of composition studies, however, that includes a lot of information. As a pragmatic individual, I find that a good ear for grammar and consistency to be very important, but not ultimate in composition studies. Things such as voice, content, audience, and style have just as much to do with one’s writing. I would hope that students in 1301 have a basic understanding of how a sentence is, could be, and shouldn’t be structure, but as I grade I find that that isn’t always true.
“Plan B” should definitely be a compromise between the students and teacher. In a previous blog, I mentioned that it would be ideal to be able to sit with each student individually and focus on their progress in that fashion, but that isn’t always possible or efficient for a classroom setting. The teacher will definitely have to stay on top of each student’s progress in regards to the class as a whole and the students should expect to work and work hard in class because of this.
bookelf85 said,
October 29, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I’ve found that those one-on-one short conferences to be very helpful. In FYC, that would be hard to do with potentially 35 students, so perhaps those conferences could be reserved for the struggling students.
Becky said,
November 23, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I agree that one-on-one conferences are great. How can we get some of the same benefits in class? Could you have students work individually and meet with them in class? How about groups? Perhaps we can take “what works” and revise it according to what we CAN do.