Language Arts Student of the Year 2013
Based on nothing more than her scores on the first few assignments, I nominated Laura as my first student of the month way back in September. That first nomination is always a risk because you don’t know the students very well, but as it turns out, she was the perfect choice.
All year long, Laura’s work has served as the shining example I point to whenever a student asks “How do I do this?” or “How long does it have to be?” Around midyear, I actually started scanning some of her assignments before handing them back, so I could show them off to future students who ask the same questions. Whenever someone would turn in a half-hearted or incomplete piece of writing, I would often hold it up next to Laura’s version of the same assignment and say, “Do you see what you’re competing with? This is what you should aspire to!” Of course, when I did so, many of them recognized her meticulous printing, line after line of it, often continuing onto the back of the worksheet, and they would sneer, “That’s Laura’s. She’s your favorite, huh?” Ever the diplomat, I would reply, “Yes, she is. Her work is superior; her logic is always sound; her writing is better than yours. Why can’t you be more like her?” When such conversations occurred, I always found myself ending them with this metaphor: “Laura is the yardstick by which you all are being measured.”
And for however long I end up teaching school, I will be showing off Laura’s examples to all my students, encouraging them to consider every assignment in these terms: What would Laura do?
Favoritism? Well, yes. But she earned it. Her work always speaks for itself: loud, clear, and free of errors. Ironically, this flows from the pen of a student who is generally silent in class – a very loud class that could benefit from her example.
As well as being a suitable challenge for Honors English students, Great Expectations is one of my favorite novels, and I was lucky enough to find a cheap paperback version that we could afford to buy enough of for all the Honors students to use. I told the students they could write (lightly, in pencil) in their books to keep track of the many characters and plot points. Laura went an extra step. While many of her classmates were struggling to make sense of Dickens, she was not only appreciating the intricacy of the story but also correcting the spelling errors in this poorly edited edition.
Early in the year, Laura wrote that she lived “in constant fear of doing anything wrong.” Hearing that, her classmates are probably retching right now because she was constantly pointed out as the example who could do NO wrong. I never saw her do anything halfway, and I always looked forward to reading her papers and informal writings because it was so obvious that she cared enough to do them well. And then, two weeks ago, almost as an afterthought, she got 100% on the Language Arts end-of-level test.
As payment for all her work that I will be waving in the faces of my future students -- and because I’m going to miss those searching, dark eyes in the front row -- I got her a going-away gift: books, of course. One is a properly-edited Great Expectations, my favorite. One is a semi-fancy edition of Dracula, her favorite. And one is a blank notebook, which I hope she will fill with her own reflections and stories from the “wild and precious life” she will surely lead.
This year’s Language Arts Spotlight Award goes to Laura Needham.
All year long, Laura’s work has served as the shining example I point to whenever a student asks “How do I do this?” or “How long does it have to be?” Around midyear, I actually started scanning some of her assignments before handing them back, so I could show them off to future students who ask the same questions. Whenever someone would turn in a half-hearted or incomplete piece of writing, I would often hold it up next to Laura’s version of the same assignment and say, “Do you see what you’re competing with? This is what you should aspire to!” Of course, when I did so, many of them recognized her meticulous printing, line after line of it, often continuing onto the back of the worksheet, and they would sneer, “That’s Laura’s. She’s your favorite, huh?” Ever the diplomat, I would reply, “Yes, she is. Her work is superior; her logic is always sound; her writing is better than yours. Why can’t you be more like her?” When such conversations occurred, I always found myself ending them with this metaphor: “Laura is the yardstick by which you all are being measured.”
And for however long I end up teaching school, I will be showing off Laura’s examples to all my students, encouraging them to consider every assignment in these terms: What would Laura do?
Favoritism? Well, yes. But she earned it. Her work always speaks for itself: loud, clear, and free of errors. Ironically, this flows from the pen of a student who is generally silent in class – a very loud class that could benefit from her example.
As well as being a suitable challenge for Honors English students, Great Expectations is one of my favorite novels, and I was lucky enough to find a cheap paperback version that we could afford to buy enough of for all the Honors students to use. I told the students they could write (lightly, in pencil) in their books to keep track of the many characters and plot points. Laura went an extra step. While many of her classmates were struggling to make sense of Dickens, she was not only appreciating the intricacy of the story but also correcting the spelling errors in this poorly edited edition.
Early in the year, Laura wrote that she lived “in constant fear of doing anything wrong.” Hearing that, her classmates are probably retching right now because she was constantly pointed out as the example who could do NO wrong. I never saw her do anything halfway, and I always looked forward to reading her papers and informal writings because it was so obvious that she cared enough to do them well. And then, two weeks ago, almost as an afterthought, she got 100% on the Language Arts end-of-level test.
As payment for all her work that I will be waving in the faces of my future students -- and because I’m going to miss those searching, dark eyes in the front row -- I got her a going-away gift: books, of course. One is a properly-edited Great Expectations, my favorite. One is a semi-fancy edition of Dracula, her favorite. And one is a blank notebook, which I hope she will fill with her own reflections and stories from the “wild and precious life” she will surely lead.
This year’s Language Arts Spotlight Award goes to Laura Needham.
The Beast and Beauty
posted by MRT at 7:50 PM
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