It's Not Important

A student drops a quote into her paper and follows the quote with: "This quote isn't that important..." Then why, pray tell, would you put it in your paper? There are times when I get the feeling students choose quotes by dropping a finger on a random page. But when I came to that line I knew it was time to post again. Here are some recent beauties, and as always, my comments are in (   ).

- I hopefully will land a job making pretty dent money. (We teachers don't even make dent money!)
- The definition of lazy according to Oxford Langues... (...is not spelling "language" correctly?)
- After years of suffrage, the 19th amendment was passed so women finally had the right to vote. (Perhaps look up "suffrage" in the Oxford Langues...)
- They would act sexual to their mates for entertainment and out of love. (I don't want to remember what this paper was even about.)
- heath: a tract of waist land 
- That is how William Wordsworth poetry his feelings towards nature to reveal the theme of the poem. (I always poetry my feelings. It's good for you.)
- Homer is homosexual in the way that he only likes men. (Is there another way?)
- Adrienne Rich's poem "Living in Sin" delves into the concepts of life. (Specific!)
- Nature is a natural beautiful place. (Department of Redundancy Department)
- They are all scared to sleep and be awake at night. (Well, which is it?)
- The boys have resulted in violence with each other. (As most boys do.)
- In the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Jack expresses his love and marriage ideas in the play. (Is this one of those "a play within a play" situations?)
- Throughout the novel, both of these characters have a tragic death. (And a long one, it seems.)
- The shelters were... not made with much insulin to keep them warm.
- The boys rallied to the sound of the couch. (What kind of sound does a couch make? The couch says...)

More coming before the end of June, I am sure.

J

So, Where Was I?

 I recently let slip in class the existence of this blog, though I was not entirely certain it would still be up. Some students immediately went and found it, and then I felt the need to update it. One student even shared it with parents. That's pressure. Then I saw that I had an already-typed and unpublished post... from several years ago. Well, I published it, and now on to this new(er) one. As always, my comments are in (   ).

- With the technogues I've acquired... (Where do you get those? I been meaning to get some.)

- Although I found Mr. Chaffee's criticism harsh, irritating, dramatic, and over the top, I have come to learn that all of those criticisms were made in the hopes of making me a better writer. (I feel so seen!)

- I have experienced an increase in growth this year. (Your parents should have had a talk with you about this...)

- ...a large majority of my sentences are written in the passive voice. (Like this one.)

- The writing I've done is a reflection of my strengths and weaknesses based on the various pieces of writing I wrote to become a successful writer. (I spy one weakness.)

- But Banquo thinks the witches are evil and he is taking percasions.

- ...being able to remorse less.

- supposably (Yes, this was written unironically.)

- Lady Macbeth was going through a lot mentally. (I'll say.)

- These experiences are impacted by how other characters perspectives on certain ideas. (Yes, I see.)

- The narrator's mother continued to talk of the word girl. (Is the word girl a superhero?)

- She is slowly becoming more severe in her poor mental state.

- ... and that saliva is learning the lesson. (The character's name is Sylvia. This student wrote "saliva" instead of Sylvia twice on one page.)

- From the start of the play to the end of the play violence is shown throughout the play. (From the Department of Redundancy Department.)

- ...the real life experiences that Gilman experienced. (The Department of Redundancy Department: please hold. Call volume is high today.)

- ...the feelings she feels. (The Department of Redundancy Department: your call will be answered in the order it was received.)

- ...which are all signs of her unwell.

What are the signs of your unwell? Another stack of essays is one of mine!

J

Backlog

While I have been lazy about publishing on this blog, I do have several notepads of jewels from student work. So I am reaching back to last (school) year and mixing in some recent gems just to catch up a bit. There will be more to come, if I can remember to sit down and type. As always, my comments are in (    ).

- If a doctor were to mess up... they can get sewed. (I'm in stitches?)
- Shania Twain was a poor privileged child. (Aww, too bad?)
- Today people can say that their economy or the way somebody is sick. (They can say that, I guess, if they want to.)
- The word toughness is the state of being tough.
- The human body can endure a lot of pain and uncomforting.
- Clergyman: a man that is very wealthy. (Not in my experience.)
- O Caption! My Caption!
- Ella and Rachel died their hair.
- ... one of the most greatest music schools in the country. (I mean, the much bestest!)
- Collage English (The name of the class is College English. But I would take a Collage English class.)
- These numbers are awestrucking.
- "Double spacing saves lives."
- Henri le Clerc was a soldier during the French Castle.
- There is no way to accurately correlate blond hair with being dumn. (But anecdotal evidence suggests...)
- Thoreau wanted to live alone in nature for deeper reasons.
- Emerson theorecized his ideas about nature.
- When I finally got myself organized with ruff drafts. (Ruff drafts are required in obedience school.)
- She means grave stones of the deseased.
- Huck has reached a high of wiseness and good morals. (It's like a runner's high.)
- Penn Yan Central School District should be required to where uniforms.
- Macbeth was one of the least awful plays we've read in high school. (High praise.)
- Lady Macbeth... lacks the love portion toward Macbeth.
- Lady Macbeth forces others to act how she invasions.
- In the story "A Mystery of Heroism" the bucket symbolizes something. (Care to take a guess?)
- Naturalism is starting to take place.
- The old timer's advice came in handy when it was too late.
- ... and perhaps dig themselves out of the whole they are in.
- She uses her mind to think of crazy things.
- The boys follow Jack blindlessly.
- She was left a large some of money.

I would give you some advice, but it would probably only come in handy when it's too late. So you're on your own.

J