TEACHER TALK: A Meta-Analysis of Some Instructor Comments

What teachers generally tell students –

	This essay isn't typed correctly.
	Those letters should be capitalized.
	This paragraph needs development.
	Ha, parts of this are plagiarized!

Things we probably ought to say –

	Keep exploring these ideas – wrestle with them patiently.
	Surface mechanics can be handled later – focus more on content now.
	Read about this more, it will help you compare your ideas.
	Revise fearlessly: gradually your words will shine.
	Writing is a journey, not a destination – so keep at it.


Tim: 	 (stammering ineptly) Can teachers say anything meaningful to most students?

Liao: 	 Probably not. most of the time students aren't even listening.  Besides,
         repeating the same stuff over and over gets frustrating.

Satoru:  I suspect most folks don't want to hear the truth about their writing. If we 
         were fully honest, I'm afraid most people would stop writing entirely since 
         over 95% of our words are essentially trash.

Melissa: (harshly) Be careful about comments like that.  It's arrogant for any person 
         to claim to know what is "the Truth" or "merely trash."  All interpretations 
         are highly subjective.


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from _Crassroom Voices - Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Education_ by T Newfields
SUMMARY:  A note about what teachers often do and do not say in class
KEYWORDS: teacher comments, instructional discourse, pedagogical feedback

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 2007 in Tokyo, Japan  / Finished: 2023 in Yokohama, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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