[nicholle]

I recently gave up my career as a freelance writer to start teaching writing classes to Northern New Jersey and New York City students. Although it is ten times the work, it has to be done. My student's writing is a blend of hip hop lyrics and IM chatter. It is almost impossible to break even the brightest students of this nasty habit.

A few weeks into my first week of classes, one of my students complained that I gave her "bad" grades and her ninth grade English teacher gave her grades in the nineties. Curious, I asked her to bring in a few recently graded papers. The first one I looked at had a huge star on the top right next to "98." As I went through it, not only did I find at least 25 gramatical errors, but the essay was as incoherent as an MTV video - absolutely no logic, organization, etc.

It was quite upsetting to realize that many teachers are glossing over their students papers. They are too busy to take the time to do a good job.

When is America going to realize that we need to teach our students, not babysit them?

[Willie Green]

My student's writing is a blend of hip hop lyrics and IM chatter. It is almost impossible to break even the brightest students of this nasty habit.

Ladies can't resist my game... on AOL Instant Messenger