Paper 'Is-ness,' Excluding Awards, New Racial Consciousness and Politics

Jewish World Review ^ | June 16, 2003 | Joanne Jacobs

[Hobsonphile]

Is-ness Is All

A New York Times reporter, Tamar Lewin, tries grading SAT II essays and discovers that she's out of step with the veteran graders. What they think is a top-scoring 6, she thinks is empty blather.

Our instructions don't help me much: Ignore the handwriting. Read holistically, not analytically. Do not reread. Read supportively, and grade what's there, not what's missing. If the paper is absolutely illegible, or completely off-topic, give it to your table leader. Read the whole thing before making any judgment, since some papers improve greatly once the student gets going ...

What is most helpful to me is a particularly cryptic piece of advice: "We sometimes say you have to grant the "is-ness" of the paper," said Dr. Agnes Yamada, an English professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

No wonder empty blather scores a 6.

[Hobsonphile]

Follow the link for more, including commentary on lack of political diversity on campus, lack of discipline in the public schools, etc.

[Hobsonphile]

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[LiteKeeper]

SITREP

[Drew68]

Then, the index in the yearbook was cut. Apparently, if one looked at one's name and didn't have as many page numbers listed next to it as someone else, one feels really, really bad about oneself.

I remember feeling devastated to see kids who had actually participated in high school be indexed seven, eight times in the yearbook whereas my friends and I, who spent our high school years cutting class and drinking beer, were only listed once.

It was heartbreaking. I never got over it. </sarcasm>

[bruin66]

Thanks. Truely frightening...

[Drew68]

bttt