Verklempt

Look! I'm not going to complain about my students. I'm going to be proud of one for a moment.

I'm not actually grading yet. I'm doing the first read/skim through the papers to orient myself. I see issues, but I also see significant progress in some of their papers.

One student, when we started the paper, was very resistant. She repeatedly told me how she had no idea what topic she would want because she wasn't interested in learning about any of it. (She pretty much said those exact words.) Flabbergasted was my internal reaction, but I summoned every ounce of patience and encouragement I could for her and helped her find a topic.

At the beginning of the semester, I told my students I wanted to help them write the best papers they had ever written. I am guessing for this resistant student this was one of her best papers--she worked really hard. I am thrilled with what I saw when I skimmed her paper. I doubt it's an A paper, but it might be a B paper.

Since this is a student who "just wants to pass" (she told me this too), I'm sure she'll be dancing if she receives a B. I am pretty sure she will pass the class given her performance on the paper. Best of all, I think she might have learned something too! Yippee!

This, my friends, is why I like to teach. I'll report back.