Dear Class,
Welcome to another busy week in class! During this upcoming week, the reading isn't heavy, but there are three lessons with accompanying tasks, and most importantly, your first major essay is due at the end of the week. I hope your excitement to submit a gorgeous essay trumps the feeling of being overwhelmed! I am praying for you.
Reflecting on Week 6:
I appreciated your examination of "Prufrock" as a love poem and modernist piece. And you submitted your Test #1. Way to go! Some of you may have seen that I changed your grade on the Week 5 themes and symbols assignment. When I saw the assignment a few weeks ago, responding to peers was required. Now, those instructions have disappeared; therefore, you shouldn't have lost points if you didn't respond to peers. I gave full credit to all of you who made your initial post on that board before the Saturday night deadline.
Also, I have been asking you to post your small assignments in the comments area on submission pages. Unfortunately, you cannot paste your assignment in the comment box unless you also attach it. Will you please attach and paste your assignments on the submission pages? It will make them visible to me so I can spend more time with your work and less time waiting for your assignments to load.
Looking Forward to Week 7:
Here are a few tips for success this week:
- Make sure to sign up to meet with me about your essay if you'd like some one-on-one help. I-Learn 3 doesn't support wiki sign up pages, so I've posted a sign-up board in Questions and Conversations entitled "Student/Teacher Conference Sign-Up." You need to post your essay drafts at least 24 hours before your scheduled meeting if you want me to read your work before we meet.
- If possible, I suggest completing the reading homework and lesson assignments as quickly as possible at the start of the week so you can then work on your essay.
- If you get the lesson work done by Tuesday evening, and just check in on the student-led discussion boards every day, you will have four days to develop your essay and get it polished for a Saturday submission.
I plan to grade your midterms by Friday evening. I won't have a ton of time to provide feedback with the quick turn-around and the student conferences. I'll read your essay through, demonstrate the score I would award in each category, and leave an additional note if I see a glaring weaknesses that needs to be addressed, hopefully helping you make any changes necessary to Essay #1 before you submit it on Saturday.
Understand that I look at your Test #1 differently than I look at your Essay #1. I recognize that it is timed, no one has peer reviewed it, and, at most, you have had one week to prepare for Test #1, whereas you have had several weeks to craft Essay #1. Both assignments are challenging, but for different reasons. I'm looking less for perfection in Test #1 than in Essay #1. Still, my feedback on Test #1 may help you as you prepare Essay #1, so I'll get through grading as quickly as I can.
Best of luck to you and me this week!
Spiritual Thought: Miracles and Blessings
In sacrament meeting today, a speaker asked us to take a few moments to contemplate miracles and blessings we'd seen in the past week. I thought about the miracle of my nephew's birth this weekend. We have been on vacation in St. George for a few days, and my sister was five weeks away from her due date with her sixth child. She went into labor last night, and we were so worried about her little baby. As I drove to the hospital with my mom last night, just anxious to lend support and love, we passed the St. George temple Visitor's Center. The Christus was lit up, and I immediately worried about my little nephew going straight back to his Savior without us getting to love him and raise him. Amazingly, my sweet little nephew was a whopping 6.6 pounds, his lungs worked, and he and my sister were able to come to our condo tonight. I just can't believe this happened, and I am so thankful. What blessings and miracles have you seen this week?
Sincerely,
Sister Bowen
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