Getting Focused

"Getting Focused" is what I could have titled the class session this week for my three basic writing classes. Their project is due this coming week, so today in the classroom I was trying to help them focus on putting the finishing touches on their summary project. They've had to read and summarize five articles. I might add short articles.

One of the articles was five-and-a-half Reader's Digest size pages, but when I handed it to them last week several of them groaned. At those moments I have to restrain myself because it is fairly irritating when students have no desire to read, which equates to no desire to learn. As they pulled that same article from their book bags today, I overheard one female student telling another student just what a pain it was to read the article; therefore, it was quite difficult to summarize it. "Duh!" was my silent thought.

So I launched into my little lecture that college is the place where we are going to read, read, read, read, and read some more. Then we are going to write, write, write, write, and write some more. Many of these students lack the general knowledge that college is a place to learn, not a place to warm a chair and depart with a certificate.

So my desire, my hope is that today brought focus to their task of improving their summary project so that what they submit it in a few days it is ready to be inspected and will come through that inspection with a superior score.

Okay, now I am going to go "unfocus" for the final moments of this evening. Tomorrow I am going to kidnap Mr. Fun and runaway to the coast. We are going to put the K9 kids in a kennel that is new to them, but comes highly recommended. I think the two of us have not seen the ocean since January. So we're off for a couple days of escape, of relaxation, and of unfocus.

Good night from Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol