Stupid Paper!

I'm sitting here (at Starbucks, of course) and laughing so much... and thinking of you guys. I'm eavesdropping (not on purpose, I swear!) while I'm grading, and I hear a girl say, "Ugh, and I had to write this stupid paper!" I turned around and, laughing, said, "Why do papers have to be stupid?!" We then went on to have a productive conversation about her history professor (not from BC - I'm down South) and turnitin and papers. And I told her, "I bet this is what my students are doing, if they're at Starbucks or at a bar - "Darn those stupid papers!"

Believe me, I understand your frustrations. I remember being that student and saying, "UGH I have this paper to write!" I can't remember if I ever used the word "stupid" because *gasp* I actually liked to write. However, I know how annoying it is to work on a time crunch. Also, it's not that fun grading (and grading, and grading) - sometimes. I love reading what you all have to say, especially when you actually put in time and effort, but it's very time consuming.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we teachers don't assign essays just because. We don't like to make you guys sweat (usually) and we're not out to get you (or torture you with grammar, sentence structure, and thesis statements). We want you all to be thinkers, to analyze and bring forth your own thoughts. We want you to be able to communicate effectively because, verbal or written, communication is key to success - personal, professional, or academic - in this life.