Today I start tutoring. My student has just about zero interest in school, and his grades show it. I've spoken with some of his teachers, and most of them have given up on him. I try to sketch out the upcoming essay for him, advise him to write down his thoughts on scratch paper before trying to piece together an essay. He seems like a bright kid. I need to give him more concrete material to work on.
Most of the rest of the day will be spent helping students begin their essays. There could not be a more boring essay to write: "Compare and contrast "The Pedestrian" to "There Will Come Soft Rains". Mr. K's layout for the essay is extremely formulaic, but students struggle with it mightily. We begin by choosing three topic sentences, then, finding 6 quotes, and then we begin our first body paragraph. This assignment is made even harder by the lack of interest in the topic. While the two stories were some of our most popular short stories so far, this essay does not share the same gusto.
Mr. K is an enthusiastic, organized, withit, extremely well-liked teacher but his curriculum reduces literature to terms to be memorized. His tests are difficult. Only one student will receive an A on the next test.
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