So I have this student...
in remedial writing at BCCC. And she's apparently a total whackaloon. One of the (textbook) prompts for the first assignment is "Something that really interests me."
Her paragraph is about whether fairy-tale dragons exist in the real world. She believes that they might, because in an art class she heard that unicorns were real at one time, before humans or climate change killed them. In conclusion, she continues to hope that fairy-tale dragons exist in the real world.
The paragraph is structured fairly well, with a topic sentence and everything, although riddled with grammatical and syntactical errors. But don't be distracted by that. The crucial issue is that here is a grown-ass woman, a high school graduate, who thinks that it's appropriate to write a college paper about how dragons might be real. And her evidence for thinking this is that unicorns are real.
This person can vote. I'm frightened.
PS: And her course evaluation at the end of term will count the same as that of a sane person.
PPS: This post originally contained the full text of the student's paragraph, but I removed it when I started to worry about the student someday finding this blog and knowing I was making fun of her. This way, even if she does see it, she can't be totally sure that it's not about someone else with the same weird interest.
Her paragraph is about whether fairy-tale dragons exist in the real world. She believes that they might, because in an art class she heard that unicorns were real at one time, before humans or climate change killed them. In conclusion, she continues to hope that fairy-tale dragons exist in the real world.
The paragraph is structured fairly well, with a topic sentence and everything, although riddled with grammatical and syntactical errors. But don't be distracted by that. The crucial issue is that here is a grown-ass woman, a high school graduate, who thinks that it's appropriate to write a college paper about how dragons might be real. And her evidence for thinking this is that unicorns are real.
This person can vote. I'm frightened.
PS: And her course evaluation at the end of term will count the same as that of a sane person.
PPS: This post originally contained the full text of the student's paragraph, but I removed it when I started to worry about the student someday finding this blog and knowing I was making fun of her. This way, even if she does see it, she can't be totally sure that it's not about someone else with the same weird interest.
posted by ProfessorDog at 8:56 PM
3 Comments:
Are you sure she's not just messing with you? I did stuff like that in high school all time. the only reason i stopped in college was that I was paying for it and didn't want to waste my money.
No, I don't think she's messing with you. Some college students are just. that. crazy. I hate to tell you Professor Dog, but "Dragon Lady" or "Fairy-Princess-Unicorn-Girl" might win out over Inappropriate Sister for "Most Aggravating and Terrifying Student EVER."
The idea that Unicorn Girl might be messing with me is tempting...but that's not the vibe that I got from it. And yes, Rosa G., by the standards of the class, the paragraph is not that bad. She got a decent grade on it and everything. It's just that the content suggests that her grip on reality is a wee bit shaky. I hadn't heard the rhinocerous thing; I'm not sure I find it reassuring either.
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