uncle van’s cabin

I made a student cry today.

She belongs to my first period class of Intensive Grammar every Monday and Wednesday. A college freshman who has been passing copied essays from the library. The first time I confronted her with her copied essay I wanted to crumple her paper and throw it on her face (just like what my old boss did to my old co-teacher but I told myself I’ll never be like him so I didn’t). Her grade for the mid-term is a screaming and failing 5.00. The last activity that we had in the classroom was to  write a very brief explanation of a quotation from the book. I was very sure that she’ll never get away from copying. And so she gave me this incomprehensible and painful essay that I couldn’t help myself from grimacing after I read it. I wish West V would require an essay writing in her entrance exam that way teachers won’t have to go tell their students what I told her…

I told her that her writing proficiency in English is in the elementary level. True, my grade 5 students can whip up a better essay than she can.  I questioned how she managed to pass the entrance exam. I learned earlier that morning that her father actually works in school so it’s possible that y’know…

I could see that she was hurt but I really didn’t have any choice. I think I was too harsh but if I won’t tell her now she’ll probably spend the rest of her college years (or perhaps the rest of her life)  making the same grammatical errors.

After she stopped crying I told her to go to the library and look for The Hardy Boys and The Nancy Drew series and start reading them as they’re just an easy read.

I do hope she’ll heed my advice and forget about reading those sleazy Tagalog pocketbooks (she admitted that she’s fond of reading them).

I hope she’ll learn from all these.

I hope that she’ll save her future professors from crying over her essays.