Example of Reading Response
This was written in response to an article by Daiker, "Learning to Praise", which debates whether praise should or not be given to students.
"I really enjoyed this article, not only the idea behind it but also the execution. I felt that this essay was really engaging, and I especially liked how Daiker linked praise to the Fitzgerald and Hemingway story. I felt that this article really does make a good point about how, while we assume praise might be prevalent, praise is necessary and potentially lacking. To be honest, this method of evaluation and philosophy in teaching is part of the reason that I switched to English from psychology. My psychology teachers did not positively reinforce any of my writing, my test discussion questions, and even in class they were only critical. I completely felt like I had no reason to be in the program; I had no voice, and I felt that no one really cared or paid attention to my work. Not only were my English classes my favorite, but also they were the classes where I felt like my voice mattered and that my progression was noticed and congratulated. I suppose it makes me feel like a trained dog to say that I really enjoyed the positive reinforcement in English, but it made me feel like my ideas meant something and feel like my voice was heard and considered. I think in this sense positive reinforcement is important for a multitude of reasons; it gives students a benchmark for their progress, a sense of confidence in certain aspects of their writing, and it also might be bolstering their confidence as a writer and a person in a way that their major may not be doing. I certainly didn’t switch to English just for the good feelings, but I think that anecdote shows the power of positive praise. In that sense, I think positive praise in student papers can be more than just validation for different writing styles that work. "
"I really enjoyed this article, not only the idea behind it but also the execution. I felt that this essay was really engaging, and I especially liked how Daiker linked praise to the Fitzgerald and Hemingway story. I felt that this article really does make a good point about how, while we assume praise might be prevalent, praise is necessary and potentially lacking. To be honest, this method of evaluation and philosophy in teaching is part of the reason that I switched to English from psychology. My psychology teachers did not positively reinforce any of my writing, my test discussion questions, and even in class they were only critical. I completely felt like I had no reason to be in the program; I had no voice, and I felt that no one really cared or paid attention to my work. Not only were my English classes my favorite, but also they were the classes where I felt like my voice mattered and that my progression was noticed and congratulated. I suppose it makes me feel like a trained dog to say that I really enjoyed the positive reinforcement in English, but it made me feel like my ideas meant something and feel like my voice was heard and considered. I think in this sense positive reinforcement is important for a multitude of reasons; it gives students a benchmark for their progress, a sense of confidence in certain aspects of their writing, and it also might be bolstering their confidence as a writer and a person in a way that their major may not be doing. I certainly didn’t switch to English just for the good feelings, but I think that anecdote shows the power of positive praise. In that sense, I think positive praise in student papers can be more than just validation for different writing styles that work. "
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