Storyboarding an Essay Draft

Who was my worst high school teacher? Why? The Bad Teacher Game!

Claim: Mrs. Holly was a very bad teacher. For Intro?: 12 th -grade English teacher. Something about intense atmosphere of the class. The focus on testing… Maybe some of the cool books we read? Jude the Obscure Crime and Punishment Etc.

Reason 1: She was mean to her students. Evidence: She insulted us. Evidence: she played favorites and created pointless competition between us. Evidence: One time, when I stayed after school to ask her some questions about a grade on an essay test, she accused me of having hubris. Evidence: She also said: people who think more slowly aren’t as smart. She was talking about me!  Warrant: mean teachers are bad teachers. Can I assume everyone will share this warrant / belief? Not sure… how would I argue for this idea?

Reason 2: She did not provide constructive feedback. Evidence: no comments on our essays and exams. Evidence: When I asked her a question about what I did wrong in my essay on a book (Far from the Madding Crowd), she didn’t seem to offer advice for how to do better. Warrant: ???

Reason 4: Hmmmmmm…? Info I might be able to use????? She was a smoker. We often gossiped about her. She was very small. She had very short hair—pixie cut? She seemed a little arrogant. She had a daughter. She never smiled! Other times she seemed more modest. I remember one time she said something like: “Whenever I read something I find myself thinking that way…”

Reason 4: She did not create opportunities for students to build knowledge for themselves. Evidence: Every class consisted of a long lecture summarizing the day’s reading, as when she spent a full week retelling the plot of Moby Dick without any opportunities for class discussion. Evidence: [need to think of something else!] Warrant: I can call Mrs. Holly a bad teacher because of this belief: I believe / assume that students learn best in situations where they must construct their knowledge for themselves. I like putting this reason at the end—I want to end with my strongest reason.

Counterargument/Response 1 Counterargument: It’s true that she was an expert in the literature we read in class. Response: Nevertheless, in retrospect, I see that she did not use her expertise to invite and provoke rigorous thinking about literature in her students.

Counterargument/Response 2 Counterargument: She could be friendly sometimes. Evidence: she once praised a comment I made about Dostoyevsky—and that made me feel really good. Evidence: she publically praised my work when I wrote essays that received an A. Response: This praise may have felt good, but it simply reinforced the tensions in the classroom. Evidence:

Conclusion Not sure what goes here yet!