This was the last week of classes for all Writing to Learn levels! It was a swift and busy year, with my greatest number of students ever.
I love Final Exam week. The students have worked hard all year, and the exam week is really a Victory Lap for them. They have the opportunity to show themselves and their Editors what they have learned, which is impressive. The “Iceberg Illusion” illustration is really fitting for my students. Their success is because of all of the work that they have put in throughout the year.
Levels 1 and 2 completed Final Exams, and Level 3 presented their Super Essays, a term paper that that they worked on throughout the year, on the subject of “A Great Idea Gone Wrong.”
Level 3 classes are smaller and very interactive. I only have one Level 3 class each year, which includes both local and online students. We sit around the table so the online and local students can see each other, and the students read their most recent essays to each other. Then we discuss the next assignment and read examples from both professional writers and past Level 3 students.
The chosen subjects for this year’s Super Essay included:
- The Viet Nam War
- Gene Editing
- Abortion-on-Demand
- The Nike Oregon Project
- China’s One Child Policy
- The United Nations
Three of the essays that students write in Level 3 are planned and written as part of the Super Essay, and then the whole thing is put together at the end of the year. It is impressive work.
I wish I had thought to take a picture in the classroom of all of these kids together, but I did take one outside after class. Thankfully I had a Zoom video of one of the classes so I was able to create a “class picture” of all of the students.
These students are all hard workers, self-motivated and determined. I’m very proud of them and I expect they will all accomplish great things.
