Young Professionals

I took a couple of pictures of my white board after all five classes had completed, one after the other, a silent response exercise. For these exercises, I write a prompt, usually a question, or two on the white board. The prompt must be able to generate something more than a short comment but not require an essay to answer. I have enough area for four students to write comfortably side-by-side so I put four dry erase markers on the white board tray.

I then ask for silence (reinforced by the promise of "cool points" or erasure of added class time) and tell students that anyone of them may come up to the board and respond to either or both prompts in writing. I have very little trouble with talking and many students are eager to write on the board. When complete, the student responses are then used to stimulate discussion, look for common themes, and identify critical differences.


In this case, my prompts were an anticipatory exercise designed to get them thinking about why it might be important to learn how to write well and for different audiences. As part of the follow-on lesson, I explain that how we present ourselves in writing is as important as how we present ourselves physically. The care with which we dress ourselves, clean ourselves, apply our makeup, and coif our hair has a direct analog with the way we construct essays, craft sentences, and choose just the right words for the occasion.

Most of the responses for this go-round are thoughtful and mature; some are odd, but interesting to contemplate. I think these guys have potential.