Ed and I are now in a state of emergency vis a vis writing not unlike the one I was in vis a vis math at the end of 4th grade.

This year the 6th graders had two periods of ELA a day instead of one.

I'm not sure what this accomplished. If I managed to put my hands on a paper Christopher wrote last year, would I see any difference between it and the "book shares" and feature story/book report/major research products he's written this year? I'm guessing no.

If we keep doing what we're doing, i.e. leaving things up to Christopher's school, he won't be learning to write in grades 7 and 8, either. I know this because the principal and assistant principal both said so at our coffee with the principal. They said the 7th & 8th grade writing instruction is weak and needs work, while the 6th grade writing instruction has been improved. Something like that.

When your principal tells you the writing instruction in his school is poor, you're on your own.

Now I find out that at the end of 8th grade students are accepted or rejected by the high school Honors program apparently based on their ability to write.

I say "apparently" because in fact I have no idea how these decisions are made. It's possible there are parents who do know, but if so I haven't met them. How does the program work? What are the selection criteria?^* What is the rate of acceptance?

We don't know! I didn't even know there was a competitive selection process until a couple of weeks ago when all of a sudden smart kids I know and like were getting rejection letters in the mail.

I'll probably force myself to Request Information on the Honors Program (I'll be SUPER cordial when I do), but I'd say my odds of actually getting information - real information as opposed to blah-blah - are slim to none. Some of you will remember that in my latest conversation with Christopher's English teacher I asked for writing samples of work she considers to be "A level."

She said she would provide me with samples after spring break.

This week she sent an email saying she is "not at liberty" to give me samples of A level work, but I can find sample essays in the book Write Source.

Good thing I happen to own a copy.

[update: She may have said Writer's Choice, not Write Source. Good thing I happen to own copies of both.]




could you grade it for me?

The Write Source samples won't do me much good at this point, because I don't know what grade they would receive from Irvington Middle School English teachers. So far this year, the paper Ed helped with has gotten a B- and the paper I helped with got a C. And let us not forget the Distinguished Historian who is earning C+s in her own child's middle school.

My point: I have no idea whether Irvington Middle School's concept of good writing is my concept of good writing; nor do I have any idea whether Irvington Middle School's concept of good writing is Write Source's idea of good writing. While I'm on the subject of things I don't know, I don't know what Irvington High School considers to be good writing, either.

We're in the dark.^**





speaking of Write Source

Back when we were dealing with the Mrs. R situation, I pulled some online Write Source student writing samples to show the principal that Christopher's paper was not inordinately short.

Here is the opening sentence of a "student model" report on wolves:

"Can you imagine hearing the howl of a wolf during the night?"