Yes. It’s Wednesday. In teaching some days blend into the next, except for Friday; everyone knows when it’s Friday. Let’s go to the lounge.
Reunion Weekend
The most important aspect of this week’s entry in the lounge is my impending reunion with my colleagues. I am attending a wedding on Friday in Connecticut, and I am truly burning the candle at both ends.
I intend to see my family, my kids, Eileen’s family, and many of my friends from GHS. I am also gifting my car, necessitating a trip to the DMV and checking on a cello that I offered for consignment weeks before we moved down.
Even with a hectic schedule, I am looking forward to all of it. It has been a few short months, but it has been long enough to, not necessarily miss the place, but certainly miss the people.
I guarantee, after a few drinks, the discussion will turn to the craft, both positive and negative, and I am intrigued about how this year differs from last. I used to think that the school would crumble from its foundation if I was not there, but I realize that education, even at my alma mater, is a fickle machine.
DON’T ADMIT IT
Last week, I discussed the basics of teaching the college admissions essay, and provided some resources. Today, I want to broach topics that students should avoid due to their commonality and triteness.
5 TOPICS TO AVOID
- SPORTS HEROICS AND FAILED AUDITION – These essays tend to suffer from a lack of drama. They always discuss the big game and the candidate’s role in a pivotal play. Three seconds left, no time-outs. The crowd is going nuts. I get the ball in the corner... Boring.
There are only two outcomes: You make it or your don’t. Similarly, I have read far too many audition essays that discuss not getting a part, then getting a part. See above. (There are so many ways to discuss sports and the arts in a personal, specific manner). - MOVING – I am not talking about a story that generates empathy. That’s a good thing. I am talking about moving from one place to another. These tend to fall into the “stranger in a strange land,” trope, so have the students pick something specific that has changed and use contrast as much as possible
- FUNERALS/HOSPITAL – These drastic changes seem like a great idea, but my students tend to spend too much time describing the setting and action of the event, rather than the impact.
When discussing someone who has passed, it is better to show their influence while living, or to discuss what they miss the most. As for the hospital, the injury or event itself is important as well as the comeback, but not the diagnosis or treatment of the injury. - HABITAT FOR HUMANITY – Community service is awesome, and the colleges will look for volunteerism and giving back. Once again, these become too broad, unless you focus them on a small lesson or someone in the process who taught them something.
Do not let them fall on the sword of “now I don’t take what I have for granted.” Once again, have them zero in one aspect of their life and reflect. - ESSAY ON WRITING THE ESSAY – At one point this worked if it generated a way to discuss interests and/or personality, but this has been played out as an occasion for writing and falls flat as an introduction (an essential piece of the essay’s effectiveness).
- AND ONE MORE – Travel is a great one if it passes the Habitat test. The key here is to get to the crux of it. Students often spend too much time and too many words (you only have 650) discussing the airport and the plane and getting a Cinnabon.
I am pretty sure most, if not all, admissions representatives have been on a plane, so unless something incredibly unique happened in the airport or during the flight, just get the reader to the destination, fast.
P’s Point of Pellucidity
Today’s point of clarity involves two unique uses of the semi-colon.
In most instances, the semi-colon acts as a pause between two independent clauses that have some content or tone similarity, and do not require a full stop.
Here are two other common uses of the semi-colon that young writers should employ
- Make sure to use the semi-colon between items in a series that already contain commas. For example: On my European vacation, I will be visiting
Madrid, Spain; London, England; and Paris, France. - Use a semi-colon before a conjunctive adverb. Many of my student writers only know one contrasting conjunctive adverb (however). I prefer this phrasing: I do not like the taste of lemon; however, I do enjoy it in iced tea.
That’s all I got this week, but tune in next week for more pellucidity, and teaching the introduction using an ice cream cone.
Until then, I will see some of you soon, and the rest next week in the lounge.
Love and learning,
P.