Blog 8

 I was captivated by Wittman's piece on margin markings being literacy narratives as well. This is so interesting because it's true! Teachers, well good teachers, should constantly evolve and adapt to the times and their student's needs. That's why when she mentioned a robotic paper grader, I was like that's not going to work because even as good as Grammarly is, it is not always correct. But she brought up a point that I had not thought about, which was ever-changing literacy in the changing times.

I really loved her idea that margin markings are mini literacy narratives because they reflect the learning that teachers do as they teach. After all, they say that the best way to learn is to teach. I also was blown away when she that as much as the students' work informs her teaching literacy narrative, her teaching literacy narrative also informs their literacy narrative: "But the realization that every mark we make in the margins is itself a literacy narrative colliding with the students' own allows us to see that we have a tremendous opportunity to coauthor with our students a mutual chapter in our learning to read and write and that without seizing this opportunity we risk using what is in the margins to marginalize still further." (Wittman 7) This is so true! Because when we were writing our literacy narratives, we often judge our experiences, by our experiences with teachers and how they saw our work. I mean I am being reductive, but there was a lot of that- at least in mind, there was. I focused a lot on my learning through the vessels with which I learned. I would have never thought of this had she not mentioned it! 

Another thing I wanted to point out was the importance of a teacher's humility. I believe we should be on a level playing field with our students, rather than being this omniscient God-like figure of the English language. We learn from students and should admit if we are wrong etc. What if a student writes this revolutionary thing I have never seen before? You never know, but I think it's so important for students to know that you are also human and I love the way she sums it up: And further, in offering our students the chance to see our marginal comments as miniature versions of the literacy narratives we ask them to write, we show them that our narrative hasn't ended but is now part of and influenced by their own, and we make them part of a real conversation, one that "[draws] energy from the outside world and support[s] a rich and interactive composing process" (Wittman 8) I loved the idea of self-discovery through grading in this essay!