Erica Jacobs is the Education columnist for the DC Examiner, and has taught high school and college for 33 years. She has been around the education block! Email her at ejacob1@gmu.edu.

More Articles
Topics

day

george mason university

two minute book review

Education Examiner Links

Latest Erica Jacobs News

National Examiners

Sakre Heinze
Tori Amos Examiner
Most Recent Post
DVD News?

Gaby Cora
Workplace Health Examiner
Most Recent Post
Workplace Health: World’s AIDS Day

Jacob Osterhout
College Sports Examiner
Most Recent Post
Kentucky's point guard of the future decides he's ready to play, and Gillispie agrees

Jay McDonough
Progressive Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
A picture for the day

Big Red Boots
Caffeine Examiner
Most Recent Post
The Best Working - Worst tasting - ugliest energy shot yet - Stay Alert Energy

Send us your topic suggestions

The Writing Process

Add a Comment

May 18, 7:52 PM

by Erica Jacobs, Education Examiner

The phenomenon of "The National Examiners" is only five weeks old, but already I have discovered something about the writing process as it has been affected by my (almost) daily posts. Twice my Monday column for the DC Examiner has grown out of an off-handed post as an Examiner. In the case of tomorrow's column, my post on "The Lasts of High School" allowed me to write two very short paragraphs comparing my students' "lasts" and my own; by the end of the post I realized that my simplistic formulation (that they look forward and I look backward) was totally wrong. That was confirmed by Joshua's comment on his own "lasts" as a student.

So when I came to write the longer column this weekend, I incorporated the wisdom I had gained in rejecting my initial oversimplification. This sort of reassessment happens again and again as writers put their thoughts into words and realize they are---STOO-PID. Or worse. This time, I was able to save a lot of time while writing my column by realizing, through the first writing, that students are not as unidimensional as I had characterized them to be.

All of us are wistful as we experience our last classes and last interactions with peers. Students may pretend they are only jubilant upon graduation, but it's more complicated than that.

So writing as a way-to-think-things-through wins again. I've always known the process has multiple steps, but I never thought this Examiner site would facilitate my column writing. Now I know better.

Topics: blog , students , column , writing process

Feed

Comments

Why Don't Schools Address Racism?

Add a Comment

May 21, 7:09 PM

In my classroom today, a former student took the lead. Anna Laura came back to the classroom she had left two years ago to attend James Madison University, but the model of writing, respectful discussion, and reflection remained with... Read More
Topics: class , race

Shakespearean Quote of the Day

Add a Comment

May 18, 10:06 AM

Today I will going to the Shakespeare Theatre's performance of Julius Caesar with a few students and several other teachers, so it's fitting that the quote below comes from that play. My column for Monday calls my current students my best ever... Read More
Topics: day , class , shakespeare , quote , julius caesar

Word of the Day

Add a Comment

May 15, 11:08 PM

The word of the day comes from the very beginning of Elizabeth George's new mystery: Careless in Red. Inspector Lynley is on the forty-third day of his solitary walking tour--an effort to cope with his wife's recent death. He sees a solitary surfer and... Read More
Topics: word , day

Shakespearean Quote of the Day

Add a Comment

May 15, 10:09 AM

We all can picture a politician who fits the contempt expressed in this quotation from Henry lV, Part 1:I am whipp'd and scourg'd with rods,Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hearOf this vile politician.Choose your own example!... Read More
Topics: day , shakespeare , quote , politician

The "Lasts" of High School

1 comment

May 14, 12:00 PM

This last month of teaching at Oakton High School is the last time my students experience all sorts of events: dances, ceremonies, lunch lines, bells, early start times, nightly homework assignments. I am in the interesting position of going through... Read More
Topics: graduation , forward , last

Read Me: The Two-Minute Book Review

Add a Comment

May 14, 7:38 AM

Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett, was published in 2001 , and would seem to have been influenced by September 11--except that it was written before that event. It is a study of hostages and terrorists, their differences and similarities. If your world is... Read More
Topics: book , review , patchett

Word of the Day

Add a Comment

May 13, 7:02 AM

pecuniary--of or relating to moneyThe word of the day comes from the 2004 Advanced Placement literature tests where students were challenged by a Henry James passage from one of his short stories. A tutor interviews for a job because, "as yet one's... Read More
Topics: advanced placement , word , day

Shakespearean Quote of the Day

Add a Comment

May 12, 10:16 AM

This quotation from Taming of the Shrew might come to your mind as you realize that many schools, including George Mason University where I teach, have just announced a tuition increase of close to 10% for next year:O, I am undone, I am undone!... Read More
Topics: day , shakespeare , quote , taming of the shrew , tuition

Is There Education After the Test?

Add a Comment

May 11, 9:54 PM

My students took "the test" at the end of last week, and we have our first "real" class after that event on Monday. What is life like in the classroom after the test has been given? We've been preparing since Day 1 for this moment,... Read More
Topics: teacher , test.student , after

Family Movies and Books
from Walden Media

Venues, Sports and Music
from AEG Worldwide

Concerts, Artists and Tickets
from AEG Live

Be Inspired - Quotes and Stories
The Foundation for a Better Life

Erica Jacobs

Education Examiner Links

National Examiners

The Writing Process

Comments

More from Education Examiner