I had given several formal written assignments this semester and many of my students have terrible writing habits. Some wrote like they were talking, some obviously did not read their work because the sentences were not sentences and some needed serious editing to tighten up the language. The overreaching impression was first draft vibes.
A student, in light conversation, mentioned that not everyone was happy about the constructive feedback. I was specific, writing "edit", "read out loud", "spelling" and "this part sounds like you are speaking-it's a formal report". The feedback was specific, actionable and was given with the intention of improving their performance in a workplace. The would have been happier with a "good job" and the same grade on the cover.
I get that. In a world of participation medals, winning, losing and a coach taking the time to offer insight to help you improve can feel foreign. My daughter has six years of art education and perhaps the most important thing she took from that is an appreciation for critique. We know that attention is the modern currency. It is the currency of social media influencers: likes, follows ans shares. It is also what we get from mentors. My students think a mentor is an older person who gets you jobs. Anyone can mentor you by providing thoughtful feedback and feedback requires attention. My daughter figured that out. She comes to me for feedback because I do not tell her that her work is fabulous. I tell her what I love about it, what missed having an impact on me and what possible changes could be explored if she chose to explore alterations. She knows the value of thoughtful critique and caring attention and she seeks it out.
You are blessed, Jim. Laura has patience and she loves you enough to critique your work in a kind, caring and insightful way. A way that required her to invest time in observing, imagining what could be and finding analogies to help explain why she thinks you should consider alterations.
I had given several formal written assignments this semester and many of my students have terrible writing habits. Some wrote like they were talking, some obviously did not read their work because the sentences were not sentences and some needed serious editing to tighten up the language. The overreaching impression was first draft vibes.
A student, in light conversation, mentioned that not everyone was happy about the constructive feedback. I was specific, writing "edit", "read out loud", "spelling" and "this part sounds like you are speaking-it's a formal report". The feedback was specific, actionable and was given with the intention of improving their performance in a workplace. The would have been happier with a "good job" and the same grade on the cover.
I get that. In a world of participation medals, winning, losing and a coach taking the time to offer insight to help you improve can feel foreign. My daughter has six years of art education and perhaps the most important thing she took from that is an appreciation for critique. We know that attention is the modern currency. It is the currency of social media influencers: likes, follows ans shares. It is also what we get from mentors. My students think a mentor is an older person who gets you jobs. Anyone can mentor you by providing thoughtful feedback and feedback requires attention. My daughter figured that out. She comes to me for feedback because I do not tell her that her work is fabulous. I tell her what I love about it, what missed having an impact on me and what possible changes could be explored if she chose to explore alterations. She knows the value of thoughtful critique and caring attention and she seeks it out.
You are blessed, Jim. Laura has patience and she loves you enough to critique your work in a kind, caring and insightful way. A way that required her to invest time in observing, imagining what could be and finding analogies to help explain why she thinks you should consider alterations.
She is a gift.
Merry Christmas
This is such a good point: critique is attention, and attention is the currency.
Laura basically paid me in the only money I actually respect—time and truth.
Also I’m stealing ‘first draft vibes’ forever. That’s the whole operation over here.
Thanks for writing this.