In part one of this series, we looked at relationship as a prerequisite to assessment. This friendship, whether between parent and child, teacher and student, or mentor and apprentice, can offer a rich environment for the cultivation of knowledge and skills, and ultimately wisdom and virtue. In part two, we considered the importance of response, the understanding that assessment is a two-way street and needs to be an interaction between both teacher and student.


In part one of this series we looked at relationship as a prerequisite to assessment. In his book Norms and Nobility, David Hicks says “Knowledge – the activity of learning – gives teacher and student a common ground for friendship – while accentuating their unequal status.” This friendship, whether between parent and child, teacher and student, or mentor and apprentice, can offer a rich environment for the cultivation of knowledge and skills, and ultimately wisdom and virtue.
Part 2: Response - The Expectations During Assessment

When I first began teaching other people’s children, the thought of assessing their work filled me with no small amount of dread. Even back then, when it was simply known as “grading”, I became anxious at the thought of telling others that their work had, or had not, met the standard. Why oh why hadn’t I decided to teach math? You either get it right or you don’t. Yes or no. Correct or incorrect. Vainly I searched for encouragement from other Language Arts teachers. The advice ranged from the humorous (“Throw the papers on the stairs.

It finally happened. I forgot. Sitting down to lead my last webinar of the year with my first class of graduating apprentices, I realized I was unprepared. Too many commitments, too many things on my schedule, and too much reliance upon my insufficient memory meant that not only had I forgotten to pack the text into my bag, but I had forgotten to check the syllabus and even read the text to be discussed.

Sweet Home. It’s more than just a lovely sentiment on a cross-stitched pillow. You might say it’s engraved, embedded, etched on our very souls. From the time we are little and draw a crayon square with a triangle on top to the day we leave home for college or set up our first apartment or purchase a house for the first time or bring that first baby home, we are ever consumed with a desire for a place of our own, indeed a place to make our own.

Recently my son attended a two-week course at The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockland, Maine. What do woodworking and writing have in common? You might be surprised!
BEGIN WITH THE BASICS

“I want my child to be an independent learner.”