[etni] a bit more on Bagrut exams

I'm sorry this is coming in bits and pieces.  If I ever finish marking
exams, maybe I'll try to write up all of my comments and those of others
into a single post or file.

A couple of other things have come to mind...

Way too many of the compositions that I read (regardless of the topic) start
with some variation of the following:  "My name is Moshe Cohen, I am 18
years old and I live in Tel Aviv."  That is certainly a nice way to add 15
or so words to a composition, but it is generally completely irrelevant.  It
kind of reminds me of the student who comes into the oral exam, tells you
his name so that you can find him on the list and then, when you ask him to
tell you a little about himself, starts with, "My name is Moshe Cohen and I
study at this school."  I always bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Yes, I
already know that."

Kids need to know that the word "introduction" doesn't mean introducing
themselves (or at least not in a composition).  It's also nice when they
don't simply copy the assignment word for word as an introduction -- nobody
wants to read the same sentence several hundred times a week.  We need to
teach our students to paraphrase and to be original.

Another thing we need to teach them is to use their imaginations.  Sometimes
the composition topic is boring, or at least in their eyes.  Sometimes they
don't have an opinion.  How many times have you heard a kid say, "I don't
have anything to say about this topic."  Well, I don't mean to be overly
blunt, but that's just tough.  That's the topic and that's what they have to
write about.  If we get our students used to making things up, maybe we can
reduce the number of compositions that say, "I don't have an opinion on this
topic."  We need to make them understand that nobody really cares what THEIR
opinion is -- they simply need to write a composition with an opinion.  They
have to write on the topic and do everything that it requires (like
expressing an opinion), even if they find it boring.

One last thing (for now).  I mentioned in my previous post that kids don't
always read the instructions.  Well, this is true of the instructions for
compositions, as well.  If it doesn't say to write a formal letter, they
shouldn't write one.  Students need to know that they will lose points for
that (the deduction for writing in full letter format when not required is 4
points).

I hope all of you high school teachers who aren't marking Bagrut exams are
enjoying your vacation.

Bari

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