In reference to the comp tale by Linda Bergman (p.42):
Linda found fault in her students' papers' transitions, so she had them rewrite the papers with transitions. One student wrote "moving right along to the next paragraph" as transition to every paragraph.
Several things went through my mind as I read this: was the student being a 'smart ass' or did they lack common sense? I have had both types of students in class and both can be frustrating. The first one is easier to deal with, especially if the behavior is recognized before instructions are given. If we have students that always try to get away with less work by finding a loophole in our assignments, they are great practice for precise communication. Also, precise and clear communication should be something we strive for anyway, so by assuming we are always dealing with the smart ass student, we may be able to effectively reach more students in general.
The second type of student, the one without common sense, is more difficult, but not for the reasons we may assume. Sometimes a teacher's definition of common sense differs from a students. Isn't it possible that we lack some commonsense? If we think that a student thinks as we do, then we may lack some commonsense. Therefore, both types of students are challenging, but they only help us 'up our game' by forcing us to think as others would, which can be challenging.
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