...I may be jaded....

[tripingly]

So today in Rhetoric class, we were discussing a section of one of our books.  The book is basically a case study in how teachers respond to student writing.  As such, there will be an essay from a student, followed by four or five professors commenting on the essay.  One of the essays is a piece entitled "tribute" and was written in response to a

Comments

[galena_m]

Maybe that makes you jaded. I think it makes you honest.
As a critical reader (editor, teacher, audience, whatever), it's fair to ask if a writer has followed an assignment when one has been given. It's fair to point out technical details (syntax, clarity of argument, detail of story, whatever) that could warrant refining/revision/augmentation.
I haven't read the essay or sat in on your class. It sounds like a student went off on the "how my life was affected by X" and gave a lot of detail of her dad's life/behavior without explaining much on "how my way of thinking was affected because of my dad's behavior". So yeah - it's certainly fair for you as a pseudo-teacher to want to point that out and consider ways to suggest the student improve.

...But yes, as an actor, you're also going to be more comfortable NOT getting swayed by a little surface drama. And good for you. We need more stability and critical analysis in this world.

[matteo_mj]

Not sure it makes you jaded. I'd like to see someone, as a teacher, give 1 on 1 evaluations to assignments...but I know time is a huge factor with that. For this particular student, I would though. Let them know that it took a ton of balls to put this on paper, but if you're going to write it, write it right. Point out the errors and possibly keep your options open to allowing a re-write if the student deserves it.

Just a couple of thoughts.