1. At the beginning of Daiker's paper he writes about how praise in the eyes of American expat writers was equivalent with disgrace and reflects on how this ideology may have influenced instructor's feedback in composition courses. Do you think, however, that the negative feedback problem is a problem within only composition courses? Are there perhaps larger cultural factors at play that influence the fact that negative feedback has been the norm for so long?
2. On page 152, Belanoff states, "I believe that if students are going to get better, I have to explain the standards I use to arrive at grades. I consider this part of my responsibility." Do you agree or disagree at this is a part of our responsibility as teachers? What other responsibilities do we, as teachers, have in regards to our students?
Hi Leah, in response to number 1: I think you're right that negative feedback is a problem across many fields and probably sourced from a cultural flaw. I would say though, as Belanoff argues, that we feel more judged by our writings than we do by say a math test with less subjectivity. Therefore, that negativity almost hurts more than negative feedback in other fields. But, I imagine a theatre major would feel just as destroyed by negative feedback, or an artist, or anyone who is expressing their personal selves through their work.
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