Meanness can kill things but randomness seems an even more effective murderer. I love to write and much of what I do at work is writing. Kat and Mr. Philately love to write too. Day-Hay used to love to write before last year. Randomness (and bad teaching) seems to have killed this love but I�m hoping it is just in a coma.

Last year, Day-Hay had a beginning teacher. Her heart was generally in the right place but her skills were lacking. She failed to understand how to give specific and useful feedback. Once, Day-Hay received a B- on a paper and the only comment was �Be careful with punctuation.� The teacher failed to circle any incorrect punctuation and I could not find any. When Day-Hay asked the teacher to show her, the teacher just reassured her that she would do better next time.

The way Day-Hay remembers it, all she got for her writing last year were bad grades with no reasons given. She�s right about the lack of reasons but she�s wrong about the grades. She didn�t get bad grades. She got some good grades and more mediocre grades. Most of the time, neither her dad, nor I, nor Kat, nor anyone else could ever figure out the differences between the essays with good grades and the essays with mediocre grades. The result is that the poor kid has incredibly bad writers� block.

After a very long meltdown tonight, I tried to get her through it by having her talk her assignment into a tape recorder. She loves talking into tape recorders. The tape recorder helped but the assignment remained wrenching. What finally emerged was a sad letter talking about all of her frustrations and telling her new teacher how much she hopes she can learn to love language arts again.

This letter may break her new teacher�s heart. I know it breaks mine. But Day-Hay was carefully placed this year with a new teacher who gives solid, detailed, specific feedback. Maybe, just maybe, if I cross my fingers and toes, this teacher can repair some of the damage. Maybe, just maybe, order and logic is the antidote to randomness. Maybe, just maybe, she�ll emerge from the coma.

|