Why I Haven’t Stopped Two Students Passing A Note In Class

Yeah, I noticed those students passing a note though they’ve done an admirable job covering it up. If they were clumsy about it, I would tell them to cut it out, but they have been fairly cunning and I respect that. That’s not all of why I’ve let them keep doing it. That’s just the first reason.

The second reason is that this is English class and I’m a writer. After all, they’re writing and though it’s not in the curriculum, I can live with it. I work with reluctant writers, so anything that gets them working with words is good.

Third reason: I used to pass notes in class. Writing anything is practice and passing notes to girls had me thinking how to write my best. I didn’t want to hand a note to Janet, Linda, Gina, Amy, or Christina and have them see I couldn’t spell, make good sentences, or form a paragraph. I wanted those girls impressed by me as a writer, as a person, as anything at all.

Passing a note isn’t the best writing instruction, but it’s not the worst. If it was all they did, that would be tough to justify. If they pass notes along with doing the rest of what we do, then they may accidentally learn. Stranger things have happened

Besides, it’s good for students to write something in class that they won’t show the teacher. Not all writing is for a grade.

They haven’t interrupted class, aren’t making a big show of what they are doing, and they’re good people doing writing in our classroom. I would be a fool — or at least a bad teacher — if I put a stop to it just because it makes me nervous or someone observing might not understand. I’ll keep an eye on them, but I’m not worried. They’re writing and there’s nothing bad about that.