Student essay advice needed

I know that we're all swamped right now, and that none of you are checking this on a regular basis lately (at least, I'm not), and so this question probably won't get an answer today, but I've got a weird student essay that needs some quick advice.

The assignment was a simple proposal essay on, well, anything (and I've been getting everything from campus parking to, surprise surprise, legalizing marijuana), and this particular essay is on overpopulation in India (the proposal itself is very weak, something about more awareness programs to promote condoms?).

There's nothing wrong with writing about India, but I question the student's motives, and, therefore, his actual authorship. I mean: why on earth does this student care AT ALL about overpopulation in India? I'm not saying he shouldn't, but 99% of my kids write about things that directly affect their lives. This student has no connection (that I can see) to India: he's a white Texan, kinda the punk/grunge/slacker type. If I had to predict what he might write about, it'd be something about girls, guitars, maybe immigration or something campus-related. But overpopulation in India?

The paper isn't terrible, but it's not great either. The language seems like a student's language, so I don't think he plagiarized off a website; but the information is also rather bland and impersonal, as if anyone could have written it. So what I'm picking up on is a big disconnect between the writer and the material, which is, logically, setting off some alarms in my head.

I can't prove he didn't write it, but can anyone offer some advice on what to say in my comments? I guess I need a nice-ish way to question his motives, his choice of topic, his connections. I need of way of saying, "Why, in heaven's name, did you want to write about this? You're not worldly enough to give a flying fuck about India, so you couldn't have written this paper." Well, SOMETHING like that. I'm not really that concerned about catching where he plagiarized--I just don't know what to say at all.

Suggestions?

Some cheer during a tough time in the semester.

I want to post this email I just received from a student, because this kind of email is so very very rare.

I gave my students a worksheet full of horribly incorrect sentences that they were to correct as an exercise in proofreading. The sentences were compiled (mostly) from student papers from last semester.

This particular student--the absolute brightest student I have had the pleasure of teaching--just wrote me to say that she had finished the exercise, and:

HOW DO YOU EVEN GRADE THESE??! These sentences are ridiculous. I don't understand how these kids graduate from high school when they can't even put together a clear, cohesive, complete sentence! I'm sorry, it just blows my mind. Is it because they're just lazy, or do they really not know how? It seems like they really don't know how. Now I'm even MORE depressed!

This is why I could never be a teacher - I lack the necessary patience and understanding. You're my hero.

Aside from my feeling rather self-satisfied right now--isn't it SO NICE to hear a student view the classroom from our perspective?!

P.S. I wrote her back to tell her, among other things, that I have no such "necessary patience and understanding." I just fake it well. :-)

Video on the state of higher education.

I don't even know how to introduce this. Please watch:



I need to gather my thoughts, but I think it says some interesting and powerful things (and some things I disagree with as well).

I think I am going to assign some kind of extra credit assignment to my students in conjunction with this video.