We just finished our first week of classes.  I am teaching two sections of Contract Law and two sections of Writing.  I will describe my Law classes in the future.  For now, let me tell you what it is like to teach 18-year-olds how to write an essay. 

I learned how to write an essay when I was in fifth-grade.  I will always think of the classic, five-paragraph essay as the Mr. Grillet essay, because he was my teacher that year.  He taught me how to write an introduction that would guide the reader, three paragraphs of meat that supported the opening thesis, and a conclusion that restated the original claim.  He drilled the format into our brains.  He only gave A’s or B’s to students who mastered the five-paragraph paradigm.

Mr. Grillet also had a thing for football.  Every week we would study the geography of the state where the Eagles were playing.  We learned all of our states and capitals that way.

I spent the week teaching my students how to write, just like Mr. Grillet taught me.  I assigned the first topic, and walked them through different approaches to writing an essay.

“Should college students get married?  There are three possible answers:  1) College students should not get married.  2) College students should get married.  3) Some college students should get married, others should not.”

Lots of them laughed, and lots of them groaned as they registered the topic.  They all have opinions, but I don’t know whether they will be able to write about them. 

They will turn in their first papers at the end of the week.  We will find out then if they got it.