Amen -- liking is at the center. However, it is possible that some classes
are structured with so many 'requirements' (like number of pages, number of
revisions, specific style of argument, etc) that it becomes much more
difficult to either find a likable subject or to sustain it. The
'requirements' would most commonly arise from some perceived need to
'grade' the students' work. If the student was allowed to write about
something authentic and engaging to her, constrained only by her efforts
and the efforts of her colleague/teacher to help her improve writing to her
goals -- she would learn, not merely earn a grade.
Ah, Utopia. I've been there, but it isn't easy to get to and I haven't been
back for eight years or so.
<<Dave>>
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Grades are blunt instruments used to pummel minds into submission.
--Eric Crump