On Fri, 27 Oct 1995, ELLEN REDDING KALER wrote:
> If I risk sharing a poem with a friend or family
> member or colleague, I may not care about their evaluation, but I
> surely do want some kind of response. If writing is for
> communication, when I am choosing to communicate publicly (with
> someone other than myself), one way transmission is not enough.
You are right, both that much of our writing is not responded to, and
that we usually desire a response. So that is what I think teachers
should be: Readers that students can be sure will respond. Not grade, not
evaluate, but respond. Giving writers an interested and supportive
audience--wow, wouldn't it be nice to be in the profession that does that.