BlargenBlog

A few weeks ago I posted my composition assignment which was a Letter to the Editor in response to this article.  I didn’t get much of a response, which worried me about the kind of reception I’d get from the instructor.  One tends to tread lightly when dealing with the topic of atheism.  As you’ve probably come to expect, I didn’t.

I was especially freaking out about it because I wasn’t going to get any feedback for at least two weeks due to Labor Day.   That feeling was compounded as the instructor proceeded through the articles with commentary one-by-one and mine didn’t come up (which was almost sort of a relief–class doesn’t afford me the anonymity this blog provides), though I was positive every criticism she had was somehow directed at me (especially when she used the word “ranting”).  Just when I was beginning to think I was off the hook (because no mention is better than admonishment), I hear this:

“Who wrote the paper on atheism?”

Sheepishly, I raise my finger in ownership, knowing I was about to be kicked in the ass.  I guess we’re always our own worst critic.

She friggin’ loved it!  She had nothing but great things to say about it.  She even read parts of it aloud to share with the class.  Hell, two other students actually approached me to ask me about the paper.  I was floored.

In her remarks in the margins, the instructor concurred religion and ethics don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand, and also approved of my assertion that the author of the article I responded to would be fired if he had used any of his arguments against, say, Muslims instead of Atheists.

The only criticism she had was one I’m rather familiar with:  too long.  Specifically, it was just a bit too long for the type of writing it was supposed to be, but that the points made, the presentation and the “craftsmanship,” (yes, friggin craftsmanship) were excellent.  She also said this could be the beginning to a great final paper.  Holy shit.

After all was said and done, I scored 75 out of 75 possible points, and I was awarded an extra 10 points for awesomeness, apparently.

One thing that the instructor (is it conventional to call them instructor or professor at the 2-year college level?) said which surprised me–but at the same time didn’t–was how she’d never received a paper about the subject.  So now I have to present this topic for my final paper.  I have a chance to leave a lasting impression and hey, there’s no shortage of examples I can use.

This deserves a w00t!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Atheism, School. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.