Words Worth Celebrating

By Elias Johansson-Miller, English Instructor

I'm standing in the back of Caswell Hall as a proud teacher watching one of my 10th Grade students read a section of their analytical essay on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But my pride is also from our year-long journey to get here.

Portfolio Night is a Marlborough tradition stretching back decades. The event happens every May and celebrates the end of the 10th Grade year. It is a unique tradition because it not only commemorates the transition between Sophomore and Junior year but also the academic excellence students have pursued throughout the school year. Portfolio Night is a public celebration of the Portfolio Project: the culminating 10th Grade English project that asks students to revise two analytical essays, one creative piece, reflect on the theme of American literature, and think metacognitively about their own writing process.

Earlier in the evening, before my student reads their essay about Gatsby's futile courtship of Daisy, parents, families, and students mingled outside Caswell eating delicious food and drinking refreshments, and inside Caswell parents looked at Portfolio Projects on iPads to see the websites students assembled with all their work. There are students who drag their parents over to an iPad ready to show off their website, but there are also the students who watch more quietly as their parent reviews their website, and then beam when they get a congratulatory hug. After my student finishes reading, other students will read excerpts from analytical essays or poems or short stories they wrote, and some students will share class artifacts that represent the unique personality of each English class. It is an evening full of joy and laughter.

As my student gets to the middle of their reading, I think back to the last two weeks. Students worked in and out of class to revise their work. We engaged in mini-lessons around the many writing skills we've practiced throughout the year: insightful thesis statements, logical organization, well-chosen textual evidence, and detailed literary analysis. I met with students individually to check on their progress and talk about their writing process. We don't just discuss the nuts and bolts of effective writing; we also talk about the kind of writer and thinker they want to be: how do I want to express my voice? what do I genuinely think about the big ideas of American life, the issues of class, race, culture, gender, and land that American writers have been considering for centuries?

My student wraps up their reading, and I think back to the first time they wrote this essay. It was in the first semester and they struggled. One of the reasons I love this project is also one of the reasons I love being a teacher: seeing students grow academically and personally. It is a powerful thing to re-read what you wrote and clearly see how you have improved, to realize that you have gained critical thinking, reading, and writing skills that will help you make sense of this complex world.

My student finishes their reading and Caswell erupts in applause. The clapping is for the strong writing, of course, but I know that the clapping is also for the thought behind a semicolon or the extra 15 minutes to reread a passage or the after-school meeting to review a topic sentence or the daily effort to meaningfully participate in class discussions. How wonderful to have your words, your ideas be taken seriously and celebrated!