It was not smart of me, no matter what the board is called. I’m sorry that Student B said that his advice for how to fix your sentence was “Start over.” He believed that we were critiquing work by an anonymous student writer, perhaps from another college altogether. As you correctly pointed out during class, his advice was “too harsh.” I agree that criticism should be constructive. At the same time, I did not want to say that his advice was wrong. Sometimes the best thing we can do in writing is start over. Still, I am sorry you felt humiliated in front of the class. I know English is not your first language. You told me that if you could write an essay in Russian, you would not make as many mistakes as you are making in English. Please know that I find it impressive that you wrote a complex and thoughtful essay on “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath. I could not do the same in Russian if I had only lived in Russia for two years! Student B didn’t mean to offend, I’m sure. Best, Professor S Dear Student B, I’m sorry I didn’t explain that we were critiquing your classmate’s work before putting Student A’s work on the board.
