Whether, Weather, or Wuther: The Perks of Peer Editing. Blog Post 3

     “I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.”
-Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

     When Emily Bronte wrote these words, I wonder if she ever dreamed they would remain so immortalized in our society. As she puts it, dreams have the ability to change our ideas and alter our minds. But dreams are not the only ones to change our ideas. The pressure from our society, more specifically the pressure from our peers, can be even more idea changing. Our dreams can have so much meaning. And yet, they can be so easily beat, crushed, and demolished by a single strand of words.

     It is because of this that we as teachers often fear to tread the wuthering height of critiquing others’ works. We fear that our words may trample the very psyche of our students and colleagues, rather than expand their dreams and ideas. It is not necessarily a natural fear, but one that is essential when teaching. Understanding the power of our words is the first step in understanding how to teach. It is impossible for our students to learn and become stronger learners without being critiqued to some degree. Understanding the power we have with our words allows us to gauge the best way to critique.



     In this section we learned how peer editing allows for us to gain the skills to be a good reviewer, and how to accept criticism. For us to grow as learners, it is important for us to critique and be critiqued. Unfortunately, we don’t always know the right words to use. As the video Top 10 Peer Review Mistakes expresses, we are sometimes too extreme in our critiques and our handling of criticism. Overall, we should be positive, assertive, have an open mind, and be able to defend our writing.

      When peer editing, it is important to make suggestions that are helpful and aren’t simply mean. The video What is Peer Editing? explains that complementing the work and staying positive is incredibly important. This definitely holds true. People aren’t going to listen to angry rants. Rants don’t promote learning. Not everything can be a compliment, but staying positive when making edits is important to express your care and knowledge. After all, the person who wrote the work spent time on it and is also knowledgeable.

     In general, I personally believe the best way to edit and critique is publically. Though it wasn't as public as I would have liked, my group used the google drive to make our edits. This made the edits viewable to all of the members in my group. There are indeed circumstances where they should be done privately, but many critiques have some opinion bias. Your opinion may differ from another’s dramatically. When they are worded positively, this contrast in a public forum can promote thought and learning for both the person being reviewed and the reviewer. Also, I may miss a spelling error or misuse of grammar that somebody else notices. Having it in public gives the author more eyes to find simple mistakes.

     The pressure from our peers can dramatically change the way we view things. This can definitely be thought provoking and enlightening. But remember, Wuthering Heights received harsh reviews when it was first published. Yet, today the book is considered a gem of the Victorian Era. So, let the edits fix your punctuation but not quell your voice. After all, the opinions from reviews can change.