Today I graded my seventh and eighth graders illustrative essays. They had to take a proverb or a saying and illustrate its accuracy. I received two papers whose development was phenomenal. I'd have given the development of those two papers A's in my college freshman class. The grammar on one was a little faulty (about a C grade). But I was AMAZED to get that good a paper from these guys. I told both of them in my notes on their paper how good I thought they were.

One was on “the pen is mightier than the sword.” His examples were Thomas Paines' Common Sense, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the Bible.

The other was on some saying I'd never heard of that “he who wins is not the guy with the biggest army but the guy who shoots the best.” He gave examples from the US Revolutionary War, the US Civil War, and a British war in Africa.

My husband says the papers would have made an A as one of my college papers because I've gotten easier. Maybe. But these papers were wonderful. Truthfully, I don't get a lot of wonderful college papers. It's a required course and most people just want to “get through it.”

Some days you just want to dance.