Feedback Is A Gift

Some years ago, I had the offer of funding through my work to undertake a Master’s degree. I had never been to university, so it was a terrific opportunity. Perhaps a little daunting, too. Work and family commitments determined the distance learning approach was best for me, so I signed up and logged on.

I soon got used to the way things worked. Week by week, I found the study notes in the portal and dutifully deposited my assignments into Dropbox before the deadline. All was well, but the experience was lacking a certain something. My lecturers were but distant names on a website. Rare sightings of a lesser spotted tutor live in the wild were moments of great excitement. E-mail queries spiralled into a black hole, never to be seen again. Slightly predating the interactive joys of Teams and Zoom, my course was more like the younger sibling of an old-fashioned correspondence course, but I had chosen distance learning, so that was that.   

The modules dutifully ticked by in this solitary fashion and I grappled with academic expectations such as Harvard referencing and the perils of using Wikipedia as a reliable source. I hang my head in academic shame as I admit to naively attempting to get away with that, but you know, no one was looking, so it was okay, right? One day, without warning, everything changed when a certain Professor Spicker burst onto the scene to teach the social policy modules. This man didn’t skulk in the shadows or allow the safety of distance to let me off the hook. Prof. Spicker was on my case. No more depositing in Dropbox and running away. Not on his watch.

By then, I had grown used to launching my work into the ether and seeing grades come back that wavered between acceptable and good. Until now, I had received not a hint of feedback. If a piece of work got a grade C, I was none the wiser about how I might have done better.

Circumstances dictated I did my work late in the evening. Regardless of time, under the new regime, I would invariably discover that Prof. Spicker had answered long before I arose. Sometimes his reply was in my inbox within thirty minutes of my submission. And he didn’t just reply. Oh no. Somehow, overnight, he compiled thoughtful, detailed critiques ready for me to consider over my cornflakes. Unfortunately, he was a hard man to please. If my work was poor, so was my grade. Expectations were high.

The consistent speed of his marking left me wondering whether Slick Spick was really some form of robot masquerading online as a human. Maybe the university’s technology department was secretly experimenting with artificial intelligence using unsuspecting distance learners as guinea pigs? Was the Prof. a chat bot? Could we spot the difference? The signs were there.

Over the coming months, the speedy Prof. steadfastly refused to let me off with half-baked essays. My mere opinions meant nothing without evidence, my claims had to stack up and my writing persuasive. He would counter my arguments with his and provoke me to improve my case. Suddenly, my learning had come to life. I was being stretched out of my comfort zone and it didn’t stop there. A few assignments in, he moved the goalposts. Our next mission was to answer complex essay questions on a single side of A4. His purpose was pragmatic. ‘Anyone can use lots of words, but if your boss can’t read a report in a lift, it won’t get read at all.’ The academic equivalent of the writer’s ‘elevator pitch’.

I rarely earned a high grade from the learned Prof. but he gave me the priceless gift of honest feedback. He inspired me to try harder and to aim for better work. Other tutors were easier to please, but of all of them, he’s the only one I remember by name.  

One of my writing aims is to find ways of getting honest feedback and to learn from the wisdom of others. Currently, my writing is a solitary experience. It has little exposure to the thoughts and critique of fresh and better minds. I don’t know how good or poor it is. My circle of real-life friends doesn’t include any writers, which is why ACW is important to me.  

I’d love to hear from readers about how you moved from being a lone writer to one that shares their words and receives feedback. Is there someone who has given you the gift of feedback? 

Have a blessed week.

Proverbs ch. 9 v. 20 “Take good counsel and accept correction. That’s the way to live wisely and well.” (The Message) 

P.S. This blog isn’t on one side of A4. Sorry Prof.