By Lori Campbell
Spring is the bittersweet season when our ERWC students prepare their portfolios for the transition to college. I have the privilege of keeping many of my students for two or more years in the Kern Learn blended program, so I have been able to track their growth through the two pathways in grades 11 and 12. I can see their accomplishments, but they don’t necessarily see what I see. The ERWC portfolio is an important benchmark for students rather than their teachers.
In Kern County, through the Building Bridges Conference, English and composition teachers from the Kern High School District, the various community colleges in our area, and Cal State Bakersfield come together to reflect on various issues in literacy for the students we serve. In one of the sessions, I attended an excellent presentation that explained the freshman composition requirements for these institutions and gave me insight into just how important that portfolio is. Here’s how I explained it to my seniors.
Students benefit most by having a basic understanding of rhetorical reading and writing when they enter college. The General Education composition requirement instructs students in effective research and report writing. However, having a toolkit of rhetorical strategies for tackling difficult academic texts aids tremendously in their courses to succeed in research.
This is what ERWC provides at the high school level. The portfolio shows students how these tools have helped them navigate and understand these texts over the past year (or two!). They have examples of rhetorical strategies and a record of how they work. At CSU Bakersfield, first-year college students who still feel they have not mastered these skills can take the “Stretch” course (English 1100), which lasts a full year and provides a booster of rhetorical strategies in their first semester. If they believe they have met their learning goals in ERWC, they can move with confidence directly into the single-semester course for research skills.
ERWC is not just for students who are CSU-bound. Students engage in rhetorical reading and writing no matter the higher education venue they choose. Our community colleges provide practice in these skills in the first semester of their college composition classes (whether they have taken ERWC or not). Entering students can pay to take a challenge assessment to test out of that course, but they are still required to demonstrate the ability to engage in inquiry, read purposefully, and write rhetorically. Looking through the work they have completed throughout the modules, students can evaluate their preparedness for college reading and writing, regardless of their destination.
Working with seniors in spring is like herding kittens in a dust storm. They have become skittish, forgetful, and just a little terrified. The ERWC portfolio shows them concrete evidence of their college readiness like no other indicator. Scores on tests tell them how well they can take tests. The ERWC portfolio shows students what they are capable of doing. This important collection of documents serves as a resource students can consult as they navigate the next step in their academic journey.
The takeaway learning contained in the ERWC portfolio is too important to leave behind.
Lori Campbell is the English department chair for Kern High School District’s Kern Learn Program. This is a complete distance learning program that provides students the option to take their A-G required courses online. She has taught ERWC both face-to-face and through distance learning for over 10 years. Lori holds her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
Teaching ERWC 