My approach to teaching English is directly informed by my experience 
teaching outdoor skills. I've noticed that novice whitewater kayakers 
can only keep two or three things in mind at once. If I give them 
more than that, they get confused and typically fail to recall the 
two or three that will determine the difference between a pleasant 
and unpleasant trip through the rapids.  Likewise, marking every 
error depresses the spirit of the writer, obscures the sort of 
emphasis which is essential to the acquisition of skills and 
precludes a sensible progression in that acquisition. My marking of 
errors depends on the individual character of the student whose paper 
I am grading. Often, I only indicate where an error exists, leaving 
it up to the student to diagnose it. After all, they need to develop 
an internal copy-editor: and that won't happen if a teacher marks and 
labels every mistake.

In my summary comments on papers, I will however list grammatical 
concerns which may have been unmarked on the paper. At this point, 
the highschool students I teach will come see me to discuss them.

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