They Should Make Abortion A Law

When I was a student teacher, I spent half my day with students attempting to repeat ninth grade English as a summer school course. Since many normal laws and regulations don't apply to summer courses, we had more than 130 students enrolled in this one class at the beginning -- standing room only. I watched over the course of four weeks as the number of students dwindled to about 20. While I found the students' lack of dedication ridiculous, I at least understood that if they were not going to do the work anyway, they might as well enjoy their summer. What perplexed me more were the students who showed up every day until the end yet still didn't turn in any work. Sure, summer school was significantly dumbed down, but you were still expected to do something.

I had one student in this class who was perfectly nice, but wouldn't complete written assignments. I pleaded with her to turn in a persuasive essay so I could pass her since it wouldn't happen otherwise. Other students were coached through drafts and showed marked improvement and a handle on some persuasive techniques, but this student didn't have that benefit since she didn't keep up with the deadlines. Instead, she turned in her essay, "Abortion," late and it is one of the most unintentionally hilarious pieces of writing I have ever read. I photocopied it, complete with my (perhaps overly sassy) comments.

NOTE: Stretch your browser window so it shows the whole image, or click on each page to see the essay in a larger size





Reading this back after two years, I'm partial to my quip on the second page where I ask, "fun?"

Say what you will, but this essay might be more persuasive than I initially gave it credit for, seeing as I haven't had an abortion since I read it.