The Right to Choose a Personally Important Topic presents us with a challenge. Writing prompts in formal and informal assessments provide little, if any, ability for a student to choose writing which reflects his or her experience and voice. Yet, we are mandated to teach how to write to these often insipid prompts, and flood our students with past years' prompts in preparation.
On the flip side, we want to be able to instill in our students a love for the written word, a realization that everyone is an expert on their own lives and experiences, and that the stories that go along with these experiences are worthy of telling. If we can accomplish this, then we have given our students another tool toward accessing the mindfulness and deep thinking that Spandel spoke of and we all acknowledged as an important writing skill in chapter one. Enjoy. - Kim
Spandel Chapter 2 Reflection The Right to Choose a Personally Important Topic
ReplyDeleteSpandel’s comment (one I agree with 1000%) that “Writers who discover their own topics write with voice and commitment” (18) stood out to me immediately. I have seen this in my composition classes where the type of writing is specified (i.e. persuasive or descriptive) but the topic is left up to students, though I offer guidance and scaffolding in some cases. Students are definitely more engaged in their writing when they have a say in what they are writing about. That acknowledged, my students frequently become frustrated if an idea doesn’t pop onto their paper after 17 seconds of brainstorming.
Getting students to buy into the idea that the right topic is in their head some where, they just have to find it, is a huge challenge when for so long many students have been told what to write, how many paragraphs it has to be, and even how many sentences should be in each paragraph. They are often too impatient to buy into the process and would often rather just have it spelled out so they can simply get it done. Stephen King’s comment that as writers, “Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up” (21) rings of truth. But how to teach that?
I liked Spandel’s idea about poking around - could this ever be incorporated in to our daily journals? Perhaps challenging students to be more observant and to write down what they see or notice or think about would help them think more like writers. Incorporating this into daily journals could be beneficial on two fronts as for many students, coming up with things to write in their journals every day is like pulling wisdom teeth without novocaine. Perhaps the option of “poking around” the classroom would give them topic ideas and in the process help them develop those thinking skills? Would it also demonstrate that small details and mundane things can lead to bigger ideas?
One thing I do with students on the first or second day of class is have them create a “Heart Map.” It is meant to take up a full page in the beginning of their writer’s notebooks. On the map, they write all of the things that are “close to their hearts”. Then, if they need topic ideas for journals, or a writing assignment, they can refer to their heart map for ideas. While I really love this writer’s notebook page, it never quite works out the way I intend it to, but the concept popped into my head when I read Spandel’s “I know this because I was there” idea. I started thinking that perhaps that could be a cool organizer, writing out in circles (like the ripples mentioned in the book), things directly related/witnessed and moving out from yourself. I feel like there is a better idea here that I’d like to think about and flush out to develop a better tool for students to capture their thoughts. Suggestions welcome :) Hope you enjoyed the long weekend…looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!
Hi Debbie - I like your idea of incorporating poking around into your students daily journals. I know in my class, we never really spend the time to think about our own topics, or what is important to us as individuals. I'm wondering if you ask your students to continually go back to their Heart Map? Meaning, when you're asking students to poke around, have them poke around their Heart Map (love that idea as well!). Ask them to dig deeper into a topics they decided on day 1 were important to them. I love the idea of connecting the two concepts and am planning to develop it in my room.
DeleteOn our first day we create a Time Capsule where students are asked to complete questions around topics important to them, i.e.; who is there best friend, favorite song, favorite class, etc. then we open the box on the last day of school to see what has remained the same, what has changed. Because of your post, I'm wondering if I kept a time capsule with writing topics and asked students monthly to re-open the capsule and "review, poke around" to see if they could dig a little deeper into ideas that are important to them. Thanks for getting me to think about this!
Chapter Two left me frustrated. Once again I feel the tug between the cookie-cutter, regimented Common Core Assessments and DDMs which are required and my conviction that "writers who discover their own topics write with voice and commitment."
ReplyDeleteI think one of the hardest places to keep my original voice and stay authentic and positive is in the classroom. As a teacher, my own creativity is being squelched. My choices are taken away as I'm told use this assessment, read this story, assign this prompt.
Spandel's ideas resonate with me, and even students agree that the hardest thing about writing is finding something to write about. So, the biggest challenge for me, as the teacher is to "teach ourselves, and our students, to sit up and take notice." I have to find a way to do this, and my research project will be a great tool.
I think one of the reasons why students plagiarize their writing assignments so frequently is because "writing is hard...If you throw it away and start over, you may find yourself staring at the blank screen or paper with nothing, not one blooming word, coming into your head. That's the moment of deepest, darkest temptation, the moment that makes a dieter reach for a chocolate and a writer reach for a chocolate and a prompt." However, I think all this angst is helping me to form my topic of research. I think students plagiarize because they "need to poke around a bit more."
I agree with Debbie's idea that the daily journal may be the place for reflection (chapter 1) and writing down what we notice or think about (chapter 2). I am going to steal your "Heart Map" idea for sure, Deb!
The last paragraph of this article inspired me to take my writing folder from 1984 and review my junior high writing. "Forty years from now, perhaps one of our students will open a desk drawer, pull out a piece of writing from long ago, and say, 'Here--read this. I wrote it in tenth grade and saved it all this time.'" I think my voice is evident in the drawings, the book report, essay, and short story. All the writing had the theme of triumph in adversity, so my own voice from 31 years ago reminds me that I can find the inner strength to encourage my students to write from the heart and create a place where their ideas are welcome.
As I read these reflections, I realize we are all experiencing that same frustration no matter what grade level we teach. The world of testing and the world of education theory and research just do not sync up and it is creating a lot of anxiety for educators, students, and parents. The 'School Rules' excerpt resonated with me, especially when Newkirk wrote, "[The prohibitions] will not transform human nature so that it is no longer interested in the extremes of human experience. They will just drive this fascination outside the classroom - and make school less relevant to human needs." I know that Newkirk is referring here to a specific incidence of student censorship, but it applies to general practices as well. The testing culture and the fact that we are required to prep prep prep students for it, is making school less relevant to our students' human needs, possibly leading to some serious consequences in and out of the classroom.
DeleteSpandel Chapter 2 Reflection
ReplyDeleteAfter reading chapter 2 I have more questions than answers. If we know how important it is to allow our students to write about personally relevant topics, why then do we do the opposite? I guess I know the answer to the "why", so maybe my question is why do we allow it? Maybe we have a responsibility to advocate and share the message that "writers who discover their own topics write with voice and commitment".
Our curriculum maps dictate all the writing topics for the year and many of them are, quite honestly, boring to my students. While writing on demand is a skill, the overuse of it kills the motivation and appreciation of writing. Writing becomes a chore.
At least we are doing a good job of teaching the purposes of writing, which Spandel points out as important, by teaching persuasive writing, research writing, etc. However, we are not allowing students to become independent enough to identify their own topics, depriving them of a more meaningful view of writing.
Before this time of micromanaged education, my students struggled with determining what to write about. But the journey of helping them observe, reflect, and find their voice was tremendously rewarding.
I will briefly share one story of this. Several years ago I asked my students to identify ways in which their community could be made better. We spent a couple of days thinking, drawing, and discussing what that might mean. As you can imagine, the lists included everything from having better playgrounds to seeing less litter. Since most of my class lived in the nearby housing development, they saw their share of crime. Many of them expressed the need to have more police officers on patrol or to do something about drugs or gang activity. I asked them to choose the most important item from their list and write a letter to a local politician persuading them to address it. We had already spent several days discussing persuasive language and the roles of politicians so they had enough background to understand this was their chance to have a say. I promised to mail their letters, making this assignment even more meaningful. Many of my students were surprised when they received personal responses. We also had an unexpected visit from the mayor at the time. He came to discuss what he heard them say and thank them for their passion. It was a wonderful experience that gave my students, who already feel powerless, a voice. It gave them hope that they can make this world a better place. It also improved their writing abilities.
Hi Rebecca,
DeleteI agree, writing can become a chore for students who already view it negatively. I think we need to find a way to mix letting students have choice while having them practice writing predetermined topics. I love your anecdote about students writing letters and receiving personal responses. What a great way to give students ownership over their own writing and let them see the power of voice in writing. Thanks for your post!
Thanks Colleen. If only we were allowed to give them some choice. The prompts we have are very specific and non-negotiable. Maybe I can convince central office of the value of relevant topics. It would be a win to at least reach a compromise.
DeleteHi Rebecca - I couldn't agree more about why we allow what we allow in our classrooms. I also read this chapter and dreamed of the classroom I would love to teach in. Maybe this is the course that can create the thinking to make it can happen.
DeleteAlso, kudos to you for crating a meaningful, real life writing experience for them. In my experience, those lessons are the memories that will bring smiles to their faces when they reflect on their education.
Rebecca --
DeleteFinding an "authentic" writing assignment is one key to helping writers find their voice. Your letter to politicians certainly demonstrated that, and I'll bet your students learned more from it that from any 10 five-paragraph essays they wrote.
You also asked "why do we allow it?" Many of my colleagues are asking the same question, only we're following up our internal conversations with questions to our administrators. I feel like I have lost so much autonomy in my classroom through new mandates and policies created by people who have spent little actual time teaching. It takes courage, but I plan to ask myself that question much more often, and if I can't come up with a good answer, then I hope I won't allow it.
First, let’s just say, I agree with Spandel … totally. If we want to write, we’ll get the best writing out of students who are choosing what to write on their own. She says it best; (we want students to) “become thinkers, not just responders, and with that, creators of literature”. (27) Imagine a world of students who are thinkers, or better still, one that includes teachers that are fostering the process.
ReplyDeleteYet I can also see the other side of the coin. State standardized testing seems to be taking priority and teacher’s compensation is based on our students ability to perform against those measures. Should we simply ignore the testing and teach what we want, or what we believe? I'm wondering if there is a way to teach writing (and thinking) somehow aligned with our state testing standards?
As a 4th grade teacher, I’m responsible for teaching my students a variety of writing; opinion, narrative (real or imagined), expository to informational. Nine and ten year old children are experiencing for the first time a state test that requires them to brainstorm, write, edit, revise and provide a finished piece of work in approximately 40 minutes. Spandel remarks that teachers currently use state created prompts to teach the writing process … and she’s correct! Guilty as charged. Is there a better way?
What if we asked students to write about topics of their choosing within these areas? i.e., "Today we will be writing an imagined narrative piece. Class, what suggestions do you have?" Of course this would require some discussion around topics and modeling effective processes. Would that give the students thinking practice as well as meet the state standards? I’m thinking it could, as well as teach the freedom of writing personal topics and how to think like a writer? … and don’t forget, providing opportunities to log and journal topics that are of interest to them – and of course, the time to reflect on them!
I also love the idea Spandel has of inviting students to assign the teachers a topic, then, using the projector to walk them through/model how we would tackle the topic. I definitely plan to try that!
Bill, Kelly Gallagher has a video writing series in which he models writing using a doc camera and overhead in his high school classroom. It was an interesting video and might be useful to you when you invite your students to choose your topic! Remind me and I'll look in the Nest to see if it's in or if someone has borrowed it!
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DeleteBill,
DeleteI had the same thoughts while reading the chapter. I kept thinking, "I completely agree with you, Vicki, but your head is a bit too high up in the clouds!" Her idealism is refreshing, but we need to develop practical solutions for effectively teaching writing and thinking within the world of state-testing that exists.
Thanks Kim - I look forward to it!
DeleteAfter grading 31,637.6 essays, stories, research papers and the like, I appreciate Spandel's comment that, ". . .because writing with voice is worth reading, we should do everything possible to encourage students to create such writing, and everything we can think of to eliminate time wasted in creating writing no one--writer or reader--cares about." It is risky to allow students to choose a topic, but the potential reward is worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you fully, and that makes it even more depressing that so much of the writing we are required to have students do revolves around MCAS and PARCC - the definition of writing no one cares about (except how it will be scored). I am fortunate to teach an actual writing class which allows for flexibility, however, not all students are required to take a writing class so the majority are in literature classes with mandated assignments. Not necessarily time wasted, but certainly not the kind of risk-taking, self-directed writing that will allow our budding writers to find their own voice and/or develop confidence or passion for writing. Yes, the reward is worth the risk...but how do we help students take that leap?
DeleteHello all,
ReplyDeleteFor the past three years I have been incorporating reflections into my senior English class. I give students a weekly writing assignment where they are given a general prompt, and then asked to choose a topic within that prompt and write. For example, when reading Twelfth Night we analyze gender stereotypes and how they are established and broken within the play. One such prompt might begin with a discussion of that, then ask students to write about gender. They can then go wherever they’d like with it. I have had success with it, as well as the frustrations discussed within the chapter. Students have difficulty realizing that I am not looking for a specific answer, that I simply want them writing to the best of their abilities. Once they grasp that concept, students often, if not enjoy the assignment, at least feel more comfortable in completing it.
To be honest, I liked the prompt “Write 500 words about the inside of a pencil.” Exercises like that I feel are a good balance between limits and creativity. I definitely see where the author was going with his point about stifling voice, but I think to a certain extent students need limits. I feel that this chapter strikes a good balance between the two. It is easy, especially during testing season, to give in to the teach-to-the-test mentality where we all shuffle around zombie-like grading essentially the same essay thirty-two times. That image makes me immediately want to burn the MCAS prompts and take the kids outside with their only instruction being to write. At the same time, I’ve witnessed enough within my own department to see the potential need for standard writing prompts by grade. There is no easy answer, and no easy balance between the two. As educators, I feel that we should be trusted that we see the need for balance, and that we are capable of addressing it. Professional development such as this gives us that opportunity to refresh ourselves in terms of both our own writing and our outlook on education.
Have a great week!
To go along with your pencil prompt - my 4th and 5th graders loved writing to "describe your day as a dollar bill". I agree, writing as an object can be fun, and can show students that it's ok to take chances and be fanciful with their writing!
DeleteColleen --
DeleteI like your idea about providing a topic and then allowing students to choose how to develop the idea. It seems to lend itself to a workshop model where students could make several revisions as they refine their ideas and give them shape and structure. Again, a much more meaningful lesson than following a five-paragraph essay graphic organizer.
Reflection - Spandel, Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteI am so on board with what Spandel discusses in this chapter. To teach kids how to look at the details in their world and find ideas for writing within them, to teach them to think and problem-solve by not just handing them a topic when they are lost in “‘the everlasting night of intergalactic space’”. I believe in this way of teaching writing and agree that only with a personally important topic can voice really be developed. It is essential for teachers of all grade levels to find time to create this kind of writing experience for students. I love the Murray quote that says, “‘When we give the topic to our students we assume a common experience that does not exist.” This assumption leads to frustration for students and teachers and can create a wide unbridgeable gap between us.
However, I can’t help but be reminded by the realities of preparing students for the large-scale writing assessments that do not seem to be going anywhere. The test-makers, the policy-makers, they need to consider ideas like the ones presented in Spandel’s text. We are the proverbial choir but they’re the ones that need to hear this stuff! Ha! So what do we do when it comes down to that? How do we find balance in the classroom? I like Spandel’s example of having the students assign the teacher a topic, then have the teacher think-aloud and model what it is like to grapple with an assigned topic. Doing this will not only show students the thought process required for such a task, but it can also remind our kids that we are willing to go into the trenches with them, thereby increasing their willingness to learn a frustrating yet necessary skill.
We can also have our students keep writing daybooks or blogs (and model their use by keeping one ourselves). This can get them to pay attention to the details, enjoy writing without parameters, and see how writing can be useful outside of “assessment”.
Students surprised me much when they had to write a chapter of their own Walden in that they did establish a narrative in which they wrote about nature and the need to leave behind phones and tablets. The Common Core does emphasize the development of narratives as the other major source of writing, so I sneak in these personal essays here. Explaining how argumentation is impotant and only personal helps them undnerstand the other major focus of the Comon Core/parrc--I refuse to capitalize parrc.
DeleteI do agree that the policy makers seem to be traveling intergalactically when it comes to the importance of writing and the philosophy of the composing process
I like the imagery of the policy makers traveling intergalactically, Al! Pretty good way of describing their alien actions!!
DeleteIn my writing course with Anne Berthoff she constantly stressed the need to generate tension in thinking and then used Vygotsky to help us understand types of thinking. All of use know the inductive and deductive models, though they have been reduced to graphic orgnizers shaped like funnels, but sh mentions th most important type: abductive thinking, thinking in terms of likeness. Spandel quotes Moore, "Insight is born of analogy" but perhaps it is more than that. (Pardon the cheap pun) All writing in which writers make new connections in creative for it links thoughts previously compartmentalized. With my junior class, I had them lit twenty objects in the room and then to define each briefly; next, the said what each object was like; finally, the identified their like statements as either an analogy or a simile. They really did see that regular old objects have emanign of their own.
ReplyDeleteSpandel's chapter also reminded me of Bateson' book Mind and Nature in which he explains how people think and learn best. He programmed a computer with relevant data and asked it to best explain how people learn. The omputer replied, "Let me tell you a story". So maybe we should focus on having the students set and develop their stories nd within them they will perhaps mimic the masters of essay writing: Emerson, Descartes, Montaigne...Can we imagine Descarts famous syllogism without the use of I "One doubts; One thinks: therefore, one is." Some how the powr is lost though the rules of formal MLA style are upheld. When I was teaching many refgee students in Boston, one Vietnamese student asked me to explain what an essay is, so naturally I mentied Montaign as the father of the essay and the meaning of the French verb essayer. He simply shook his head, and said, "Oh, you mean a story" In his school in Vietnam they wrote stories, discovered meaning through developing their own perspectives. He taught me much with that imple anecdote.
Posted by Al McNeill at 2:10 PM
That was a good story Al. I would love to know more about what it was like to teach refugee students to write. Sometimes we learn the most in such unexpected places.
Delete(I was having trouble submitting my whole message. This is part 1.)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading, I found myself doing more wondering than reflecting. I was intrigued by the page where they had a list of comments from children telling why writing is hard. I began wondering what my students would say if I asked. So I decided I would ask them to respond to that question during writing class. The more I thought about it the more questions I had, so here is the list of questions I asked: What do you think is hard about writing? What do you like about writing? Do you prefer that the teacher tells you what to write about or do you prefer choosing your own topic? Why?
When I presented the task to my students, I got a mixed reaction. Some of them couldn't wait to get started, while others just looked at me. I had to explain that there wasn't a right or wrong answer. I just wanted their thoughts. They began writing, and I noticed that they came up to me after each question. It was clear that they were hesitant to say the wrong thing and needed my approval. I really wanted to give them the freedom to say what they wanted so I quickly read made some kind of nondescript comment such as "interesting" or "I see." That seemed to be enough for them. There were definitely common themes in their work. Not one student said he/she preferred to write about a given topic. Their reasons included: "When the teacher tells me what to write, I can't remember all the details. If I pick something, I would have all the details because I would pick something I really know about," "I know what I like and the teacher doesn't know what I like," and "I like being thoughtful." When I was reading Chapter 2, I could understand more the kind of writer who likes to be given a topic because I like to have a designated outcome, but my students prefer it the other way. Do we hold students back from enjoying the writing process if we script too much? Some of the reasons students said they like to write were, "to express my feelings in action,” "I have time to tell a person what's on my mind," You can write about a lot of things," and my favorite "I like writing because you can imagine what you're writing about in your mind. It's kind of like daydreaming!" I was actually taken aback by some of these comments because I didn't think they would answer this question in a reflective manner, but in a matter of fact way. I saw that they view writing to be about communication, but the kind of communication they want is the kind that involves their ideas and their lives. Some of the ideas they had about what makes writing hard is "it takes forever," "you're parents won't let you do it messy," "thinking about something to write and remembering it," "to keep track of capitals and punctuation," and "remembering what is in your head." These ideas didn't surprise me as much as I know what each of them has difficulties with, however; I found it interesting how they chose to respond to the question. They were pretty accurate with what would make the writing process difficult for each of them so again, their ability to be reflective was present.
Marina --
DeleteI think you hit the nail right on the head. "Do we hold students back from enjoying the writing process if we script too much?" I have been pondering the problem of when students turn from people who love to write to people who view it with dread. The conclusion that I'm drawing is that writing is a creative process and very little of what we do in teaching the "skill" has to do with creativity.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteAnother observation I made was the willingness they had to participate. There was not one look of boredom. They all wrote, and for some of them, they wrote more than I have seen them ever write. It left me asking myself, "What is it that I'm doing as an instructor of writing?" My students are clearly showing me they know that writing is for communication, and I know that I want to instill in them a love of writing. I want them to see writing as a task of choice. However, even though I know that's what I want I feel like, our curriculum asks us to produce little writing robots, students who can write multiple genres of writing and who can respond in a prescribed way. Is there a happy medium? I sure hope so, and I'm going to work this summer on trying to figure out how to do both because I want more days like today: Days where my students felt like their writing served a real purpose and their thoughts and thinking were important and valued.
Marina,
DeleteThat's awesome that you did that with your students. I would love to read some of their replies. I too believe that there is a happy medium, and our quest for it has begun by taking this course.
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DeleteMarina, what a fantastic idea! I do a very simple simile at the beginning of the semester, "Writing to me is like..." gives me an idea, but using this was so much better! After reading all the reflections so far, the conflict between doing what we as teachers of writing want our students to learn and what we as educators in today's testing world are facing seems to be our biggest battle. Ruminating about this, I had a "Carrie Bradshaw" moment (hopefully there are a couple of SATC fans out there).
DeleteI can't help but wonder: if we taught our students about writing based on our instincts rather than test expectations, would they become good enough writers that the test wouldn't matter? Wouldn't good writers do well no matter the task? That could be naivety or optimism talking...but, what if?
"I want more days like today: Days where my students felt like their writing served a real purpose and their thoughts and thinking were important and valued." What a powerful thought, Marina. It should be shared. If you have time and inclination, you should copy this post and paste it into the Summer Writes Google+ community in the "My NWP Life" tab on the left.
DeleteI absolutely agree with everything that Spandel writes about in chapter 2: samples, modeling, choice, purpose setting, knowing the types. I cheered in my head, when I read Spandel's statement," Writers who discover their own topics write with voice and commitment." I found myself thinking aloud about all the what ifs that were discussed, but then my head came out of the clouds and my feet touched the ground. Reality of state testing and forty-five minute blocks returned.
ReplyDeleteGuilty as charged, the statement would read. I, too, have often given past MCAS writing prompts to prepare my fourth graders for the long composition. Sure, it would be great to teach our students the different forms of writing, give them samples to use as examples, and let them choose for themselves the topics to write about. However, we do need to prepare our students for state testing and teach them how to survive in a fast growing, global society.
We want our students to think for themselves and show us their voice in writing, but yet we often tell them what it is that we want to hear. If only state testing could disappear.
Hi there,
DeleteI am definitely guilty of giving state assigned writing topics as well. Now at the high school we have predetermined essays for each literary work we read in class too. We are told that we can still give our own assignments in addition to required writing, but who has time for that? My students had 11 days of testing this year. That time plus the snow days leaves us all scrambling just to cover the basics. I feel like we are raising a generation of students who simply reproduce what they are being fed with no original voice. I need to find a balance between the two. It definitely seems like this class can help with that!
I think that we are all guilty of giving state assigned writing topics. Students do need to be able to respond to prompts to learn skills such as providing relevant details, using evidence from the text and so forth. I know that sometimes I feel like I have to worry more about teaching those skills than just teaching developing a love of writing. I also feel like so far this class has definitely brought to light that many of us feel there is something missing in our writing instruction so what a great diving board to go into next year making some changes.
DeleteWhen I read the chapter and as I read all of our comments, it seems that the basic conflict is between two schools of thought. Some of us prefer fewer boundaries and want choice; others feel that parameters and guidance are helpful. I think it's a personality or preference issue. An artist's "voice" is easily recognized when looking at use of color, subject, and medium. In the same way, I believe an author's voice can be heard even when a prompt is assigned. The reality is that students need to respond in writing, even for health and wellness and music courses! We teachers are really awesome, and we're finding ways to add creativity to our pre-determined curriculum. I believe students don't have to love writing to be good students, but they do need to have a good relationship with the teacher, which is created by mutual respect.
ReplyDeleteHeather, you make some good points here. I also agree that the student/teacher relationship is very important in fostering a student's ability to take a risk. Whether it is a choice assignment or a prompted assignment, students need to feel supported and encouraged. As teachers, I believe we need to find ways to point out to students when they have written with a clear voice so they can start to see what it truly means. Voice is difficult to teach because we all have a voice, we just need to learn to use it while writing.
ReplyDeleteVicki Spandel nailed two key issues that define anyone as a writer.
ReplyDeleteThe first issue is “Thinking up a new topic is freeing, but it is also a lot of work.” I don’t mean to make this a generational criticism, and I hate sounding like one of those “old teachers,” but many of my students are looking for the quickest and easiest way out of an assignment. The first question they ask me is “How long does it have to be?” My sophomore are still arguing about the length of a paragraph. They think stringing five sentences together does the job.
I suppose we have created this monster with our endless formulaic five-paragraph MCAS prompts and rubrics that define every detail of content and structure. Why wouldn’t that take the joy out of writing?
Then we have graphic organizers which can be even more limiting. What if they have three ideas for a paragraph, but I only give them space for two? Because I have to justify and quantify every aspect of my instruction, I am as limited as they are, because without those formulas and guidelines, how would I, a 20+ year veteran ever know how to assess that writing?
The second issue is “Ideas come from observation. But we must teach ourselves, and our students, to sit up and take notice.” Everyone is overbooked and overburdened, and so often it’s easier to be busy than to be present. What a daunting gift it is to be given an hour to write, to relax into the silence, and to notice – the trees and not the forest, the ant and not the colony, the voice and not the chorus.
Great points. We do need to notice the voice and not the chorus! So hard to do when there's life going on all around us!
Delete