Spandel Chapter 9 Reflection The Right to Find Your Own Voice
What stood out to me the most in this last chapter was: “Reading, just reading for the sheer joy of it, is among the least valued but most worthwhile kinds of professional development” (141). I consider myself a pretty voracious reader and make a concerted attempt to read a variety of genres and not just stick to my favorites, however, my students at every academic level in both my 8th grade classes and junior classes are such reluctant readers! It makes me so sad! I do try to share from my favorite books/authors occasionally, but it seems like it is worth making that more of a priority if I am to truly help my students appreciate voice in writing.
Spandel goes on to say that when commenting you don’t want to say simply “Great voice!” because it does not tell the student “what moved me or why” (141). This is something I have not really considered in comments to students - that being more specific about “what moved me or why” (141) would be much more beneficial for them. I am most definitely guilty of using general terms like “great voice” or “engaging voice” or “distinctive voice” and this is something I will aim to change in my responses to student writing.
I tried to take a little something from each chapter and will now have to go back and make myself a little list of things I want to do try to do or do better when teaching writing. Though I agree with Jeri that Spandel is a little "extremeist" in some of her views, there were certainly lots of good ideas and methods here to help improve my teaching of writing.
Debbie -- I could have written your first paragraph! I can't imagine not having a book (or two) going all the time, and somehow I always find time in my day to read for pleasure. I don't know why kids are so reluctant to read -- great storytellers lift us out of our own worlds and into the experiences of someone else, maybe like us or not like us. It's so puzzling that kids don't get that.
Debbie, I was thinking of doing the same thing for each chapter. I want to identify one key takeaway to try. That will be hard to do because there were so many, but it seems like the most realistic way to apply what we've learned.
The most instructive PD I have had was when my school enacted SSR--Sustained Silnt Reading for one half an hour twice per week. I read a book on rhetorial tradition and writing, a spy novel and many articles. The kids also dervied much pleasure from the experience-despite their early grumblings. I hope to take away more patience in guiding the students through developing all the detail that culminate in their voices.
My composition students have SSR every day - though I did start rotating that with read alouds which they also enjoyed....need to find the "magic balance!"
Hi Deb, I can definitely relate to needing to be more specific in my comments. I am positive I have written "great voice" as a comment on more than one essay, and it never occurred to me that students need more to go on... *cringe* I also think there is a lot in this book I can take away and incorporate into my own teaching.
Debbie - My thoughts exactly - I also plan to write a list of the details within each chapter that I plan to implement in my room this year. Can't wait!
Over the last few years, I have made it a point to dedicate an entire class to giving my students book talks. I try to keep up with YA as much as possible, so I share 3 minute talks about some of my favorites, or ones that I think they will like. I also try to incorporate book trailers to enhance the talks. Every time I've done this, I've been able to hook most of my kids onto at least some of the books. It's been really helpful! :) Let me know if you want links to some of the trailers that I've used. Some I've created, and others were created by the book publishers.
I wonder if everyone else treats teaching voice the way I do? I don’t. This chapter was quite valuable in identifying exactly what voice is and how a teacher goes about unlocking it for her students. I’ve always been able to recognize it in a paper (Good voice!), but I never really knew how to deliberately approach it as a concept that needs to be developed.
This, of course, is the culminating chapter of the book, because a student can’t find his voice without all of the other good writing instruction events that precede it. Students need to be able to choose their own topics and see the process of writing modeled and get feedback that is useful and supportive before they feel comfortable with speaking/writing with the honesty that Spandel describes.
Her comment about a student’s writing a way of extending a conversation about a topic is an idea I use with my students. I invite them into the “Conversational Continuum” at the beginning of every year, telling them that all the writers that come before them have put ideas into the universe for them to consider. They will write about some of those ideas, bringing their own ideas and experience to the conversation, and then their writing will be an influence on somebody else. They seem to understand that their place as writers and thinkers is important, and whether this helps them to find their voice, I don’t know, but it at least makes them feel welcome at a table that seats some pretty impressive guests.
I really like the "Conversational Continuum" idea, right off the bat it is inclusive and empowering for student writers. I also agree with your first paragraph - when voice becomes a concept rather than just a trait, it takes on a whole new importance (if that makes any sense, it does in MY head!).
I think we're being harder on ourselves than we need to be. I think voice does come out in student work; we just need to train ourselves to look for it while we correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. When given choice, students write about what is meaningful to them. I think this is reflected most often in poetry. I feel many students are willing to write poems because they are shorter than other works and students tend to have more freedom in topic selection. Journal writing is another place students establish their voice so I am going to include more of these brief writing prompts in my classroom routines next fall.
Corinne - I also wonder how others are teaching voice and foe me, I think it is the back bone to everything else we have been reading. Kind of the glue that holds it all together. I think you're right about the chapter placement - without all the rest how could the student feel comfortable enough to share their voice with us? I'm actually thinking of changing my research topic (cringe) to research and discover some of the best ways to teach voice for all genres of writing.
I love the Conversational Continuum, Corinne! And I'm totally going to steal it! I think putting it that way gives teenagers something to relate to when it comes to writing and the study of literature. They spend so much of their time wondering and asking the big questions. If we can connect that natural part of their development to the study of language, then maybe we can get them to "buy in" more readily. Thanks!
"Voice is the very reason for writing" really resonated with me. If voice comes from who we are and what we care about, then it should be evident every time we are moved to write something. I used to think young writers did not have enough life experience to demonstrate voice, but Spandel offers us the example of the Nikki, a writer who had voice early on but refined it as she grew older.
The other big take away for me is that "voice is power". Good writing certainly has the power to make us laugh, cry, change our minds, or join a cause. What could be more powerful than that? We need to help our students recognize the power that resides within them. I am going to try to do a better job of using my eyes and ears to find their voice and acknowledge it.
Allow me to geek out for a moment and share a Harry Potter quote you brought to mind. I have it hanging on my wall in my classroom: "Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it" (Deathly Hallows). I agree that if we can show students their written words (their voices) have power, they will be more inclined to use those voices confidently :)
I find it most challenging to help a student find her voice, to give the teacher permission to write what she thinks and then to hink about what she has written. I do ask students to share their writing regularly and they do gain confidence through speaking/publishing Of course, I do have to volunteer some reluctant participants.
I think students don't believe us when we tell them we want to know what they think. Higher-level students especially are so concerned about the "right" answer rather than struggle to come to their own conclusion. In this way, I feel the lowest-level students are more in touch with their voice and the rebels have created their identity while others are still struggling so much to fit in they don't know what their true voice is.
I really love the quote, Debbie. Words truly are powerful and there are an infinite number of ways to make a point, express a thought, or debate an idea when responding in writing. I think that for the most part, kids do know when they've written something that stands out, but it's getting them to the point where they feel they should invest the time and energy to find the right words that will move someone else or even themselves.
I am not sure Spandel succeeds in defining voice any more than Murray or Elbow do though she does identify it through examples and offers some suggestions for developing it. Because voice is an abstraction it generates further abstractions that become concrete only within the context of writing (or speaking) I do appreciate her idea of showing voice in what we are reading or selecting readings rich in voice. Exploding the moment and power verbs will help the students begin finding their voices. I think her chapter on writing badly might be most instructive in helping students recognize voice as long as we include the students in the assessment process. Wriing conferences also help the student become more involved in developing their voices for they are the place where h spoken voie an writte voice meld. (And I am assured that they have heard my comments rather than skipped them and gone straight to the rubric. I am always happy when a student asks me to decipher one of my comments even if I think the penmanshipfine indeed.)
What stood out to me in this chapter is the line "It is a common misconception that voice is an afterthought, like salad dressing on the side" (131). I definitely agree, and I think that part of it is because it can be difficult to teach. There is so much to balance in writing, especially teaching writing, that abstract concepts get pushed to the wayside in favor of others like grammar or MLA formatting. I have been guilty of neglecting voice in favor of trying to get students all on the same page when it comes to writing, particularly in my Composition class. The class is unleveled and abilities vary greatly. While I try to push the more gifted writers, voice is neglected with the others while I work to bring them up to grade level. However, am I really teaching writing basics if I am neglecting voice? I definitely think I need to focus more on voice in my classroom. My students rarely have trouble expressing themselves vocally, and are often surprised that I can identify them based on voice alone. I'm not sure why this is a shock to them, but I want to be able to as easily identify their voices in writing as I can in the classroom.
The first part of this article reminds me a lot of Parker Palmer’s work and the question he raised, “Who is the SELF that teaches?” This article begins by reminding us that Voice is identity. So, for me the first step is establishing MY identity. I try to share a lot of myself in the classroom and create a community so that students feel safe expressing themselves. This lines up with Spandel’s only real concrete advice in the chapter. She writes, “Voice is like personality. We cannot teach people to have personality… we can point out the importance of such things, illustrate them in the writing of others, make it clear how much we value them, watch for them in our students, model them in our own writing, and comment on them each time they occur.” The rest of the chapter wasn’t overly helpful as she jumps from work to work, giving examples of writing with good voice, but no strategies for classroom activities. This is where we need to take a cue from Tracy’s lesson and begin to communicate in other types of “smart”. I also though the video of Kelly Gallagher was helpful as it illustrated a writing workshop in action. I also thought Rebecca’s comment was insightful when she said that students rarely get a chance to share their own opinions and instead are often assigned writing in connection with literature and must often assume a character’s voice and not their own. It seems that Spandel’s articles have helped to raise awareness of problems inherent to student writing, but the writing institute has been most helpful in discovering tools to equip my students to be better writers. Thanks, everyone!
As I read Chapter 9 I found myself wondering if this chapter was placed her purposefully. Well, clearly it was or else it would be just a short story … Any way, I wondered if this was the chapter that was intended to bring it all together? You know, to make sense of the entire book. To answer our question, the biggie. The one we leave with after each and every chapter. Yep, you’re right, the “Yeah, I get it, but how do we implement it? It’s a scary question, well, for me the answer was in this chapter: The Right to Find Your Own Voice.
I feel that having our students find their voice will bring passion back into their writing - or put it in their for the first time. I’m also feeling this needs to happen close to the beginning of the school year. We need to provide various examples of voice as Spandel suggests and have discussions around what those examples do for/to us. Then we need to transfer that information on an individual basis to each student. Spandel is a master at giving over the shoulder conversations based on finding voice. “Sean, Let’s talk about the research you did for this piece. I’m sensing some additional information could help. OR, Just at this moment – are you saying what you really think and feel, or imagining what someone else might wish to hear? What is the most important thing you want to say? And what do you want me to believe or feel or think as I read this?” (131)
I believe this would help students deliver the passion that’s missing in their writing. I also believe It would put our students in charge. When our students are asked to write, they are put in the position of explaining how they feel and delivering to us what they think. Got it? Hoe THEY feel and delivering what THEY think. How many times do we actually allow our students to do that? Think about it, during the average school day, when do students get to express how they really feel and actually have an audience that is willing to listen? For that matter, think of each student you had last year, from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, who is really listening to them? They need a format to express themselves and writing, or better, writing with voice can provide that for them. Writing without voice is merely writing and we already know how most of our students handle that (yikes!)
I also love when Spandel writes, “Our friend always recognizes us no matter how we are attired.” (131) I’m thinking this is the connection between creative writing and most of the writing students are required to do in school. I rarely discuss voice when my students are creating a research paper, etc. I’m usually more interested in the facts. I’m realizing that’s probably what they think as well. Writing with voice regardless of the genre will only help our students to be heard for who they are.
My favorite quote of this chapter (and it will end up on a bulletin board in my classroom), “Hey – have you got a minute? I’ve got something fascinating to tell you – and I want to make sure you get it.” I’m so passionate about this chapter that I’m actually considering changing my research project! (True story! – Kim, Norm, we’ll talk later…)
There were a few things that caught my attention in this chapter. The first being the controversy of whether or not voice can be taught. Wasn't sure how I felt about this at first, but upon reflecting about it. I feel that voice can be taught. I like how Spandel drove the point home that in order to develop an understanding of writing with voice, students need to read or hear lots and lots of literature with good voice. I agree with this point completely. I will bring what I learned from this chapter into my classroom by encouraging my students to focus on choosing verbs and precise nouns while they are finding their own voices. I feel that giving students more freedom to choose their own topics would lead to true voice in their writing.
Although I'm not sure that voice itself can be taught, I do believe that we can teach students HOW to find or uncover their voices. Sort of the same way a therapist can help people uncover their desires, fears, pain, etc. We help lead them there. I feel strongly that by doing something like Writing Into the Day, and sharing the way we did in the institute, kids can eventually get there. Part of it is just teaching them how to trust themselves, us, and each other. Voice is always there, it's just a matter of helping them (and ourselves) recognize and trust it.
I agree with Spandel that it's so important to be specific and detailed when commenting on student writing. It's probably more powerful to leave two very specific and detailed comments than ten vague ones...that would also make correcting more efficient and meaningful.
Jeri, I also agree with detailed comments. Too many times I leave or say vague comments but it would make it hard for students to replicate if they don't know why it is so good. I'd love to introduce more talking about writing in the Fall. Model how to point out specifics in own's writing and eventually maybe get it so the students could discuss each other's writing too.
Chapter 9 I agree with all the comments thus far that voice is definitely difficult to teach. I think it partly presents as difficult because a paper that has voice will sound differently for every writer. I try to illustrate what voice is for my students by telling them that if their papers had no names, I should be able to identify which writer each paper came from because good writing sounds like you. This is a tricky idea for most of them, and because it is an abstract idea it makes it difficult for students to grab a hold of it. I agree with Spandel about using literature to teach writing. I love to use different kinds of books to show students how to achieve different kinds of writing. Sometimes I will read opening lines from many books to show how to begin a piece in different ways or read certain sentences with interesting word choices.
Spandel Chapter 9 Reflection
ReplyDeleteThe Right to Find Your Own Voice
What stood out to me the most in this last chapter was: “Reading, just reading for the sheer joy of it, is among the least valued but most worthwhile kinds of professional development” (141). I consider myself a pretty voracious reader and make a concerted attempt to read a variety of genres and not just stick to my favorites, however, my students at every academic level in both my 8th grade classes and junior classes are such reluctant readers! It makes me so sad! I do try to share from my favorite books/authors occasionally, but it seems like it is worth making that more of a priority if I am to truly help my students appreciate voice in writing.
Spandel goes on to say that when commenting you don’t want to say simply “Great voice!” because it does not tell the student “what moved me or why” (141). This is something I have not really considered in comments to students - that being more specific about “what moved me or why” (141) would be much more beneficial for them. I am most definitely guilty of using general terms like “great voice” or “engaging voice” or “distinctive voice” and this is something I will aim to change in my responses to student writing.
I tried to take a little something from each chapter and will now have to go back and make myself a little list of things I want to do try to do or do better when teaching writing. Though I agree with Jeri that Spandel is a little "extremeist" in some of her views, there were certainly lots of good ideas and methods here to help improve my teaching of writing.
Debbie -- I could have written your first paragraph! I can't imagine not having a book (or two) going all the time, and somehow I always find time in my day to read for pleasure. I don't know why kids are so reluctant to read -- great storytellers lift us out of our own worlds and into the experiences of someone else, maybe like us or not like us. It's so puzzling that kids don't get that.
DeleteDebbie, I was thinking of doing the same thing for each chapter. I want to identify one key takeaway to try. That will be hard to do because there were so many, but it seems like the most realistic way to apply what we've learned.
DeleteThe most instructive PD I have had was when my school enacted SSR--Sustained Silnt Reading for one half an hour twice per week. I read a book on rhetorial tradition and writing, a spy novel and many articles. The kids also dervied much pleasure from the experience-despite their early grumblings. I hope to take away more patience in guiding the students through developing all the detail that culminate in their voices.
DeleteMy composition students have SSR every day - though I did start rotating that with read alouds which they also enjoyed....need to find the "magic balance!"
DeleteHi Deb,
DeleteI can definitely relate to needing to be more specific in my comments. I am positive I have written "great voice" as a comment on more than one essay, and it never occurred to me that students need more to go on... *cringe* I also think there is a lot in this book I can take away and incorporate into my own teaching.
Debbie - My thoughts exactly - I also plan to write a list of the details within each chapter that I plan to implement in my room this year. Can't wait!
DeleteDebbie,
DeleteOver the last few years, I have made it a point to dedicate an entire class to giving my students book talks. I try to keep up with YA as much as possible, so I share 3 minute talks about some of my favorites, or ones that I think they will like. I also try to incorporate book trailers to enhance the talks. Every time I've done this, I've been able to hook most of my kids onto at least some of the books. It's been really helpful! :) Let me know if you want links to some of the trailers that I've used. Some I've created, and others were created by the book publishers.
I wonder if everyone else treats teaching voice the way I do? I don’t. This chapter was quite valuable in identifying exactly what voice is and how a teacher goes about unlocking it for her students. I’ve always been able to recognize it in a paper (Good voice!), but I never really knew how to deliberately approach it as a concept that needs to be developed.
ReplyDeleteThis, of course, is the culminating chapter of the book, because a student can’t find his voice without all of the other good writing instruction events that precede it. Students need to be able to choose their own topics and see the process of writing modeled and get feedback that is useful and supportive before they feel comfortable with speaking/writing with the honesty that Spandel describes.
Her comment about a student’s writing a way of extending a conversation about a topic is an idea I use with my students. I invite them into the “Conversational Continuum” at the beginning of every year, telling them that all the writers that come before them have put ideas into the universe for them to consider. They will write about some of those ideas, bringing their own ideas and experience to the conversation, and then their writing will be an influence on somebody else. They seem to understand that their place as writers and thinkers is important, and whether this helps them to find their voice, I don’t know, but it at least makes them feel welcome at a table that seats some pretty impressive guests.
I really like the "Conversational Continuum" idea, right off the bat it is inclusive and empowering for student writers. I also agree with your first paragraph - when voice becomes a concept rather than just a trait, it takes on a whole new importance (if that makes any sense, it does in MY head!).
DeleteI think we're being harder on ourselves than we need to be. I think voice does come out in student work; we just need to train ourselves to look for it while we correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. When given choice, students write about what is meaningful to them. I think this is reflected most often in poetry. I feel many students are willing to write poems because they are shorter than other works and students tend to have more freedom in topic selection. Journal writing is another place students establish their voice so I am going to include more of these brief writing prompts in my classroom routines next fall.
DeleteCorinne - I also wonder how others are teaching voice and foe me, I think it is the back bone to everything else we have been reading. Kind of the glue that holds it all together. I think you're right about the chapter placement - without all the rest how could the student feel comfortable enough to share their voice with us? I'm actually thinking of changing my research topic (cringe) to research and discover some of the best ways to teach voice for all genres of writing.
DeleteI love the Conversational Continuum, Corinne! And I'm totally going to steal it! I think putting it that way gives teenagers something to relate to when it comes to writing and the study of literature. They spend so much of their time wondering and asking the big questions. If we can connect that natural part of their development to the study of language, then maybe we can get them to "buy in" more readily. Thanks!
Delete"Voice is the very reason for writing" really resonated with me. If voice comes from who we are and what we care about, then it should be evident every time we are moved to write something. I used to think young writers did not have enough life experience to demonstrate voice, but Spandel offers us the example of the Nikki, a writer who had voice early on but refined it as she grew older.
ReplyDeleteThe other big take away for me is that "voice is power". Good writing certainly has the power to make us laugh, cry, change our minds, or join a cause. What could be more powerful than that? We need to help our students recognize the power that resides within them. I am going to try to do a better job of using my eyes and ears to find their voice and acknowledge it.
Allow me to geek out for a moment and share a Harry Potter quote you brought to mind. I have it hanging on my wall in my classroom: "Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it" (Deathly Hallows). I agree that if we can show students their written words (their voices) have power, they will be more inclined to use those voices confidently :)
DeleteI find it most challenging to help a student find her voice, to give the teacher permission to write what she thinks and then to hink about what she has written. I do ask students to share their writing regularly and they do gain confidence through speaking/publishing Of course, I do have to volunteer some reluctant participants.
DeleteI think students don't believe us when we tell them we want to know what they think. Higher-level students especially are so concerned about the "right" answer rather than struggle to come to their own conclusion. In this way, I feel the lowest-level students are more in touch with their voice and the rebels have created their identity while others are still struggling so much to fit in they don't know what their true voice is.
DeleteI really love the quote, Debbie. Words truly are powerful and there are an infinite number of ways to make a point, express a thought, or debate an idea when responding in writing. I think that for the most part, kids do know when they've written something that stands out, but it's getting them to the point where they feel they should invest the time and energy to find the right words that will move someone else or even themselves.
DeleteI am not sure Spandel succeeds in defining voice any more than Murray or Elbow do though she does identify it through examples and offers some suggestions for developing it. Because voice is an abstraction it generates further abstractions that become concrete only within the context of writing (or speaking) I do appreciate her idea of showing voice in what we are reading or selecting readings rich in voice. Exploding the moment and power verbs will help the students begin finding their voices. I think her chapter on writing badly might be most instructive in helping students recognize voice as long as we include the students in the assessment process. Wriing conferences also help the student become more involved in developing their voices for they are the place where h spoken voie an writte voice meld. (And I am assured that they have heard my comments rather than skipped them and gone straight to the rubric. I am always happy when a student asks me to decipher one of my comments even if I think the penmanshipfine indeed.)
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me in this chapter is the line "It is a common misconception that voice is an afterthought, like salad dressing on the side" (131). I definitely agree, and I think that part of it is because it can be difficult to teach. There is so much to balance in writing, especially teaching writing, that abstract concepts get pushed to the wayside in favor of others like grammar or MLA formatting. I have been guilty of neglecting voice in favor of trying to get students all on the same page when it comes to writing, particularly in my Composition class. The class is unleveled and abilities vary greatly. While I try to push the more gifted writers, voice is neglected with the others while I work to bring them up to grade level. However, am I really teaching writing basics if I am neglecting voice? I definitely think I need to focus more on voice in my classroom. My students rarely have trouble expressing themselves vocally, and are often surprised that I can identify them based on voice alone. I'm not sure why this is a shock to them, but I want to be able to as easily identify their voices in writing as I can in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe first part of this article reminds me a lot of Parker Palmer’s work and the question he raised, “Who is the SELF that teaches?” This article begins by reminding us that Voice is identity. So, for me the first step is establishing MY identity. I try to share a lot of myself in the classroom and create a community so that students feel safe expressing themselves. This lines up with Spandel’s only real concrete advice in the chapter. She writes, “Voice is like personality. We cannot teach people to have personality… we can point out the importance of such things, illustrate them in the writing of others, make it clear how much we value them, watch for them in our students, model them in our own writing, and comment on them each time they occur.”
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the chapter wasn’t overly helpful as she jumps from work to work, giving examples of writing with good voice, but no strategies for classroom activities. This is where we need to take a cue from Tracy’s lesson and begin to communicate in other types of “smart”. I also though the video of Kelly Gallagher was helpful as it illustrated a writing workshop in action. I also thought Rebecca’s comment was insightful when she said that students rarely get a chance to share their own opinions and instead are often assigned writing in connection with literature and must often assume a character’s voice and not their own.
It seems that Spandel’s articles have helped to raise awareness of problems inherent to student writing, but the writing institute has been most helpful in discovering tools to equip my students to be better writers. Thanks, everyone!
As I read Chapter 9 I found myself wondering if this chapter was placed her purposefully. Well, clearly it was or else it would be just a short story … Any way, I wondered if this was the chapter that was intended to bring it all together? You know, to make sense of the entire book. To answer our question, the biggie. The one we leave with after each and every chapter. Yep, you’re right, the “Yeah, I get it, but how do we implement it? It’s a scary question, well, for me the answer was in this chapter: The Right to Find Your Own Voice.
ReplyDeleteI feel that having our students find their voice will bring passion back into their writing - or put it in their for the first time. I’m also feeling this needs to happen close to the beginning of the school year. We need to provide various examples of voice as Spandel suggests and have discussions around what those examples do for/to us. Then we need to transfer that information on an individual basis to each student. Spandel is a master at giving over the shoulder conversations based on finding voice. “Sean, Let’s talk about the research you did for this piece. I’m sensing some additional information could help. OR, Just at this moment – are you saying what you really think and feel, or imagining what someone else might wish to hear? What is the most important thing you want to say? And what do you want me to believe or feel or think as I read this?” (131)
I believe this would help students deliver the passion that’s missing in their writing. I also believe It would put our students in charge. When our students are asked to write, they are put in the position of explaining how they feel and delivering to us what they think. Got it? Hoe THEY feel and delivering what THEY think. How many times do we actually allow our students to do that? Think about it, during the average school day, when do students get to express how they really feel and actually have an audience that is willing to listen? For that matter, think of each student you had last year, from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, who is really listening to them? They need a format to express themselves and writing, or better, writing with voice can provide that for them. Writing without voice is merely writing and we already know how most of our students handle that (yikes!)
I also love when Spandel writes, “Our friend always recognizes us no matter how we are attired.” (131) I’m thinking this is the connection between creative writing and most of the writing students are required to do in school. I rarely discuss voice when my students are creating a research paper, etc. I’m usually more interested in the facts. I’m realizing that’s probably what they think as well. Writing with voice regardless of the genre will only help our students to be heard for who they are.
My favorite quote of this chapter (and it will end up on a bulletin board in my classroom), “Hey – have you got a minute? I’ve got something fascinating to tell you – and I want to make sure you get it.” I’m so passionate about this chapter that I’m actually considering changing my research project! (True story! – Kim, Norm, we’ll talk later…)
Bill, that was nicely said! I agree that this chapter was terrific. It left me motivated as well! You picked a great quote for the bulletin board.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few things that caught my attention in this chapter. The first being the controversy of whether or not voice can be taught. Wasn't sure how I felt about this at first, but upon reflecting about it. I feel that voice can be taught.
ReplyDeleteI like how Spandel drove the point home that in order to develop an understanding of writing with voice, students need to read or hear lots and lots of literature with good voice. I agree with this point completely.
I will bring what I learned from this chapter into my classroom by encouraging my students to focus on choosing verbs and precise nouns while they are finding their own voices. I feel that giving students more freedom to choose their own topics would lead to true voice in their writing.
Although I'm not sure that voice itself can be taught, I do believe that we can teach students HOW to find or uncover their voices. Sort of the same way a therapist can help people uncover their desires, fears, pain, etc. We help lead them there. I feel strongly that by doing something like Writing Into the Day, and sharing the way we did in the institute, kids can eventually get there. Part of it is just teaching them how to trust themselves, us, and each other. Voice is always there, it's just a matter of helping them (and ourselves) recognize and trust it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Spandel that it's so important to be specific and detailed when commenting on student writing. It's probably more powerful to leave two very specific and detailed comments than ten vague ones...that would also make correcting more efficient and meaningful.
Jeri, I also agree with detailed comments. Too many times I leave or say vague comments but it would make it hard for students to replicate if they don't know why it is so good. I'd love to introduce more talking about writing in the Fall. Model how to point out specifics in own's writing and eventually maybe get it so the students could discuss each other's writing too.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with all the comments thus far that voice is definitely difficult to teach. I think it partly presents as difficult because a paper that has voice will sound differently for every writer. I try to illustrate what voice is for my students by telling them that if their papers had no names, I should be able to identify which writer each paper came from because good writing sounds like you. This is a tricky idea for most of them, and because it is an abstract idea it makes it difficult for students to grab a hold of it. I agree with Spandel about using literature to teach writing. I love to use different kinds of books to show students how to achieve different kinds of writing. Sometimes I will read opening lines from many books to show how to begin a piece in different ways or read certain sentences with interesting word choices.