Reading/Writing Blog
Entry Prompt 1
I have almost no experience as a teacher of writing, per se. But I do have experience in teaching other subjects that include writing as an appropriate learning activity. I also have a lot of experience as a student of writing. I have been a writer my whole life. I wrote stories, poems, plays, etc., when I was a child. Then my authorship took a more formal turn in later years, in that my purpose for writing changed from personal reasons to more academic ones.
In the classroom, playing the role of the teacher, I have asked students to write on different topics, for different audiences, and different purposes. Students are usually not motivated at first by the thought of having to compose their thoughts onto paper. But writing is such an important piece to education that it cannot be ignored and it also cannot get bogged down with thoughts of proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. When we consider ourselves as writers, we consider the role the writer brings to the writing process. It is the writer’s job to convey a thought, a message, an idea, or a question. It is not the writer’s job to be the editor in the process as well. There will be time for revisions and editing at a later date
In the classroom, playing the role of a student, I have been asked to write about countless topics, for countless audiences, for countless purposes. I know that working within an academic framework requires the regurgitation of facts and such. That was the most comforting part for me, the research. The actual composition of the research that gives a valid answer to the questions asked by my instructor was the challenging part. I never learned about the process of writing. I learned back in grade school the different parts or writing an essay, or a poem, or a story, but I was never taught the true process of writing. I am comforted in process. I am comforted by words that are not permanent and can be altered or deleted completely. I am comforted by knowing that the thought I hold on a topic today is easily amended and “rethought,” so to speak.
Giving students ample time to work on writing, discussing issues about reading and writing, and creating a judgment free zone as a writing community are just a few things that I would like to enact in my writing classroom. The most important part of writing is practice. There are very few activities that don’t require practice as a means of fluency and ease. It’s the same thing with writing. You must practice, not once in a while, but daily. Give students an opportunity to share their thoughts on paper on a daily basis, even if it’s just for five minutes.
Word processors, digital audio and video editors, and online writing spaces are the future. Not just for our students, but for everyone really. Composing thoughts and ideas into a written work is not the same digitally as it is using a paper and a pen. There’s a certain permanence in the publication of written work that is composed online. Once something is published online, it is very difficult or sometimes even impossible to remove its contents from cyberspace. This makes many people nervous, including myself. Whenever I publish something online, I never forget to ask myself if what I am posting will be relevant or appropriate within a few years. Will I personally feel the same about a subject in ten years as I feel about it now?
