"Being able to write well is an admired skill, but it is a form of communication we use somewhat grudgingly when we cannot pick up the phone or meet face to face. Whether we are an adult or a child, writing is often a love-hate relationship that some of us take joy in, some find a tool for communication, and some just hate" -Bonnie Burns
For some reason this thought has stuck with me this week. As somewhat of an introvert (which really doesn't show) I would rather communicate by writing most of the time. I really don't like to talk on the phone. Face to face meetings can sometimes be nerve-racking for me. Therefore, I have come to the my own conclusions. Disclaimer: the opinions of this author are not necessary pertinent to all cases and is just what it is - an opinion.
Since writing is a step-by-step process could it be that our approach to writing is the same? For example, when we look at those little ones (Pre-K and K) with their little pads just writing and coloring away, we see their longing to do something that their older siblings or their parents do - write (the love relationship). This process continues through those formative years in elementary school until WHAM! it gets harder to write. Students become more needy of the teacher. The teacher is stretched to the max because of too many students (the hate relationship begins).
According to Daniel T. Willingham in his new book Why Don't Students Like School the brain is not constructed to do difficult tasks. The brain likes the simple tasks. I pondered on this statement also. It is true...We walk and talk without effort when we learn. Many of us resisted this blogging concept because it was new and we perceive our own writing skills as less than average. The level of difficulty in composing these blogs actually hurt our brain. When a small child says, "It hurts to think" it probably does. According the Willingham the brain is there to simply our tasks. When we put it in the position to solve difficult or unsolvable problems it really does try to shut down. I really do recommend this book for your library. It is new research (published in March 2009) and lends insight into those students that do express a dislike for school. This is only one factor in many such as home environment, etc. but we'll save that for another post.
So, as we continue on our educational journey, we find things to dislike about school as the difficulty increases. Since we do so much reading and writing it is easy to blame our dislike of school on those things. Writing takes time. Writing is not a one shot good thing. It is a process and all the steps should be followed in order to be effective. Many of you have read my ADD post. Think about this, if you had trouble following my post, as much trouble as I had reading on an airplane, think about those adolescent students whose eyes are drawn to every noise. Even though writing is a process in my opinion it is made much more difficult because of the setting we are forced to write in today. 22 or 23 little 5th graders where many have cell phones and are of the video age and we have the audacity to ask them to compose a story. 7th and 8th grade students that really need to know who is with who TODAY and we ask them to write. 9th -12th graders that really are there for the social scene than to learn and we ask them to write. The whole love-hate relationship is more hate for more years than love.
I actually have been drafting this post for 2 hours now. The TV is on...I called and ordered my daughter's cable and Internet for her move...we talked about new furniture because her dogs have obliterated their current furniture...my daughter and son-in-law picking on each other...my Mother folding their laundry and not needing too. No wonder it has taken me two hours to get this done.
Writing takes time. Balanced writing takes even more time. As we age I believe the process of writing becomes easier because we become more at ease with the task at hand. I'm not really much of a prewriter. I prewrite in my head and I have to get it all up there before typing or writing a thing. Then, BOOM! it all goes on paper. I do what I am supposed to and that is spend the majority of time on revising and editing. I get sick of reading and rereading my writing. So if I am feeling this way, how do our students feel?
I feel as I've beat this dead horse too long and would ask my classmates - how can we turn the writing process into a love relationship? What steps can we revise to help our students learn to like their words and process them in an efficient manner?
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9 comments:
Janice, I think you pretty much said it, "Writing takes time." Often, very often, our students don't choose to put forth the time that coherent and clear writing requires. Writing with purpose and organization along with applying appropriate grammar and mechanics is hard work. Again, I have encountered very few students who are willing to invest the time and effort necessary to become effective and skilled writers. Their rough drafts are pretty much their idea of a final draft. If you and I had the answer to your question, we'd be hiring a copyright attorney and taking it on the road becoming very wealthy women in the bargain! Seriously: I think the honest answer is somehow linked to motivation...How do we motivate students to want to become skilled writers? One direction may be providing authentic writing assignments with genuine purpose in which our students can become invested. No one should be starting the year off with a five paragraph essay on a lame topic such as "What did you do on your summer vacation?" - at least at the middle school level. Ask rather, "Should students at our school be allowed to possess electronic devices such as IPODS or cell phones during the school day. Think about the reasons these devices were confiscated last year. How could you assure your teachers and principal that these same issues would not occur again?" The difference in the two writing assignments: One is very broad and overused. The other is something that most all students have a pretty strong opinion about because it affects them directly. It also provided a framework for direction. I also found "The Essentials of Time and Space" had some great ideas of how to build a classroom culture conducive to writing through writing workshop.
Well - get that attorney and let's write a book!
You are absolutely correct. It is the difference between authentic and those "fill time" writing assignments.
Hi Again, Janice! I had one more thought on students and their writing while I was awake listening to night noises - Courtney provided us an article about how student writing often mirrors what they read. Though I have not often taught elementary school, through my own children and their early writing, I absolutely remember them "harvesting" many of their own stories from the children's literature that they were most familiar. In fact, I still have "books" that they wrote that were very similar to the mysteries presented in Goosebumps or Encyclopedia Brown! Emilie wrote a beautiful little story about a baby fish named Jasper who learned about pollution from his grandfather. It's adorable. She illustrated it and bound it and presented it to her great-grandfather on his 94th birthday. One of the most notable techniques she used in that particular publication was repetition (like in Brown Bear, Brown Bear!!) and it was just as effective!
However, in contrast to this observation of how students develop their personal writing styles, by middle school many students have all but stopped reading unless all but physically forced to do so. We can hardly get them to read a section from a textbook, no less pick up quality literature and read for the simple enjoyment! Try teaching a novel at this age level. Many of my colleagues choose to read each chapter OUTLOUD in class because they know students will simply NOT do assigned reading outside of the classroom setting!
I have always believed the limited amount of reading and the deplorable QUALITY of the literature our older students choose to read is a key factor in why our older students do not write well today. Have you ever read old yearbooks? I mean from the early 1900's?? The quality of the speeches given by the students or the essays published therein are so superior to anything our students produce today. Has anyone asked why? They didn't have English teachers who utilized writers' workshop or blogging or Smartboards and they most certainly did not have personal computers with spell check and grammar check built in to dummy down proof reading for the finer mechanics by clicking on a red line/green line, yet their writing was eloquent, rich in vocabulary, articulate, developed, clear and concise especially in consideration of purpose and awareness of their audience. Those same students would have been immersed in the classics and the study of languages (especially Latin) with certainly an emphasis on grammar and mechanics (many English teachers I know today don't believe in "teaching" grammar?????). If I could think of how to develop the study, I would do my action research project on this very idea. But where would I find a group of middle/high school students today immersed in the study of classical literature and languages??? Just a thought for a Sunday morning...
Laurie, What a great thought for early Sunday morning. You are absolutely correct. The Lit Lab project I am currently doing points the research the same way.
If we can get the kids to read...There is a new name for the video overload our children experience but it is not called selective listening. At the moment the term escapes me.
I have an extensive library in my classroom from the generosity of the Lit Lab project. I try to choose popular titles as well as those titles that are written on a 5th and 6th grade level. We read for PLEASURE in my room every Friday. No textbooks, no homework, no note writing, etc. They must read. I issue a grade and have a summary form for them to fill out for every 50 pages they read.
I am going to structure it a little differently this year but I don't know how yet. I have some comfy chairs in my room but not enough for all students. Any thoughts on getting them more comfortable? Wine is out of the question (LOL).
Janice, You make me laugh out loud!! I wish we could just sit down and have tea (or wine :))!! I too promote reading for enjoyment. I just purchased 100 new novels (my own money - what else?) using Scholastic's lexile levels attempting to find that balance of middle school interest and appropriate independent reading levels - many of my strugglers are still reading independently at the 3/4 grade level. For the past several years, my middle school adopted SSR time during the long block that falls at lunch time each day. Being a middle/high school, we are on the same schedule as the high school...not always appropriate for middle school. For example, this past year the long block fell during lunch (often our schedule is designed around convenience - not educationally sound philosophy - another story for another time...) The first portion of the period is for an academic block. The "long" or extended portion, for our kids right after returning from lunch, is used for SSR. Students return to HR and read silently from whatever they wish for what amounts to be about 20 minutes (takes time to settle). THIS year, my colleagues fought hard (and won) to change that SSR time to the last full block of the day. I have a theory on why they wanted this, but I will hold off on that soapbox for another day too. I, the reading teacher, actually was NOT in favor of extending SSR to 45 minutes at the END of the day. First of all, the research does NOT support that silent reading improves reading ability. Reading certainly helps promote an enjoyment of the written word and it is fabulous to take any opportunity to model our love for reading, but the hard core evidence that it IMPROVES reading comprehension or fluency does NOT exist. I also firmly believe that 20 - 30 minutes of silent reading is about the maximum for attention for middle school students to really be engaged in this task. AND - I don't believe END of the day is the best place to drop SSR. (Tiredness - "checking out for the day" mentality, some teachers will most definitely misuse the time for make-up work, retests, study halls, and ultimately many will slack off in assuring a quiet zone for reading, etc...unless well-monitored by administration which will NOT happen where I teach). I also believe time is such a gift AND a rare commodity. I believe a full class period could be used so much more effectively for promoting a professional learning community focused on addressing individual student weaknesses...yet another soapbox of mine. The other question a full academic block raises is our administration insists it be a graded class. Again, the philosophy behind SSR or DEAR or OTTER...whatever your school calls it, is to simply model and promote a love for and a culture of reading. When we start incorporating an evaluation process into the program, we change that focus. Even by asking students to keep a book log or journal is "violating" what silent sustained reading is supposed to promote - reading simply for the joy of reading. I believe a teacher can just scan the room to see whether little eyes are scanning back and forth across the written page, or faking it often zoning off into space. Kids think I'm clairvoyant when I call them on fake reading! It's also very important to the process that teachers drop everything and read TOO. (aka NOT correct papers or work on some project or on the computer, etc...)
Comfy chairs are great! I love it!! How about promoting mini literature circles or mini book clubs?? Do you have multiple copies of the same novel? Getting kids to interact and talk about what they are reading is great for their personal comprehension and great for helping those students who struggle keep up! Bean bag chairs?? Use the comfy zones on a rotating basis to be sure EVERYONE gets a chance - in other words, don't use comfy corners as rewards (not that YOU do...just a thought for all of us to keep in mind...)
More later, Janice, got to get dressed for church! I love "talking" to you!!
Laurie,
Remember you can deduct those books from your taxes...
Also, go to www.donorschoose.org and apply for funding for literacy. It is a web site philanthropists use to give monies to education. I wrote one on Literacy and Multimedia and was funded for over $500 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a few others. The requirement is you send a thank-you package and pictures.
Try it...You'll like it!
P.S. - Don't get me started on reading at the end of the day or right before lunch. I'm not a reading teacher and I know that is STUPID!
Janice, I knew about the tax write-off for school supplies, but I never heard of donorschoose.org! I just went there and I'm thrilled with the possibilities. What a user friendly format! One point of clarification: It appears on quick preview that we must use the stores on their site for our purchases - Is that how you understood it to be? Not that that's a problem...I love Barnes and Noble as much as anyone!! Thanks for the tip, and I can't wait to share it with others!
That's exactly how it works. They will even send your proposal back for editing until they feel you have the greatest possibility of being chosen.
Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!
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