There were two main themes that really struck me from this first chapter. The first was at the beginning of the chapter, when the authors talked about student apprehension and ways to try and combat that as a teacher. It is not unusual for a high school student to be full of emotion and self-doubt, and if teachers want to see their students progress as writers, they need to be careful to grade and critique subjective assignments on the grammar and style of the student’s work, not the content. As the later part of the chapter mentioning physical and cognitive development explores, students are still working to identify “who they are” at this stage in their life and can be vulnerable to unwarranted criticism. Teachers must make sure that they, and other students who may peer-review works, avoid challenging students and rather work to let them explore their own ideas.
Secondly, around page 11 of the chapter, the authors mention the importance of immersing students in other works of literature. This seems like one of the best ways to help students develop as writers. By exploring different styles, voices, and themes, students will hopefully work to identify what other writers do well (or poorly) and try to emulate and develop these traits to fit their own intentions.
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3 comments:
I really enjoyed what Kevin had to say about this chapter. For me, I worry about grading my students work. Not knowing what might be expected of me as future teacher, I hope to be able to grade my student's writing on an effort and creativity basis. Did they take risks? Did they express themselves? Did they work hard to better their own work? Those are what I want to focus my grading on, will I be allowed to, I'm not sure.
The 2nd part of Kevin's response reminded me a lot of how I developed as a writer. I was fortunate to be introduced to some great pieces of literature while growing up and they all impacted my writing in different ways. When I have my own class, I want to share those pieces of literature with my students.
Hi Kevin! I really enjoyed your comments on writing instruction. I was also a victim of writing experience. I was at a loss. I really enjoyed my thinking and let them out in ways they take. But my professor at college blocked me completely because my reasoning in my sentences weren't enough to go next paragraphs. I was really frustrated! I agree with your two points from also my adolescent view.
I agree that it will be difficult working with insecure teens. I in no way want to make my students feel bad about their work. I think it is very important to have a feeling of openness in your classroom from the first day. Let the students know that whatever they write is good and that they should feel comfortable in the class. It can be difficult, but i believe that feeling of security will lead to bigger breakthroughs in their writing.
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