Student writing...

...is really fun to read!

I liked all of the examples that Atwell used, especially the essay a boy wrote about the craziness of his family. Kids are funny, and I like being reminded of that.

"Every adult remembers at least one waking experience comparable to Chute's nightmare, when an English teacher's response took the form of an attack: red ink bled all over a piece of writing that represented the writer's level best" (45). I do NOT want to be this kind of a teacher, and this was a good chapter for that. It makes me realize that grammar alone does not matter as much as I might want it to, and not all grammar needs to be corrected as I might write something. Students have a mind of their own, and I think sometimes they are trained by teachers to try to get into the teacher;s mind instead of their own. They all have stories to tell, they all have their own experiences; who are we to tell someone that something they write isn't good enough? Sometimes I feel like this is easier said than done, though, because as teachers, we want everything to be written up to our standard. I think there is a fine line though, because at the same time we do need to hold students accountable for what they are writing.

For myself, though, I just want to be more aware of the effort that students put into their work; I don't want them to feel like anything they are doing isn't good enough simply because I say so. I think the questions and examples that Atwell provides do a good job of this--but I wonder, how are her classes so great?!