Writing in history class can truly help students relate what they are learning to their own lives. In Chris VanSlooten's class, researcher Jane Hansen observed what happened when he asked students to discuss the various ways that the people they hang around with can reflect their character; this led into the study of Hayes's corrupt term. Not only did the students feel more personally connected to the study, but they could understand why the American people became so upset about Hayes and his actions in his office of leadership.
English class can also serve as a way for students to connect schools to their own lives. Students need to feel heard, and writing can give them that voice. In one English class, students wrote about how they would set up their own Utopia. For many of them, this involved ideas from the previously read novel Witness and personal experiences that have determined what the students value. Personal experiences determined the utopias students chose to create in writing; this was a reflection of the values each student held personally. This type of work allows a teacher to gain incredible insight into the background, experiences, and the values which students hold. This writing assignment was innovative and appeared to motivate everyone. The choice didn't lie in the prompt, but in how students could respond; this is the best form of differentiation in writing instruction in the classroom.
The hyperobolic statements about classrooms and teaching really cause me to resent the point authors are trying to make when they talk about writing. In chapter two of Calkins' book, The Art of Teaching Writing the classroom is described as an emotionally neutral place where teachers don't connect to students in a meaningful way as to bridge the gap between school and outside experiences. If Calkins has seen that in one classroom, then she can only talk about that one classroom. If she has seen it in a whole district, then she must realize if may just be the culture of that district. I have been in positive, negative, and neutral classrooms, and the one thing I have learned is that you can never make a general statement about American classrooms because they are so locally based just like you have to understand the uniqueness of each individual child when teaching every subject. True, there are some facts and trends, as quoted from NAEP and statistics on writing assessments, but these can even be picked apart sometimes to reveal deeper issues about the flaws in the test or the education system. But every classroom is so unique and every teacher may have such varying ideologies about writing that really what needs to be said are suggestions and recent research, not assumptions about my classroom or the classrooms of my colleagues.
I think the idea that creativity is needed for writing perpetuates the resistance that some students feel because they do not see themselves as creative or as writers or authors. I think that because I personally felt that over the course of my school work when an English teacher demanded the flair and creativity of an abstract, symbolic, non sequitur modern poem (which I still don't think is true poetry). Writing can be creative, but I think the more important point is that writing can give students a voice, and the knowledge that their voice is worthy of being heard.
This can be accomplished by calling students authors. In science classes we say that we are going to be scientists; in history we become historians; in English we should tell our students that they are authors. Ownership, pride, and motivation can stem from simply making a child feel as though their writing matters.
One question that remains for me:
Why is reading so evidence-based while writing is still seen as a free-form activity needing creativity to be good? If reading and writing are so closely intertwined as so many professionals profess, then why are we not researching how to make writing instruction more systematic for students?
References:
Hansen, J. (2008). "The way they act around a bunch of people": Seventh-grade writers lean about themselves in the midst of others. Voices from the Middle, 16(1), 9-14.
Calkins, L. M. (1994) The art of teaching writing. Heinemann: Portsmouth.
English class can also serve as a way for students to connect schools to their own lives. Students need to feel heard, and writing can give them that voice. In one English class, students wrote about how they would set up their own Utopia. For many of them, this involved ideas from the previously read novel Witness and personal experiences that have determined what the students value. Personal experiences determined the utopias students chose to create in writing; this was a reflection of the values each student held personally. This type of work allows a teacher to gain incredible insight into the background, experiences, and the values which students hold. This writing assignment was innovative and appeared to motivate everyone. The choice didn't lie in the prompt, but in how students could respond; this is the best form of differentiation in writing instruction in the classroom.
The hyperobolic statements about classrooms and teaching really cause me to resent the point authors are trying to make when they talk about writing. In chapter two of Calkins' book, The Art of Teaching Writing the classroom is described as an emotionally neutral place where teachers don't connect to students in a meaningful way as to bridge the gap between school and outside experiences. If Calkins has seen that in one classroom, then she can only talk about that one classroom. If she has seen it in a whole district, then she must realize if may just be the culture of that district. I have been in positive, negative, and neutral classrooms, and the one thing I have learned is that you can never make a general statement about American classrooms because they are so locally based just like you have to understand the uniqueness of each individual child when teaching every subject. True, there are some facts and trends, as quoted from NAEP and statistics on writing assessments, but these can even be picked apart sometimes to reveal deeper issues about the flaws in the test or the education system. But every classroom is so unique and every teacher may have such varying ideologies about writing that really what needs to be said are suggestions and recent research, not assumptions about my classroom or the classrooms of my colleagues.
I think the idea that creativity is needed for writing perpetuates the resistance that some students feel because they do not see themselves as creative or as writers or authors. I think that because I personally felt that over the course of my school work when an English teacher demanded the flair and creativity of an abstract, symbolic, non sequitur modern poem (which I still don't think is true poetry). Writing can be creative, but I think the more important point is that writing can give students a voice, and the knowledge that their voice is worthy of being heard.
This can be accomplished by calling students authors. In science classes we say that we are going to be scientists; in history we become historians; in English we should tell our students that they are authors. Ownership, pride, and motivation can stem from simply making a child feel as though their writing matters.
One question that remains for me:
Why is reading so evidence-based while writing is still seen as a free-form activity needing creativity to be good? If reading and writing are so closely intertwined as so many professionals profess, then why are we not researching how to make writing instruction more systematic for students?
References:
Hansen, J. (2008). "The way they act around a bunch of people": Seventh-grade writers lean about themselves in the midst of others. Voices from the Middle, 16(1), 9-14.
Calkins, L. M. (1994) The art of teaching writing. Heinemann: Portsmouth.
"This type of work allows a teacher to gain incredible insight into the background, experiences, and the values which students hold. This writing assignment was innovative and appeared to motivate everyone. The choice didn't lie in the prompt, but in how students could respond; this is the best form of differentiation in writing instruction in the classroom."
ReplyDeleteThis is a poignant observation. Students need to feel like they are heard...that they connect to the world around them. Allowing them to reflect and connect with works of literature is a valuable instructional tool and can provide the teacher with valuable insight into the minds of her students. Beautifully written, Victoria!