Leigh Anne Jones
N. Votteler
SHSU Writing Project
7 June 2011
The Teacher Exploration Workshop (The Question and Profile & Philosophy): Getting Students to Connect to Writing
The Question:
How can I get students to personally connect to their writing and still guarantee exemplary results?
Philosophy & Profile:
This matters to me because I believe writing is a personal experience. It takes courage to show who you are in such a permanent way and to have people criticize and critique the things, the personal things, that are written down. I still find myself backing off when the time comes for me to write something down that must be shared with a public group, especially if it is a group of people that I haven't built any relationships in. I know from over hearing student conversations, cumulative folders, and past teachers that a lot of my students have lived through hard things, much harder than I ever had to experience when I was only 9 and 10 years old. With that I also know that some have had awesome experiences; amazing family trips, cool stories from relatives in the armed forces, and huge awards from out of school activities. I know these kids have something to write about, but I'm stuck between getting those stories down and fighting with the tradition that says "each story has to be a page and a half and must have five, AND ONLY FIVE, paragraphs, each paragraph has to be at least four to six sentences long, you must also have at least one simile and metaphor in each of those 5 paragraphs"...the list keeps going and going and going! I have it memorized. My fellow teachers have it memorized. My students have it memorized. I have literally pounded that list into their small, fragile brains to the point that they HATE writing, and to be honest, I do to with that stinking list!
Where is the room for the creativity? Where do they actually have a safe place to put down all those emotions and experiences? Not in a classroom that is governed by a formula for writing. So that brings me back to my problem that I am so desperately seeking an answer for, how can I get students to personally connect to their writing and still guarantee exemplary results? What really scares me about approaching this thin ice is that good teachers, seasoned teachers, swear by this formulaic writing. I can't say that I blame them, for years now they've achieved really great scores. But when I'm home, away from my students, away from my colleagues, I feel guilty. I know that I am doing these students an injustice in their education. I know that if these students continue down this path that they will altogether turn their backs on writing anything that has any real value. With over 70% of my fourth graders coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds (broken homes, parents working two and three jobs, going home to look after younger siblings) I know that my students are constantly being told by their environments they do not have a voice, an opinion, or much value to what they feel and know. I want the experiences in my writing classes to completely squash those falsities, to enliven children to write what they feel and in the end know that their feelings and thoughts are valid and worth an audience.
I'm not sure if I did this right...help!!!
ReplyDeleteLeigh Anne, I think this is great! I had a hard time getting mine to paste and had to retype the whole thing! Then I couldn't post it (or I thought I couldn't, but I really did). Then I saw a screwy mistake in the alignment of my question and couldn't figure out how to edit it! Oh well! Learning here....!!!!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your question, I am thinking this... can you dedicate one day of writing a week to free-flow, non-formula writing and maybe call it something special like "Rock Your Writing Fridays?
Adrienne :o)
Crystal Parker
ReplyDeleteN. Votteler
SHSU Writing Project
7 June 2011
The Teacher Exploration Workshop (The Question and Profile & Philosophy): Improving Writing Instruction
The Question:
What is age appropriate writing for Kindergarten?
Philosophy & Profile:
This matters to me because I have only been teaching for less than two years. I feel that I lack the knowledge of how to teach writing through instruction. My Kindergarten students come from a low socioeconomic background and lack extra help with writing from their caretakers at home. Many parents would never sign my student’s folders or participate in their homework that I send home. I feel they also struggle with writing due to the repetitive workbooks and boring journal topics that they have to follow. For instance, when I started working in the district that I am at, I was told to have them trace their name over and over until they learn how to write it. Also, they had to copy sentences and questions I wrote down and they had to answer them. This was their daily journal until the end of the year. Do they really learn by only doing repetitive work? When do they get to think for themselves? My next group of students, I am going to try everything in my power to change my ways of writing instruction. I want to motivate them, come up with create writing activities, and let them have a mind of their own. I want to stray away from the old fashioned type of writing that this district participates in and make writing fun.
My concern comes from my inexperience, lack of support from parents, along with the student population. The students in this district are difficult to teach due to low-socioeconomic status. The breakdown of the race or ethnicity is approximately 1.2% African American, 22% Hispanic, 76% White, and 9% other. The economically disadvantaged students consist of 61.9% and 45% at-risk. Many parents are uneducated and have never been to college and many did not graduate high school. This information is important because this is a challenge that I have had to face on a daily basis with my students. Due to parents being uneducated they do not seem to understand the importance of education for their child. I have had parents gripe at me when I ask for them to practice skills with their child at home. I was told, “It is not the parents job to educate their child, but mine”. Part of this statement is true because the teacher is supposed to teach their child. On the other hand, parents can have a huge influence on their child more than they realize. Kindergarten is a group that needs plenty of repetition, creative activities, and a lot of positive support. Parent’s can help do this by practicing skills a little each day at home with their child. With all this information a person would realize the students at my school lack the support they need. How do teachers like myself help motivate Kindergarten students to want to learn how to write the best way?