The title of this chapter seemed like it was inviting me as the
reader to approach teaching the concept of writing in a new way. I went into
this chapter knowing that I would come out of it, thinking in a new way. Just
like when you are starting to build a house, you have to start with the
foundation. In a writing course, you have to start with the rough draft. Like
we have said in class already, it's called the rough draft for a reason.
Without the skeleton of a paper, there is nothing for the students to work
from, get feedback on, or simply read though and fine tune on their own. In
order to be a writer, you need to write. Practice at anything will make that
skill better overtime. I liked the idea that students should have time set
aside in class for writing. Since writing is important to they are learning a
craft, then it should take up some class time, to show the
importance to them. Just like when we free write in class, it allows time to
ourselves to simply relax and write about whatever comes to mind. Students look
at writing in school as intimidating or scary, these are misconceptions that
teachers need to be changing. Teachers need to start with writing activities,
reading in class with reflection, and other little tasks that involve writing
for fun, this way students may begin to see that writing is not a chore, but an
opportunity to sit down and write out his/her thoughts.
syllabi for his courses. This
got me thinking about my own classroom some day. I want to be the kind of
teacher who puts so much time and energy into planning for my students. I never
want to get stuck in a rut and always want to change up my teaching methods and
techniques that I use. I thought that having multiple syllabi would allow him the
freedom to change things up every once in awhile because of the planning that
he has already gone through. As a matured teacher, he probably knows when it is
time for a change, and hopefully through the years I will also get to that
point.
I had never thought about an assignment being open or closed
before. When assigning papers and topics for papers, I just assumed that the
teacher would always be the one to give the prompt or idea. I guess I thought
this would direct the learning in a certain way for a more controlled, focused learning environment.
When thinking about teaching writing though, I guess part of the process is
being confident enough in your skin to take more ownership in the writing. In
this process, you as the teacher can help the student hone skills and give
him/her things to work on, while the student is educating you on what his/her
topic is. Furthermore, a student may be so jazzed about their topic that they
will take more pride in writing and in the entire writing process. Now you have
gone from pulling teeth to an excitement for what he/she is creating, because
it was his/her own idea.
The deadline still has an importance. No writing would ever get
accomplished without some form of accountability to get it completed. Even with
the most dedicated person, if they don't have a time frame, the writing process
would never end. Even an excellent writer would never be able to finish their
first draft. Through this chapter I have learned to be more open minded about
the writing process. I need to evaluate how and why I am assigning something,
and encourage my students however I can, to write for any and every purpose
imaginable.
It terrifies me to read my own writing after I have finished my
first draft. In my head I know it is going to sound all terrible and nothing is
going to mesh. Everyone needs a starting point. A rough draft gives you that
first piece of writing that is ready for construction. I take criticism so
harshly when it comes to my writing. I need to understand that everything in
life takes time and effort to get better. I do desire to be a descent writer or
a writer at all. I need to take the comments as information and not judgement
calls; it's about my writing, not me as a person. Everyone needs to start
somewhere.
The more people you have read your drafts, the more comfortable
you will get in your writing. I also think that the information that they give
back to you won't seem as harsh because they are each just giving their
opinions and you have many to think about, sift through, and apply to your
draft. I thought this was a great chapter to end with before class, due to the
fact that we are going into the beginning stages of our first paper. The nerves
can be put at ease right from the beginning and the writing process can begin.
I believe also that it won't seem as bad also because I am going to be reading
their rough draft just like they are reading mine.
