Murray CH. 5 & 9

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.