Nothing really jumped out at me with this week's readings. Every other week, I've felt like there's been a point that I can expand upon, and this week is proving a bit more difficult.
However, I did enjoy Spandel's writing on the formula and the five-part essay. While I've written many, it was always tough to pick only three points and to write ten pages that way. And now, after being out of school for four years, I find it tough to go back to that format and write like that. If I have trouble with it, why am I imposing it on a class of middle or high schoolers? I think we need to encourage them to let the words flow and come out the way they'd like it to, in an organization that works for them. I'm not encouraging throwing all format and structure out the window, mind, but if they want a.. gasp.. ten paragraph essay? Sure! Thesis coming out a little further down in the paper? That could work.
She says "Writers must live on both sides of the text, wearing two hats all the time" (123). Absolutely. This doesn't just mean reading your own writing, but reading constantly, whatever you can get your hands upon. It gives you a feel for how certain types of writing twist and flow and that helps you learn to put your own words together. It also speaks to peer editing, which makes me wince whenever I type it, just because in high school, I was always the one who absolutely, without a doubt, hated sharing my writing before I deemed it done.
Sommers' coat story was thought-provoking. How exactly do we know that our teaching writing is working? That it's sticking? I think all you have to do is look at the writing your students are giving back to you. Are they improving? Are they digging deeper into the work and bringing out ideas you didn't realize they would? If they're making those connections, it's working. If they're enthusiastic, it's working.
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