Blog 8

In my opinion, this week’s chapter by Frank Smith covered a number of really interesting topics regarding the process of learning to write. His thoughts describing the ways in which reading helps to develop our writing skills were very insightful. This just demonstrates another reason why it is important to read to your children before they enter kindergarten. After all, we can’t expect students to learn how to write without providing them with examples of good writing.

It is also important that we demonstrate to our students how the writing process should look. As Frank Smith points out, many inexperienced writers consider themselves to be finished after the first draft. He states, “They rarely see their teachers writing, let alone revising, editing, or throwing drafts away.” I can certainly attest to the fact that none of my teachers wrote in front of students, and I don’t remember having teachers model the writing process for us. This past Thursday I attended a workshop at the Capital Area Wordfest that touched on the importance of modeling our own writing for our students. By showing students how we have continuously edited one of our own pieces of writing, we will teach them the importance of producing multiple drafts.

I will admit that I did become a little frustrated while reading this chapter, because I felt as though the topics Smith was touching on pertained primarily to children and elementary school-age students. I was happy, however, that he made the point that “the requirements of learning to write do not change as one grows older.” Smith also states that there is “no formula for teaching anyone to write.”
I believe that as a future teacher, this is a very important factor to keep in mind. We cannot expect to reach all students the same way, and we must take the time to work with them individually to meet their specific needs. This is just another clear example as to why classroom sizes need to be kept at a smaller number so that teachers can provide more one-on-one instruction.

In terms of the grammar argument which was the subject of Patrick Harwell’s article, I believe that spending less time on formal grammar instruction will provide students with the ability to uncover the true power of the written word. It will also help students to develop a stronger appreciation for language and its uses. If we are constantly bogging students down with the rules they have to follow, then they are less likely to take an interest in the writing process itself and have the chance to discover all of the many possibilities that writing provides.