Coats, Pigs, & Mr. Smith--Blog Five

I also liked Sommers analogy of every size does not fit all, and the customer's not always right. The customer may need assistance finding them self. Some of the best inspiration in Sommers essay comes not on her technique but on her dogged persistence in finding ways of reaching every child. I, like her, was frustrated by the story of the girl who possessed so much talent but rarely let it out--put it to paper. How does one motivate such a child? I like that Sommers continually works on strategies to make better writers of her students. It reminded me of our discussion of last week about so many teachers fall back on doing things the way they have always been done. Sommers constantly searching, always modifying her process takes a lot more effort but must be far more rewarding in the end.
Mr. Smith as ever is a tough read but certainly is worth the effort. He always has some insight for better understanding the process of writing for me. I did disagree that incubation might be the most difficult of the stages. I seem like I can always compose a great paper in my head while thinking through problems. It is the transferal of thoughts to ink that is the killer.
Toss out the formula. I would agree with some of the other bloggers that there are some kids who would flourish when boundaries are removed but others that that would be a scary thing. Some people seem to need rigidly defined structure before they can be creative. It doesn't restrict them, it seems to actually inspire them as it removes a lot of choices. As ever the trick, I think, is to be sensitive to manner that each and every child works best in and then urge them to take chances.