Blog 10

In my high school, the only people who were asked to refine their writing for publication were the popular kids. I think that's why Andrews' essay this week just didn't click for me. I think those of us who weren't popular would have benefited more from the ability to share our work, to become better writers, if the teachers had come to the less popular kids and had us try to publish our stories- or to have the entire class do it as a whole. I like the idea of having the class attempt to publish, I just wonder about the effect one student getting published will have on those that aren't. Will they push themselves to get to the level of the published writer? Or will they just give up and decide that if they aren't good enough to be published now, they won't ever be? The teacher will have to make sure students don't get discouraged from writing if the publishing doesnt work out. I don't mean to play devil's advocate here, I think this could be an interesting idea if done well.

Alejandro really seemed to hit the nail on the head, though. Why are we just having our students fill in bubbles for tests? Why does it take half a year to teach students a test? If they're not learning it in your classes as is and need a special course to learn how to take a PSSA, mayne we need to redefine how we teach our subjects. We take away art classes, band classes, music and choral classes. If we take away writing too, where are kids going to focus on their creativity? I'm not a talented artist, but if I hadn't taken mechanical design and 3D art classes, I would be missing something. I spent years learning to play an instrument, discipline from marching across a football field throwing flags. seeing how lighting turned a regular stage into a scene. These were all intergral parts of my high school years, and parts that helped form me. Kids are really missing out on a huge part of their development as we continue taking all of these creative outlets away. I love the idea of bringing art into the classroom. Not just to expose students to it, but to use the pieces as a starting point for creative writing and learning.