Sarah Moore
English 369
My philosophy and the teaching of writing are for students to develop the skills necessary for life and in order for them to develop a love for writing relies on the teacher. Teachers must model strong writing skills and a passion for writing if they want their students to model the same behavior. Teachers are role models in many aspects and when it comes to developing critical reading and writing skills teachers play the “staring role.” I believe that Calkin’s statement “writing does not begin with deskwork but with lifework” expresses to write about something you need to have a topic or emotions about something and that comes from life not from sitting at a desk. Teachers need to let students fell comfortable writing about things that are important to them in life.
The ability to write on paper is an form of communication that can be very therapeutic. For some students, writing is the only way they can express themselves when they don’t feel comfortable expressing those emotions verbally. That is why it is important for teachers to provide students with time to free write. When you give a student the opportunity to write about anything they express their feelings and emotions, which is very significant for children to do.
My writing memories mostly come from high school and college. In high school I remember writing a lot of essays, research papers, and book reports. A first draft would always be required and looked over by the teacher or a fellow classmate before the final draft was turned in for a grade. The lengths of these papers were only two to three pages at the most but when I went to college it was different. They were longer in length and it seemed that the papers or writing assignments that were assigned were not so structured. There was more room of creativity and you had a choice to write about anything you wanted at times what was unlike high school where we were told what to write.
From my experience of writing it has influenced me in many ways of how I believe writing should be taught to students. Since I learned personally from my prior education and in college how important it is for students to have choice in writing. When students get the opportunity to write about what they choose it sparks interest and motivates them which results in better writing. Sparking interest in writing is also helps change how students view writing. Many students don’t enjoy writing and sadly I was one of those students but a teacher’s way of teaching writing can open student’s eyes to the wonderful world of writing and change their pessimistic thoughts about writing. I viewed this concept during my practicum.
When I worked in Kitty Wunderlin’s first grade classroom I had the amazing experience of seeing each and every student in the classroom get excited about writing. I believe that Mrs. Wunderlin tapped into each student’s interest by allowing him or her to write about personal things. Also she wasn’t concerned with grammar or the technical aspects of the students write. What she was looking for was the student’s ability to writing their thoughts on paper. I learned from my experience it’s important as an early elementary teacher to look past the handwriting, technical aspects, and invented spelling and concentrate on the child’s thinking on paper.
Invented spelling leads to the correct spelling of words. Students need to chance to sound out words and spell the word the way they think it sounds without always being told that they are spelling words wrong. When beginning writers are pressured to spell words correctly, they lose the creative expression of writing their thoughts on paper. As student’s writing skills advance and are guided by the teacher’s instruction, their spelling skills will improve over time.
Overall I believe my writing skills have improved the more I did write. That is why I believe students need to write everyday. Writing activities also need to be integrated into other subjects. Teachers need to present students with structure, organization, and time to form a community in the classroom. You can’t run a successful classroom with giving the students structure and organization. Teachers must also manage time in the classroom well so the material can be learned without making the students feel rushed. When you have structure and organization in the classroom “squeezing” writing in on top of everything else should not be an issue.
While the teacher may determine what gets taught, only the student can decide what will be learned. We learn best when we have a reason that propels us to want to learn. Teachers need to create an environment where students of varying abilities can interact and learn from another. I believe that students should never be grouped or separated according to their ability. Every student is different and teachers need to form their teachings to the students needs. Children love the feeling of doing things or knowing how to do things independently, so I believe that student have a drive to learn skills for writing.
“After the End” by Barry Lane, which was my choice text contained many tools to allow students to revise independently. It shows ways of teaching that will help teach students to be their own editors and not depend on you to do the work for them. “The more you empower your students, the less they will have to line up at your desk for help” (Lane 108)
I love this quote because teachers can’t always be there for their students so it is important for students to develop strong writing skills that will be with them their entire lives. Teachers need to present their students with risks so they can build up confidence by taking risks in literacy. It is also important for students to have the freedom to make choices of which tools to use so they can find what works for them and Barry Lane provides more then enough tools for students to find what works for them in this text. These tools provide teachers with structure in literacy and assessment of student’s literacy skills. When a teacher models these tools and actions then it is likely that the students will model the same behavior.
The things that I feel I know about writing are as teachers, we don’t want to teach students the writing process, rather we want each one of them to find a process that works for him or her, and we need to follow the student’s energy. Teachers need to create a classroom atmosphere where they can suggest ideas and students are willing to try them. Also students need to become critical readers of their own writing, and writing conferences guides this learning. All these aspects of the writing process must be established at the beginning of the year so students can develop your system for teaching writing. Writing is also an assessment tool teachers can use. Student’s writing will show their strengths and weaknesses, which determines what skills will be taught and when to teach them!
A key characteristic I believe should be involved with the writing process is building on strengths. Teachers must give positive feedback and let students know when they are proud of them for their achievements. This also motivates the student to have continuing success in the classroom and shows the student that the teacher cares about their success. Another motivation tool is introducing students to a variety of genres during the writing process. When students are exposed to different genres it exposes them to all types of writing which will strengthen their writing skills.
Teachers should also allow students to publish their writings. When the writer knows of the possibilities for their writing to be published it’s a way to improve their skills because they strive to make their work the best it can be. Also it gives the students the sense that their work is valued and that builds confidence in the classroom. All these techniques and procedures of teaching mentioned in this paper will be applied to my teaching and will be used as a direction in my future classroom. I strongly believe that they are critical in the academic success of students to develop strong writing skills.