My sister was the writer in the family. As a child, she filled spiral notebooks with endless stories and poems, all written in her characteristic, optimistic large script. My brother, today an engineer, always has been able to put pen to paper to write a thoughtful poem. On the other hand, until I had to write my "I'm from" poem for an education course, I never felt that I could express myself in poetry in a way I felt good about. I suppose that I don't see myself as a "writer," although I think I write competently. Perhaps, for the sake of my future students, I need to rethink this stance. How can I ask that my students think of themselves as writers if I do not think of myself in the same way? (Curiously, I have loved blogging...)
It seems to me that as teachers of writing we have dual responsibilities. We must, of course, equip our students with the technical skills that will enable them to communicate effectively. Ultimately, they will need to be able to put their thoughts together in a logical manner, to write and defend a thesis, to use the conventions of written language. At one time, I might have said that teaching these technical skills was the foundation of teaching writing. However, as I look with more mature eyes upon classrooms and children, and read the persuasive arguments of Anne Lammott, Regie Routman, Lucy Culkins, Stephanie Harvey, and others, I am convinced that the real foundation lies in the development of a love of writing. If love is too strong a word, then I would at least hope that each student would experience the satisfaction of expressing him- or herself meaningfully through writing. If, as teachers, we can start here with our students, we will have a real basis for teaching the technical skills associated with writing.
Some students have stories they are bursting to tell. Others may need time and encouragement to find their voice. This fall, in my sixth grade placement, the students engaged in several writing activities related to "small moments." The focus was on finding the "seed" of the story and writing about it, rather than trying to write about the whole apple. I had the opportunity to hold writing conferences with a number of the children, and each of them had been able to find a personal "seed" around which they could tell a story. After writing several "starters," they each chose one to revise and publish, but the focus was simply on the personal narrative.
Of course, teaching structures for writing has a place as well. When my daughter was in first grade, her teacher taught a spaghetti and meat ball structure for writing paragraphs. To this day, I'm not sure I understand what it was all about, but the students did. We do something similar when we teach older students the structure for a five paragraph essay. We give them a framework upon which they can organize their ideas. It would be a sad thing if this was the dominant way students experienced writing, but, without such structures, many students would struggle to find a way to put their ideas together. I can imagine sharing with a class Alice Adams' ABDCE structure for writing short stories. A stands for action, B for background, D for development, C for climax and E for end. (from a description in Anne Lammott's Bird by Bird, p. 62.)
Similarly, we need to help students acquire knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation that will enable them to be effective communicators. To do less is to potentially limit their ability to succeed out in the world.
Regie Routman argues that teachers must come to see themselves as writers, and they must be able to model the writing process for and with students. Perhaps, in doing so, we teachers may discover the joy of writing, much as we hope our students will.
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