Building Real World Writers
The reading stated, "writing well does not begin with teaching students how to write; it begins with teaching students why they should write. Students who are taught how to write without being taught the real-world purpose behind authentic writing are much more likely to end up seeing writing as nothing more than a school activity..." When I think back on my own educational experience the truth is that I don't remember teachers ever discussing writing as a lifelong necessity instead it simply seemed as if I needed to learn because its what my teacher wanted. In particular when I think of the emphasize that was placed on learning to write in cursive, it was simply here are the way the letters look practice, practice, practice.
I can still remember thinking why do I need to learn this if I already know how to write, this is just fancy writing!I hope to in my own classroom that I can teach writing in a way that students will never question its value but instead see writing for the necessity and strength it really is. To me that means allowing students freedom in their writing and always modeling the value of writing when I teach and write. The article also touch on this being an important aspect to create value that teachers must not only model it but also make it clear that all students and the teacher are equal. And that is something that I would really like in my classroom a community where we are all learning from each other valuing all the knowledge we all bring to the classroom.
Questions:
How will you help your students see the value and necessity of learning to write?
In your education did you ever have teacher that emphasized the real-world importance of writing?
What about in your field placements?
Thanks for reading guys! :)
Hey Heidy!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! Thanks for sharing. I am going to jump around with your questions. In my education, I never had a teacher that emphasized the real world importance of writing. We just learned how to write in order to get better at it. However, having older siblings, I noticed that they continuously wrote with their work. So, it made me understand that you have to write all the time. It is not just in the classroom. I think it would have been important for the teachers to explain why it is important to understand how to write because you use it in your day to day life. In my placement, the teacher also does not put an emphasis on learning how to write connected to the real world. For my future students, I want to be able to connect their writing to the real world. I do not want them to feel like they are just writing for busy work. It is an important topic to think about as we are in our placements.
Thanks again for your post!
Tina Skukan
Hi Heidy,
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I can relate to what you mentioned about being exposed to writing as a necessity for completing school assignments, rather than a necessity for life. Although, I do remember having some elementary teachers who used to incorporate writing to life. For instance, I had some teachers that taught me how to write letters, biographies, narratives, etc..., and this made me see the importance of writing in real life. As for fieldwork, I have seen teachers introduce writing by having students write letters to authors and famous individuals. This seemed to engage students more with writing, since it offered them a different perspective on writing, that was more than just answering questions or researching topics. I believe that it is very essential for us to introduce writing in ways that are relevant to students' lives, because not only will it engage students with writing, but it will help them see the importance of ongoing writing.
Thanks for your comments guys!
ReplyDeleteI agree connecting writing to real life does help students not just see the value of writing but also helps them engage with what they are learning. its important for our students to feel valued as human beings and a good way of doing that is by having them write about their interest, culture, family, life dreams etc.
Hi Heidy!
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up a lot of important issues in your post. I definitely remember thinking "Why am I doing this?" while doing writing assignments for my classes. My teachers rarely gave me a reason for writing other than I had to do it to get a good grade and pass the class. Now I can see how those writing assignments benefited me and made me a better writer, but at the time I didn't see the point. In my current placement, my mentor teacher sometimes gives a reason for why he has the students write, but I can tell the kids don't always buy it. They were writing a persuasive essay on something they'd want to change about school. Mr. Vaca explained to them that in real life, you have to back up your argument in order to win your case. This helped put their writing in perspective and gave them a valid reason for what they were assigned to do. When I start teaching my own students and even when I'm teaching my current students, I am going to try my hardest to give a reason for why I'm having them write. Not just a "because you have to" excuse.
I think it is important for students to realize that writing can be a way to present a message or side to an argument in an organized manner. That when you try to just speak it all out, you can lose your train of thought, forget where you were headed or just flat out not say what you wanted to say. When they know that writing can not only be a way of being heard, but a way of organizing your thoughts and making sure that what you want to be heard is how it is coming off when you read it. Students should know that this is another way to be heard in today's time of social media where people are reading articles and blogs every day.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I think real world writing is very important. I would want my future students to have that value and I would make a point of explaining why it is important. I would try to not give my students busy work because I think that leads to a decrease in engagement. I know firsthand how useless assignments makes me not want to put in any effort so I want to do my best so my students do not feel that way as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Writing is important but also one of the more challenging tasks to teach. I want to make sure my students see the value of their writing and the impact it makes on them and others. I am always explaining why writing is important to my first graders because some see it as a chore.
ReplyDeleteHey Heidy!
ReplyDeleteI love this, it's very true that often times teachers don't explain why writing is important. When we did ask why it was important we just got told that it would be beneficial to our future jobs. It's true that it is important for some jobs however writing has much more value than that. I will share this with my future students and make them value it has.