Inspiration

Something that Professor Lowe said during her lecture last week really struck a chord with me. I get pretty hung up on spelling and grammar. It never occurred to me what a damaging effect on students' writing correcting every little error might have. Of course this would be really discouraging. Why would a student want to continue writing if a teacher caused them to believe they were not a successful writer? Professor Lowe pointed out that students become good spellers and writers by reading and writing, so they should be given many opportunities to do so and should be encouraged. This was a major lightbulb moment for me.

As a result, I read the readings this week with the following question in mind: "What does this article contain for me about encouraging my students to write?"

I soon realised I had already formed a strong opinion which definitely informed my reading. The first article I read, about using blogging as a pedagogical resource to get students writing and reflecting (as I am doing right now) supported the idea that enjoyment and freedom were important elements of getting students to write. Reluctant writers were quoted as commenting that although they had dreaded contributing to class blogs, they found that they both enjoyed and gained a lot from the process. They felt the medium was flexible and freeing and were encouraged to continue writing.

The second article I read, in contrast, focused on the necessity of teaching form over content. It emphasised the importance of the type of instruction in which basic elements such as sentence structure and the relationships between words took priority over meaning. The author, in this and several subsequent articles, argued that allowing students to wax lyrical on whatever subjects and issues interested them without providing rigorous instruction on how to use linguistic forms had led to a dramatic decline in the quality of students' writing.

So I am left to ponder the question: "How do I maintain high expectations of my students' writing and set a standard for quality work in my classroom without discouraging my students from writing altogether?"

Food for thought.

Perhaps a clue lies in my other reading - a quote from Henri Nouwen, the aptly named 'A Reminder to Those of Us Who Would Write'. A beautiful, inspiring quote concerning the great importance and enormous value of writing. Perhaps inspiration is the key!