Response for Class on 3/14

"The Politics of the Paragraph"
Do formulas always lead to the right answer? Perhaps in math, where numbers always add up to the same sum and 10 will always be greater than 7. Writing, however, is a lot more complex. In middle school, we began writing with the common 5 paragraph essay: an intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This was the understood process we were to follow when writing any paper. When I got to high school, my teacher assigned us a research paper, and I remember getting overwhelmed at the thought of squeezing a huge amount of research into just 5 paragraphs. My teacher told us to forget everything we knew about writing papers, that he was going to teach us the correct process in constructing a well argued paper. This involved notecards and outlines and several drafts and 8, 9, 10 paragraphs in my paper! It was anarchy compared to the carefully constructed outlook on academic writing that I was used to, but it was easier knowing I didn't have to stay within such strict guidelines.

This is something I still grapple with; I am a very "guidelines-oriented" person. I love knowing exactly what is expected of my and how I am to present it. At the same time, I hate being confined and limited by a 5 paragraph essay structure. I understand that there are certain elements that must be included in a well-written paper. You must have a purpose, a clear argument, evidence, and analysis. But does that mean that we must teach our children that writing can only take place under absolute circumstances? If anything, I think this discourages students to write at all. There is little creativity in the 5 paragraph method. There is little space to work out thoughts into concise statements. I think there is a time and place for them. When beginning to move from basic writing to paragraph form, it helps to provide students with structure to build their ideas on. Once students are familiar with how a paragraph is formed, they should be exposed to a form of writing that allows for freedom. We need to push our students to take what they know about writing and wrestle with it. Not everyone's writing is supposed to look the same. These formulas are beginning to enforce more of the "sameness" that the standards are bringing to education. We're all different, and so our writing should look different.

Gallagher: Chapters 2-4
Writing often seems like an obvious way to get better at writing. I loved the sports metaphor Gallagher used in chapter 2: a coach wouldn't throw players into a game without having them practice first, and so we must not expect students to crank out great essays when they haven't done low-stakes writing. I love the writer's notebook. We had one when I was in 4th grade and I still have it. In high school, one of my teachers had us keep a writer's notebook and started the beginning of every class with 5 minutes of writing in it. Getting to put thoughts on paper without the pressure of grades helped immensely in my confidence when it came to turning in a first draft. I knew how to work with words, so it was easier to construct a clear, concise paper.

I loved the idea of writing with students that Gallagher mentions in chapter 3. A lot of times, students look at teachers as experts. They don't realize that writing is always a process that requires work; even teachers struggle with "lousy first drafts." I think it is important to show students the difficulties of writing - if they see a teacher having the same problems, it takes away some of the pressure to be "perfect." We had to model scientific writing for the students in my science practicum. As the teacher, I modeled what their writing should look like, and I posted a focus question to guide their thoughts as they wrote. From watching me construct a paragraph about the experiment we conducted, the students were able to follow my example in their scientist notebooks. I loved that this was a part of the curriculum. Like Gallagher discusses in chapter 2, writing shouldn't be limited to English class.

The discussion of using real world examples in chapter 4 is something I wholeheartedly agree with. Students will write more (and better) when the topic is something they can relate to/are interested in. I think it is so important to show students that writing extends beyond the academic paper. They don't have to be confined to typical school essays. Giving them other types of assignments allows them to show their voice, choice, and creativity. Also, connecting reading and writing is something I have always been a fan of. The more you read, the better you write, is what my mom always told me. She would explain that she could tell which students of hers were big readers and which were not based on their writing. Personally, I am a reader, so I see the value that the books I love so much have done for my writing. It is just as important to encourage students to be readers as it is to encourage them to write.

There were so many ideas in these chapters that I will definitely look forward to using in my own classroom one day. I think keeping in mind that we are to teach the writer, not the writing is critical in maintaining a classroom where students are not afraid to write. Giving them time to practice their skills where they feel safe to do so will allow them to gain confidence in themselves. I want to allow my students to be creative and think outside the 5 paragraph essay. I'm curious to see what it brings.