However I have a couple of questions that pertain to my thoughts on the free writing subject (or any kind of writing in class):
1. What if they want to go on?
This mostly relates to my own experiences. I love the writing so much that I often dislike it when we only get a few minutes to do so. I feel I just start to get the creative juices flowing, starting to get on a roll with my pen scurrying across the page... when all of the sudden I am smashed to a halt like a car hitting a cement wall. The words "Time's up!" make me grit my teeth in frustration and I always spend the next few minutes desperately scribbling notes to myself in the margins so I don't lose the magic that I have found. I think in my future classes I'll try to urge students to do the same thing, perhaps even encouraging them to continue writing while the rest of the class begins to go on. I know it may cause distractions but its worth thinking on... I want to find a solution to this problem.
2. On the other hand, I realize many kids will not be like me and will in fact be exactly the opposite. Some will not be passionate about writing; so what if kids don't want to do anything when I give time to write in class? Well this problem seems even more difficult to solve. Ideally I would try to take one on one time to brainstorm with them and help them start the process, but that may not be feasible in a large class. I think largely I will encourage them to start slowly, just jotting down little ideas, perhaps an outline or two. Then I'll want them to take those ideas and run with them. Even if the writing is no good (and the kids don't have their heart in it) at least they will have a start and will have something to look at. They will have begun by "Writing badly" as it were, and this obviously is important... it is key just to get them writing at all.
Looking forward to the weekend. Starting to get a bit nervous about our Hawkeyes. Big road game coming up
-Alex Rummelhart
I LOVE to write, but do not do well in a class setting. I need utter silence and all I hear are the tipping and tapping and scratching and coughs and shuffles and adjustments of myself and everyone else. It is horrible! I blank out and just stare at that page and listen. So I think it is important to give time in the classroom, but I also think it is nice to not force it. It always worked better for me when a teacher encouraged the class to just jot down ideas to develop later if the writing time wasn't going to work for them. Even drawing a picture of a feeling- or giving some questions that could act as a guide would help people like me. I think for the opposite side, the writers who feel slammed when told to stop- a two min warning is a good idea. That way writers like you have a chance to jot down where they are going. I have said too much in this comment. I am typing in my quiet, dark apartment and the words are flowing!
ReplyDeleteI thought that Ballanger made a great argument for "writing badly." I think of this when I think I can only write when it is going to be good. Starting with little ideas and notes to myself doesn't always work because I'm not sure if it is going anywhere. I realize that I don't have to know yet, that is part of the creation of a written piece.
ReplyDeleteTotally feel ya on the free writing in class. Some of my best thinking happens there. I was thinking about the difference between writing on a computer and writing by hand because the latter just seems so much less constricting than the former. I think my free writer ideas both "feel," and perhaps are, better because I don't feel as constricted. But then that buzzer comes at the end. Free writing time, maybe even half days, will definitely be a feature of my classes.
ReplyDeleteI don't write too much by hand anymore but I have revisited it recently. I do love it- I like the 'constricting' comment- but editing by hand is a pain, and most of my writing is editing, so my one page written by hand is about three notebook pages: full of eraser residue, sometimes rips, crossed out sentences, words in margins, and just illegible sentences where I was on a real roll for a while. It's a toss up.
ReplyDeleteI often become nervous thinking about the students who do not enjoy writing. I think to myself what are some activities that nobody would groan at. I often had this problem when I worked at an elementary school last semester. Fortunately, and I guess unfortunately, my boyfriend hates writing just as much as my elementary students hated writing, and he told me, "Allow them to write about themselves...." This was great advice. I made my students do I am poems, make a book about themselves, and write in their journals of how they relate to certain characters in the book. Of course, in a high school setting assignments have to be a little more sophisticated, and students can't always write about themselves in class... but it's a good way to start and also an even better way to get know your students.
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