Week 2
I’ve decided to include the following quotations taken from this week’s readings because they highlight some of the stark differences in these writer’s philosophies.
“Especially problematic is the fact that talented and experienced writers also have interesting stories to tell; typically, students do not because they have not lived long enough� (Williams, 284).
“Everyone, even a toddler, has writing-worthy moments. Everyone has topics that touch his or her heart� (Spandel, 25).
That’s probably why I’ve clung to Spandel and taken some of her words to heart. For example, I love her idea of asking students to assign the teacher a topic and then watch the teacher start to write. This shows students an authentic way in which to begin the writing process. Plus, we are always assigning the work; it would be nice to turn the tables for our students once in a while!
One other Spandel thought. Right now I’m really interested in how all of these people writing about writing and how to teach it suggest actually doing that. I do find Spandel’s writing a bit fluffy and idealistic. I would like to see some more concrete examples of how her ideas play out in the classroom. Hence, I found a concrete book list created by Spandel. It’s particularly helpful because it categorizes the recommended books by trait (organization, voice, word choice, etc…). Also on the list are teacher resources for writing. Check it out: http://www.greatsource.com/GreatSource/pdf/VickiSpandelBookList.pdf
Spandel, Vicki. (2005). The 9 Rights of Every Writer: A Guide for Teachers.
Williams, James D. (2003). Preparing to Teach Writing: Research, Theory, and Practice (third edition). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Comments
Stephanie, I could not agree with you more. The quote you included from Williams is a great example of how out of touch he is with students, and furthers our beliefs that he has never been a teacher. I also found myself looking at the concept of having students assign a topic to the teachers. I like it for the reasons you stated, but further for the reason that it levels the playing field alittle. When students get to act as teachers, it excites them; thus encouraging them to pay more attention to the response. You were dead on!
Posted by: Aaron Liebo | February 1, 2007 2:34 PM