Aaron's Hair

...Scratch that - "Page's Hair"

    Of all the resources available for teaching writing in the classroom, the case study done on a young student, Page, caught my eye.  One quote in particular brought to mind a very interesting perspective on the writing process: 

“Page was passionate about writing. ‘I can do writing good,’ she said confidently. ‘But sometimes it’s boring, like combing your hair.’ She hated combing her long, snarly blonde hair, but ‘then I keep on combing it, and that’s like revising it more and more times. Then, once I’m done combing my hair, or once done writing my story, it’s fun, and I feel proud of myself and I get a lot of compliments’” (Structure and Freedom, 69).

    Page's metaphor for the writing process is incredibly accurate; it can be a lengthy, often frustrating experience, but the end product often reflects a one's own confidence, satisfaction and pride in their work, along with garnering external praise from teachers and/or peers.  That process of combing out the tangles, when you take the time, effort and self-initiative to do so, results in a sense of self-satisfaction and, most likely, complimentary praise.  Reflecting on Page’s initial commentary, as stated in her Grade 3 interview, brings forth concerns of how to teach writing and representing, especially as we continue to formulate our ELA teaching philosophy.  My main concern would be one Page shares: the complex and often lengthy writing process can be boring.  I would have done a great disservice to my students if they felt the writing process was a daunting, and boring, experience, as it would mean I had not allowed them the opportunity to become comfortable in their abilities.  In this regard, the fundamental point I want to stress to my students is the importance of balance in writing.  There are endless strategies and methods to utilize when learning how to instruct, explain and assess writing and representation, but without encouraging an open, creative and imaginative nature, the students may not gain writing confidence, see personal progress or growth, or develop a passion for writing.  Therefore, I feel my teaching philosophy for writing and representing is going to stress the need for academic structure AND creative liberty; if not, I fear my students will suffer in both writing confidence and enjoyment, which would be a detriment to their educational future.

    An effective way to balance structural feedback with an open-minded environment, is for children to share their personal thoughts, ideas, and work with others.  This can be achieved through various group-sharing activities, as well as student-teacher conferencing.  The IRP states, under the Grade 1 PLOs, that students should “use a strategy after writing and representing to improve their work (e.g. sharing their written work and representations...(C6)” (IRP, 54).  The IRP clearly identifies the benefit of students exchanging ideas with their peers, or teacher, to gain feedback for both personal and academic development.  Similarly, the textbook states that conferencing - particularly between the student and teacher - can “provide opportunities for joint assessment of student writing as teachers and children discuss student progress” (Chapter 9, 299).  Having the opportunity to share with your teacher can be incredibly rewarding for both parties, as children not only receive constructive feedback, but gain confidence in knowing they’re on the right track.  In addition to the teacher’s role, conferencing allows the student a chance for self-assessment.  The textbook states that “if students are to improve their writing, they must be able to see the need for that improvement - hence the need for student self-assessment” (Chapter 9, 301).  Therefore, students must be open to both peer and teacher commentary, in addition to recognizing their own growth potential.

    Robin Stevenson, our guest lecturer, expanded on this notion of self-assessment through her focus on student reflection.  She mentioned that the teacher needs to model improvements for writing and representation, while also stressing the importance of making mistakes.  A significant aspect of the writing process is revision, and children need to know it’s okay to reflect, adapt or change their work.  Simple activities, such as writing a morning message that contains mistakes, presents an opportunity for students to gain confidence in recognizing and correcting errors, while also realizing that everyone needs help during the writing process.  When it comes to ways to encourage self-reflection, Robin suggests this is best achieved through free-writing or journals.

    The IRP notes that students need to “create imaginative writing and representations, often modeled on those they have read, heard, or viewed...(C3)” (IRP, 54).  Creative or imaginative writing can stem from a teacher-led story where the students draw or sketch along - an activity geared towards the Kindergarten age group - or perhaps by the teacher presenting the students with a topic to explore ahead of time, such as: “what are some activities you like to do on the weekend?”  Regarding this specifically, the C1 PLO in the IRP states: “[Students must]...create straightforward personal writing and representations that express simple ideas, feelings, likes and dislikes, featuring...ideas represented through words, sentences, and images that connect to a topic” (IRP, 53).  Whether personal writing takes the form of a journal, or other free-writing style activities, there should be an emphasis placed on freedom of expression, especially as it pertains to student reflection on, and self-evaluation of, their work. 

    What I find most valuable is how equalizing journals can be; children are given the chance to reflect on their own ideas, on their own terms, and without the potential concern regarding critique or grading.  Many students lack academic confidence and require an alternative outlet for creative exploration; in this regard, journals have become an excellent way to accommodate varied learning needs.  Returning to Page for a moment, I think the journals solve one of the concerns mentioned in her final reflection.  During the middle years, Page felt that the creativity originally stressed in early elementary had dissipated, and academic structure had taken hold.  She mentions using more “short cuts,” as the need to expel academic writing had overtaken the desire for teachers to allow free-writing or creative exploration in the classroom.  Page’s reflection stresses the need for teachers to “...get experience from everywhere, listen to how your students respond to what they’re writing about, and incorporate [that] free type of writing” (Structure and Freedom, 73).  Page’s concern supports my own desire to create balance; not only does free-writing provide students with an outlet for personal reflection, but it can also be an academic asset for teachers.  By having our students keep writing notebooks or folders, and letting them reflect on their own work, we “can tell what topics the children enjoy writing about the most and what they do their best writing on” (Chapter 9, 296), which makes writing folders, notebooks or journals a means of progressive assessment for both student and teacher.  Whether for teacher assessment purposes or personal reflection, journals provide another foundation for balance between academic structure and creative liberty.

    To return full circle and examine Page’s reflections upon completing her Grade 12 year, there is an obvious shift in her perspective.  What I find most revealing is how she discovered for herself the value of the writing process, and realized that all the hard work of reflection, editing and revising, can be just as rewarding as a “short cut” to completion.  Page notes: 

“I discovered how to do just enough to get decent grades.  I learned short cuts; I never did many drafts.  I had discovered conditioner.  It helped with the snarls, and certainly didn’t take as much effort....All the combing I did used to get me compliments.  I don’t get many compliments anymore.  My hair never looked as nice as when I combed by hand, over and over, and my writing never turned out as nice either.” (Structure and Freedom, 74)

There is something to be said for learning effective writing foundations, and by examining Page’s case study, we can see how she valued both academic and creative endeavours.  Teachers have the responsibility to prepare students for their educational futures by providing the necessary tools for success, and that begins as early as Kindergarten or Grade 1.  However, as important as academic development is, the creativity and imagination that comes from journal writing is fundamental to building the confidence required during the writing progress.  As a teacher, we need to show that all writing stages are important, from the discussion and feedback stage to the free-writing and personal reflection/self-assessment stages.  As Page’s reflections highlight, writing is not an easy process, but it can be incredibly rewarding when you achieve both personal and academic achievement - or, when you can get all those tangles out yourself.

Resources:

Bainbridge, Joyce, Rachel Heydon and Grace Malicky. “Assessment and Conventions of Writing,” from Constructing Meaning: Balancing Elementary Language Arts, Fourth Edition.  Nelson Education Ltd.: 2009.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. “English Language Arts, Kindergarten to Grade 7:     Integrated Resource Package 2006.”

Casey, Mara and Stephen I. Hemenway. “Structure and Freedom: Achieving a Balanced Writing Curriculum.” English Journal (2001): 68-75.

Stevenson, Robin.  EDCI 302: Guest Lecturer.  October 21st, 2011.