We are Teaching Kids to Write All Wrong
What better way to start off this year's Summer Institute than with a spirited discussion of teaching writing? The morning reflection dealt with the disparate views of writing instruction - focusing on ideas vs. focusing on grammar. While we all agreed that grammar and the basic nuts and bolts of writing are vitally important for clear communication, unless there are robust ideas to be communicated, it's all for naught.
While understanding the rhetorical situation is important in order to create a first draft, what follows is also important to teach. Crafting sentences, discovering one's voice, developing a style and flexibility to write in several genres is a challenge for both the student and teacher. Revision is also key to effective writing and should be encouraged if only time can be made for it. Unfortunately,
ReplyDeletethis is often overlooked when it is the all-important activity of professional writers.