Introversion and Authentic Writing

The first blog post that I read, "The Energy Cost and the Power of Empathy," came from the becoming radical.  The article addressed how introverted students have an "energy cost" associated with the collaborative, project-based learning environments that most schools have implemented.  The post also urges teachers to be empathetic towards introverts and understand their need to "recharge."  I really liked the author's iPhone analogy.  He described how, just like an iPhone whose background apps drain battery life, an introvert's energy level is drained by things that cannot be seen on the surface.  He also related that to sufferers of anxiety, who have a constant sense of impending doom that drains them from the inside.  I really appreciated this post because I consider myself an introvert. In high school, I can remember being so exhausted at the end of every day from all of the social interaction and cooperative learning.  Now that I am older and in college, I have grown to like working with others, but when I was an introverted high school student having to work in groups in almost every class, I dreaded it.  I especially understood the point about asking students about their introversion.  Constant comments like "you're so quiet!" or "why are you sitting alone?" can seem harmless, but for a young introvert, it just further depletes their energy to have to explain their preferences to someone over and over.  When I was in school, many people said I was "quiet," which to me seemed like something negative.  Even though I went to a small school, I still felt that I was sometimes lost or hidden behind more extroverted students.  At conferences my parents would get many comments about how "quiet" and "well-behaved" I was, which is nice, but doesn't mean that I didn't need support sometimes.  I think it's important for teachers not to brush introverts off as students they "don't have to worry about," because they often have unique, but important needs.

The second blog post I read was called "School Writing vs. Authentic Writing," from writers who care.  It echoed a lot of what we have been talking about all semester.  The part that I really was drawn to was the mention of social media writing.  I think that some teachers and parents hold the assumption that students "can't" or "don't" write anymore.  What they do not understand is that students have grown up in a social-media centered time, and the blogs, tweets, emails, Facebook posts, etc. that they make every day ARE a form of writing.  The author of this blog argues that social media writing is real writing because it is written for an authentic audience.  He goes on to describe how school writing is focused on the teacher as the only audience, and that any clarifying questions about the writing are answered with 'yes' or 'no' as determined by the teacher only.  In authentic writing, the teacher is a guide.  He/she is there to give advice because he/she is not the only audience and therefore cannot have the final say.  I loved how the author talked about authority, meaning that the writer (author) has the ultimate authority over their piece.

I chose these blogs because they both discussed interesting topics and put a new spin on them.  The first post spoke to me personally, and reflected a population of students that is often forgotten about.  The second really made some great points about a topic we have discussed a lot in this class, and I really liked how the author incorporated social media, which is something unavoidable in the modern age.


Here are the links:

https://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/category/introversion/

https://writerswhocare.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/school-writing-vs-authentic-writing/

6+1 Trait Writing

I really appreciated the 6+1 Trait Writing model that was featured in the reading.   I felt that it was a very holistic approach to assessing student writing.  The traits themselves embody all of the most important aspects of good writing.  I liked how they were more on the general side so that as a teacher, you are able to pick out some important qualifiers for each trait that can be tailored to your students.  For example, if your students are struggling with using weak verbs like "said" too often, under word choice you could say "Paper uses strong verbs" or something similar.  I also liked the addition of Presentation as a trait, because when I have made assignment sheets/rubrics in the past, I've typically lumped the presentation aspect into conventions, but I like how it is separate here.  This way students will take the time to present their work in a professional way, and it is less likely to be an afterthought for them.  

Overall, I felt that the language that they used to describe each trait was very asset-based.  It rewards students for what is present, rather than deducting points because things are missing.  I think it is encouraging to student writers and considers aspects of the writing that are sometimes forgotten, but are still very important, such as voice and presentation.  

Gallagher and Christensen: Assessing Student Work

First, I have to say that I loved these three chapters.  Both authors are extremely inspirational and really demonstrate how their classrooms function.  In other classes, I have been told about the importance of meaningful writing and assignments, but have rarely seen what those look like in a real classroom.  I can definitely see myself referencing these texts over and over again when I become a teacher.

What I liked about the Gallagher chapter most was his "tenet" that teachers are not superman.  While reading his work, I loved all of the strategies he mentioned and truly admired him as a teacher, as well as his classroom.  However, I could not help but be overwhelmed by it all, especially when thinking about all of those strategies happening in the same classroom at the same time.  I liked that he said it was okay to fail at some things, and one of the golden lines I took from this chapter was "learning how to teach writing is a process itself"(p. 153).

I also really enjoyed his emphasis on mid-process grading.  It seems like a very obvious thing to do, but in my own experience in school, I almost never saw it in practice.  I also appreciated the "Golden Line" and "I Like..." activities, because they really ask the students to think positively about others' work as well as their own.  I think that Gallagher and Christensen both agree that "asset-based" language when looking at student writing is what keeps students engaged and excited about improving.  

Gallagher does a great job of using analogies that students would understand to help them recognize their own errors.  The football commentator analogy and color-coding were really interesting, and I think they would both be extremely effective, relatable, and manageable for students.  My biggest takeaways from this chapter were the grammar guides and independent correction sheets.  I can absolutely see myself using both of those in my classroom someday.  I think the grammar guides give students a way to take responsibility of their own learning, and they tailor the learning to meet individual needs.  I think as teachers we strive to tailor learning to individuals, but it can be overwhelming when their are hundreds of students to attend to.  The grammar guides and independent corrections sheets ask students to do the bulk of the work instead of forcing the teacher to come up with long grammar lessons that take time away from the writing process.

The Christensen chapters had some of the same principles as Gallagher's.  I especially was interested in the "patterns of error" that she talked about and I liked how she has the students discover and generate grammar rules for themselves.  Any opportunity to avoid handing out a worksheet or asking students to memorize a list of rules is going to be more genuine and meaningful for them as learners.  

As someone who finds Emergent Bilingual Education to be fascinating, I loved the section where she talked about conventions of the home language.  I had honestly never heard of the AAVE, but it was so eye-opening to realize that teachers (including myself) can be so quick to label student language/writing as wrong.  After reading this chapter, I agree that it is vital for teachers to understand their students' home language conventions, even on a basic level, to recognize how their writing is developing, and WHY they write in a certain way (when it deviates from Standard English).  I loved how she called these "logical errors,"  because even though they are errors, as they are incorrect in the context of Standard English, they are also logical, because they reflect translation from/understanding of a student's native language.  I noticed even in my personal life, that my boyfriend's father, who can only speak some English, will make grammatical errors in his speech often.  However these "errors" are very logical, because with my basic knowledge of Spanish, I can clearly see why he is making the error.  He follows the conventions of his language and translates them to English. 

Finally, I liked Christensen's description of grading as "wages" in the classroom, because that is exactly what they are.  I thought about how at work, most people do the requirements set by their specific boss to earn a wage and then forget about it once they go home.  When we do this in schools, students will simply find out what their specific teacher wants, do that for their "wage," and not think about their writing again.  We as teachers need to make the classroom a place for growth and improvement, and putting all of the emphasis on grading limits that growth.