"Dispelling Two Writing Myths"
by Barbara Mariconda
Sometimes certain assumptions are made and, over time become commonly held beliefs that are somehow beyond careful consideration or question. Two such beliefs relative to the instruction of writing are worth exploring – looking at these sacrosanct assumptions with fresh eyes is, many times, the first step toward renewing, refreshing, and revitalizing the instruction of writing in our classrooms.
Myth #1: Students must “just write” everyday.
The first myth is this – that the best way to empower young writers is to simply have them write every day. Often time’s teachers will talk about encouraging students to “just write”. The idea that quantity will eventually evolve into quality is a careless assumption.
It’s true that we’ve all heard authors say things like, “you need to write every day.” And this is true. But, to think that writers simply sit down every day and “just write” does a tremendous disservice to the amount of effort, craft, skill, and practice writers require to produce high quality work. While there may be an occasional protégé who can assimilate a wealth of literature and apply the author’s techniques and skills intuitively, this is the exception rather than the rule. What authors actually do is read, study, deconstruct, imitate, practice skills or techniques in isolation and in context, and then revise in very specific ways based on the clear guidance, suggestions, and instruction from a class, workshop, and most commonly from an author’s group of skilled, capable peers.
Let’s use the analogy of learning to play the piano. If we made the assumption that the most important thing to do to become a capable player is to “just play”, the going would be slow, frustrating, and for most prospective pianists, futile. Day after day you could sit and doodle on the keys desperately trying to break some kind of invisible code that would, if you only persisted long enough, unlock the secrets of musicianship.
What’s lacking in this model is good instruction. What good instruction looks like is a combination of developmentally appropriate lessons that are creative and motivating, allowing the student some stimulating, satisfying musical experiences that can be mastered at her/his experience level. At the same time, any teacher worth her salt would provide exercises to build strength, dexterity, and independence in the fingers, teach note reading and music theory, present scales and arpeggios for the student to practice. The student would have the opportunity to listen to virtuoso players and to a wide repertoire of … all of these elements are practiced in isolation, then synthesized over time to produce a well-rounded, skilled, artistic musician.
The same is true with writing. “Just writing” - without a mindful mix of the use of literature as a jumping off point, motivating, developmentally appropriate writing experiences, direct instruction in the specific skills necessary for powerful, genre-specific writing, teacher modeling, guided practice, and plenty of application opportunities – will not produce capable, life-long writers.
In the writing life of an author, writing every day is crucial. But to draw a parallel to simply having students “just write” everyday is an inaccurate analogy. What is left out of the equation is the fact that working authors spend their daily writing time applying years of experience, years of reading, years of feedback from other authors and years of working on their craft in specific ways. In this case “just writing” carries a whole different level of meaning and experience for the experienced writer than it does for a youngster just beginning the process of becoming a writer. What we need to do is to provide more directed instruction in the specific skills children need to bring to the writing task so that these skills can be applied in meaningful ways. Additionally, many students who are encouraged to “just write” feel lost, overwhelmed, and not just with the range of topics they might select, but with the challenge of applying whatever skills they may have gleaned within this lose structure. Conversely, providing students with specific writing tasks that include some self-selection and topic choice provides some necessary structure within which they can feel secure, confident, and out of which they can grow.
Myth #2 – The Most Authentic Vehicle for Meaningful Writing Instruction is the One-on-One Student Conference
The one on one teacher-student conference grew out of an attempt to replicate the dynamic between a writer and a valued editor. But the dynamic between an experienced author and editor and a teacher and a youngster is dramatically different.
In the writing world, an author does not have the opportunity to sit and consult with an editor until she/he already demonstrates powerful writing skills – in other words, the author is meeting with the editor to nuance and apply their skills differently to hone writing that is already noteworthy.
The question is, how did that author become skilled? Most authors belong to an author’s group – a group of writers with similar skill and experience. Each author brings to the table a wide range of experience, schooling, practice, and expertise. The beauty of the author’s group is that when each member reads and discusses her/his work with the group, it is not only one writer who benefits from the sharing and input (as it is in the one-on-one conference), rather every member of the group learns and grows.
How much more powerful is the author’s group model than the one-on-one conference when implemented in the classroom! The teacher takes the role of editor-in-chief, and shares aloud a piece of student writing. The teacher guides the discussion, eliciting responses about both the strengths and weaknesses in the piece, leading the revision process to transform the piece in powerful ways. This public discussion empowers every student in the class and provides them with the awareness, specific skills, and creative thinking that can then be applied to their own writing!
Another huge advantage of this author’s group model is the consistency and common vocabulary instilled in all students, boosting the teacher’s confidence that every student has heard and experienced valuable, applicable feedback, and encouraging a true community of writers who can speak the same language!
