Macey's Graves Reflection #1

In the preface and chapter 1 of Donald Graves’ book, “Writing”, he begins with the quotation, “Children want to write.” I think this is an excellent quote to have in the book because a lot of people do not realize that children really do want to write. I think we have all experienced children who scribble on the walls or anywhere else they can, yet we do not see this as an expression of their interest in writing.

That said, I now know that children do want to write, and that is motivation in itself. As a teacher, it will be my goal to keep them motivated to write. From the reading, I learned that a teacher can help keep children interested in writing by always being encouraging and welcoming of their ideas. The book says, “Focus on the writer and the writing will come.” I find this to be a really good technique for encouragement.

I think it is great that the students are the teachers in their writing piece, and the teacher acts as a learner. This allows the student to take control over their piece and the teacher to aid the process. When the students have more control over what they write, they will most likely have more energy to write.

The most important thing is that we have to remember that children do want to write, and we as teachers should not limit their ideas and creativity.