Hmm. Should I tell my students that I am going to write and I need their help, or should I tell them to worship me and write what I want them to write? I appreciate how this chapter acknowledges that kids are loaded with ideas but just need the right amount of encouragement and modeling to get them out. Once again, questions are the means of getting students to realize that they know more than they think they do.
Teacher and students learning to write together and supporting each other sounds like a great model scenario, but since filling a blank page with stories only you can create is so personal, I wouldn't fault a shy child for hesitating to expose himself so intimately to other students. During class last week I recounted an incident and although I shared my story freely with my colleagues, I later thought "Ooops." I sure exposed a lot of myself in my writing -- my insecurities, my love life, my philosophical beliefs, my regrets. I know there won't be any negative consequences in our class; we're all grown up. But there could be in an elementary class. Kids are still young and they could tease during recess or use information to their advantage. As a teacher, how can I provide a safe environment for my writers? Establishing rules that are later broken won't save a kid from embarrassment or hurt. Having shy kids write but not share doesn't contribute to the feeling of community either. Has anyone considered this and come up with an approach?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home