jaimie k's reflection to graves ch. 2 & 3...

I really think I’m going to learn a lot from this book. Graves has great ideas and he writes them in detail so we as teachers can apply them to our own teachings. Such as in chapter two when he talks about how to help students find topics to write about. I think this is a great idea. And it’s such a simple idea, yet I’ve never thought about it before. It’s like what we did in class when we did brainstorming. We each just sat there and thought of different topics to write about. The awesome thing about it, and I guess what makes it work, is the fact that you can write anything you want down on the paper. Nothing is the right or wrong answer; it’s just whatever comes to mind. And technically, you can write about anything. It’s true that not all of them will be very exciting stories, but it’s good to let your mind flow with ideas. One idea tends to lead to another idea, and that idea leads to yet another idea, and so on.

Coming up with ideas on the spot is another story. I know I used to get frustrated when my teachers told me that we were doing a free write or to write about a topic of our choosing; because sometimes I get writer’s block, and then I can’t think of anything good to write, and then I’m stuck. I too used to wish my teachers would just tell me what they wanted so I could just write it. That’s probably because I remember getting fed topics all the time, so my mind became less independent on myself. Graves is right. We need to stop giving them so many topics to write about, and teach them to think for themselves.

Knowing our students is the perfect way to help them choose topics. It’s pretty interesting to see how little teachers actually know their students. I know if you asked me right now, I wouldn’t know much about most of my students except for their names; and that may not be including their last names. So I do think it’s important to get close to our students on more personal levels.