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Of bones and birds: Ten hints for writing instruction
Jeff L.Whittingham
Like most teachers of my generation, I received undergraduate training that did not include extensive coverage in the methods of teaching writing. I was required to complete the obligatory composition classes included in the university's general education requirements, along with a class on language arts methods. In these classes students wrote essays and term papers. We were introduced to handwriting programs and language arts textbooks and, as an added bonus, we wrote haiku poetry and created our own children's books. However, at no point did my professional education classes address practical "how-to" methods of teaching writing to students.
Times change, policymakers change, trends change, and the educational pendulum swings. During my teaching career, I have survived the pendulum swing of educational reform, and, as a seasoned teacher, I have learned not to jump on the first bandwagon in the parade - to worry less about trends and more about what and how my students learn. During the past few years, educational reforms have brought us criterion-referenced, open-response, high-stakes testing. These tests require writing on demand, while most classrooms follow the longer writing process of drafting, editing, rewriting, and publishing. I found myself a bit overwhelmed by it all, drowning in a sea of prepackaged, cookie-cutter, quick-fix writing programs guaranteed to provide success in writing performance. I needed a plan - one that ignored the testing and marketing rhetoric and focused on helping students become proficient writers.
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Of bones and birds: Ten hints for writing instruction