The
pen allows for freedom. I feel as though staying away from the structured essay
early in the marking period is beneficial. Taking an instrument as simple as
the pen allows for freedom to generate ideas. Free writes, short blurbs, and
journal entries allow the mind to wander. The structured and dreaded
five-paragraph essay, or perfect “abab” poem forces form over thought.
Taking
such a basic, but revolutionary form of technology and giving it the ability to
work freely in the students’ hands will generate creativity. Gracefully
inviting the pen to the paper is a classroom exercise that can invite the
reader into the world of the writer. In this case, the teacher would be invited
into the mind of the student. Early in the marking period staying away from the
structured essay could build a relaxed mood within the classroom. Eliminating
spell-check, and Microsoft Word provokes the ability to bend the rules. The
restraints can be fully abandoned in a free write.
During
a free write many instances could take place. A poem may begin. A short story
could appear. Or pictures could be doodled and embedded within a description of
a childhood memory. All of these instances would better represent the author compared
to a forced essay. The doodles, and or short stories may show which content
area they connect strongest with English. Eliminating the fear of a grade would
raise the level of comfort.
Truly,
I am not discounting the structure of an essay. Being able to follow direction
and format is a large part of fully mastering language and literacy. The
ability to follow form is extremely beneficial for the academic life of the
student. Poems, essays, and research papers embody well rounded education. I am only
exploring a way to eliminate the distractions of the structured work early in a
marking period. This may allow for the students to let go of modern technology
and “loosen up” inside the classroom. His or her ideas can purge onto the page
without worrying if the redline of spell-check is ready to derail the train of
thought taking place.
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteSince I am a history major I really enjoyed this post because creativity is rarely seen in the social studies classroom. When I am a teacher I would love to collaborate with an English teacher to work on creativity in the social studies class. I want my students to be able to critically think about a reading or information and creatively reflect on what they just read. When you mention free writes I thought that would be perfect to involve in a social studies class more often. Rather than the factual five paragraph essay, I would love to incorporate free writes at least twice a week to get the students to creatively get their ideas down. I also feel that this could start great discussions among my students because they will feel more open to discuss opinions and ideas rather than factual information. Thank you for sharing your ideas on the pen and how it can be really effective for students to free write and express their ideas no matter what subject area they may be in.
Anthony-
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with you, especially as another aspiring English teacher. The pen is an essential instrument in any classroom, while it is a vehicle for lucid and organic thought. The more time I spend in the classroom, the more I realize how little exposure most students have had to open ended exercises, such as free writes and journaling. Unfortunately, the importance of structure has taken a toll, while most kids cower in fear at the idea of an open ended assignment in which the guidelines are not inhibiting or explicit.
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI find some real truth in you blog. The pen is a unique writing utensil, one which is permanent and unforgiving. When used to create, whether it be writing or doodling, the work is a pure, official, and unchangeable creation. Coming from me who is not good with grammar, we all get lazy when writing with a computer. The reason being is that we rely on spellcheck to fix all of our grammatical errors. Many times we right click on a word that is spelled incorrectly and it gives us a list of words that we probably meant. Then you quickly scan through them and without truly thinking about it select the correct word and move on without making a mental cue for next time. We will never learn how to spell those words like that. And this is me and people I know, future teachers doing this, imagine what kids in middle and high school are do.
your*
Deletedoing*
Anthony, I love this post. In my Writing 106 class a couple of years back, my professor had us "free-write" to get our minds and our brains going before the class lesson was taught. This was the first time I experienced free-writing, and I found it to be a huge success for me, because I was able to put what was on my mind onto paper without a care to revision and grammar. This, I feel, is a successful tactic for any class, because it is able to open the minds of students without any penalty. Even if the prompts are not collected and assessed, the power of a pen being used to write anything on the mind is a beautiful gesture.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with this post! While learning the various forms and structures of writing is important, I think that it is also really beneficial to allow kids to engage with writing in a creative and meaningful way. I think that since we only teach the structured forms of writing, children now seldom see writing as an art or as something that will allow them to express themselves but rather as a chore. They are afraid of writing, and this is really sad because writing can open up so many worlds to a person. I love your idea of introducing kids to free-writing early on in the school year. I think this is a great idea because this will ensure that they do not become scared of the writing or bored with it. They will be allowed to make it whatever they want it to be, which is great! I have always loved the pen; the act of writing with it is also something so personal as well. Great post Anthony!
ReplyDelete