tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post2364048229092802092..comments2023-06-16T09:50:28.728-04:00Comments on I am a teacher et cetera: Writing in all its formsJennifer Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01459363843692965338noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post-52934582929715670642007-11-14T23:22:00.000-05:002007-11-14T23:22:00.000-05:00Oh I still do creative writing, I just don't wanna...Oh I still do creative writing, I just don't wanna study it. I also am a regular writer for the student newspaper. It's not the New York Times, but it's something. <BR/><BR/>I have a hard time finding classes that really interest me outside of Psychology and Education. I love Clinical Psychology especially. Plus, I can't write a good English paper if my life depended on it. So that also limits my options.<BR/>~Ellen~Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post-77873915715837677342007-11-14T21:29:00.000-05:002007-11-14T21:29:00.000-05:00So glad to hear from you, Ellen! But it makes me ...So glad to hear from you, Ellen! But it makes me sad to hear that you're thinking about not enrolling in another English course. You loved Creative Writing while in high school. I hope you give it another shot!Jennifer Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01459363843692965338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post-11120937890603309482007-11-14T21:28:00.000-05:002007-11-14T21:28:00.000-05:00I don't actually think that we are disagreeing. I...I don't actually think that we are disagreeing. I agree that students need to know how to write effective essays. However, I believe there are many ways to teach that skill. I don't think that students need to write an informational five-paragraph essay following every reading assignment. Instead, the skills needed to write effectively can be taught through a variety of formats. For example, instead of writing a paper essay or taking a short essay test on our current reading, my students are responding on an online discussion board. Not only are they getting feedback from me on their writing, but also from their fellow classmates. In the long run, such types of writing assignments get students thinking critically about and responding to a text (perhaps the most difficult part of writing to teach) as well provide them with a great deal of immediate feedback on their writing. Such feedback and practice should help them in a few short weeks when I will ask them to write a paper on a similar topic.Jennifer Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01459363843692965338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post-2048439999509887602007-11-13T02:43:00.000-05:002007-11-13T02:43:00.000-05:00I have to disagree with you, Ms. Ward. Although t...I have to disagree with you, Ms. Ward. Although teaching students to love writing and to write in all different forms is important, learning how to write a good essay is the foundation all liberal arts educations.<BR/><BR/>Last year I decided to take an intro level English class on Short Poems (at Smith College) and I was stunned when I got the first essay and received a D on it. The professor basically thought the essay was completely wrong. Wrong topic, wrong form, wrong conclusions, wrong syntax, everything. After subsequent visits to said professor's office hours, some peer writing sessions, and subsequent rewrites I managed to get a B-. I am probably never going to take an English Course again. <BR/><BR/>Essay writing is the one area, that despite taking AP Humanities and Honors American Studies, I was not prepared well enough in for. In high school we wrote maybe 2-3 essays a year at most (about 4 in AP Humanities and AP French). On average, I write a 3-4 page essay a week here at Smith and I'm a Psychology Major. However, I realize that most of your students will not go to Smith or school like it, essay and paper writing is a staple of the college course. So, although writing across disciplines is important, there should still be a strong emphasis on the Essay.<BR/><BR/>(As a side note, this semester I have to write 3 senior project length papers and I have to give a 50 minute presentation in my Education class.) <BR/><BR/>So, I have to respectfully disagree. <BR/><BR/>Ellen Foster <BR/>(Haverford High Class of 2006)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post-28917106367542853722007-11-06T10:56:00.000-05:002007-11-06T10:56:00.000-05:00Although, the other half of this discussion about ...Although, the other half of this discussion about teaching writing has to deal with is consistency. Sitting in our inservice session this morning, I'm left wondering how do we deal with teaching writing skills consistently across grade levels if we are all using different assignments?Jennifer Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01459363843692965338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1339910176549966696.post-50480645805399726792007-11-04T20:35:00.000-05:002007-11-04T20:35:00.000-05:00Great post. I agree 100 percent!Great post. I agree 100 percent!Mr. B-Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com