I’ve been reading a book entitled The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks… It’s really made me think about the writing process on the whole; how we package and deliver the goods to our students, and expect them to take what we’ve handed to them and magically turn it into a five-paragraph essay. The days of yellow lined draft paper (a big hit in my elementary school) are behind us, and we now have the digital version of such a process, applied via the blog format.
The video below (courtesy of YouTube) is of Hicks himself, discussing his book. Check it out!
The idea of creating a blog, posting my ideas for all the world to see, got me thinking about how I can't stand sharing... I really hate it... All of my insecurities come out :(
At the same time, however, I am a big believer in leading by example. You have to believe in what you’re telling your students, and you have to engage in these practices yourself. You can’t tell your students “It’s easy, just do THIS!” if you haven’t actually gone through the process! That’s not fair! I remember when I had to tell my teacher about what I read, or what I wrote, or shared my writing in class. I was endlessly teased as a child, and my worst nightmare was being forced to share my work with another student via peer conferencing. I didn’t want to be looked at as a dummy! Even if my work was decent, or quite good, or outstanding…it didn’t matter, I just didn’t want to share it.
To this DAY I don’t want to share my work when my colleagues or peers ask for a look-see. I’m an extremely private person when it comes to my writing, and while I may have plenty of confidence when I walk around the university campus on a daily basis, it’s quite another face I sport when contemplating the idea of having to share my work with another person. Everyone thinks I’m smart – I made it all the way to the Ph.D. level… But the second I have to share a writing sample with someone who is “at my level” and I perceive to be significantly more accomplished (I’m really hard on myself, to say the least), I immediately falter, assume I’m not good enough, can’t hack it, what have you. (I have been told that this is the cursed “Imposter Syndrome” that all graduate students face at this stage in the game.) Regardless, I hate sharing!
(I suppose this post has made me realize that a future goal within my classroom practice would be to explore the ways in which I can FURTHER emphasize how hurtful comments do not reflect constructive criticism!)
The video below (courtesy of YouTube) is of Hicks himself, discussing his book. Check it out!
The idea of creating a blog, posting my ideas for all the world to see, got me thinking about how I can't stand sharing... I really hate it... All of my insecurities come out :(
At the same time, however, I am a big believer in leading by example. You have to believe in what you’re telling your students, and you have to engage in these practices yourself. You can’t tell your students “It’s easy, just do THIS!” if you haven’t actually gone through the process! That’s not fair! I remember when I had to tell my teacher about what I read, or what I wrote, or shared my writing in class. I was endlessly teased as a child, and my worst nightmare was being forced to share my work with another student via peer conferencing. I didn’t want to be looked at as a dummy! Even if my work was decent, or quite good, or outstanding…it didn’t matter, I just didn’t want to share it.
To this DAY I don’t want to share my work when my colleagues or peers ask for a look-see. I’m an extremely private person when it comes to my writing, and while I may have plenty of confidence when I walk around the university campus on a daily basis, it’s quite another face I sport when contemplating the idea of having to share my work with another person. Everyone thinks I’m smart – I made it all the way to the Ph.D. level… But the second I have to share a writing sample with someone who is “at my level” and I perceive to be significantly more accomplished (I’m really hard on myself, to say the least), I immediately falter, assume I’m not good enough, can’t hack it, what have you. (I have been told that this is the cursed “Imposter Syndrome” that all graduate students face at this stage in the game.) Regardless, I hate sharing!
To ask my students to share their work, terrified that they’d shatter their peers’ confidence with one cruel remark, despite the mantra to engage in feedback that doesn’t contain anything “harmful, hateful, or hurtful.” You never know what your students are going to burst out with! If there are any underlying tensions due to hurt friendships or clique-like, groupthink tendencies that will rear their ugly head come peer conferencing time…
(I suppose this post has made me realize that a future goal within my classroom practice would be to explore the ways in which I can FURTHER emphasize how hurtful comments do not reflect constructive criticism!)
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