In reading Menand's article, Show Or Tell I was reminded of some experiences with creative writing during my own journey as a writer (I've never considered myself a writer until this very moment. I have always enjoyed writing...for myself or for an assignment when I feel passionate about a topic. I just don't believe I do it well yet. :) Obviously a career in higher ed involves much writing, so I'm very deliberately try to soak up as much as I can about the process of producing the written word from the great people around me.
In high school I had an incredibly progressive creative writing teacher who insisted that we refer to him by his first name. I remember sharing my own poetry as well as listening to others share poetry and short stories. I don't recall having writing techniques scaffolded for us or learning about other writers. What I do recall is that we were told "there is no such thing as constructive criticism, all criticism is critical." Hmm...kind of makes me wonder about my teacher's own experiences as a writer and how they influenced his approach to our class.
I really loved when Menand says, "Surely the goal should be to get people to learn to think while they're writing, not after they have written" (p. 111). The idea resonates with me so strongly since I am engaged in thinking these days while I'm reading, writing, speaking, listening, driving...! This quote is aligned with my belief that learning should encompass meaning making above all else. More to think about. :)
Liz, I can relate to the feelings of not yet being a writer even though I am writing. I know that I was one of those kids that thought either you have the gift or you don't. I felt that I didn't have it and that was confirmed by several teachers who would grade my essays or poetry and assign a letter grade with no comments on what I did right or how I might improve. I was especially frustrated in a poetry class in college when the professor "criticized" my poems saying that they were just racing thoughts and had no ending. Maybe that was my point! After all, isn't poetry simply self-expression? When I was younger I couldn't take criticism very well (it's still tough [for everyone-eh?]), but in retrospect I think the poetry teacher was right. My words had no cohesion, no purpose other than aimlessness. In my years after college I started writing poetry that did have some cement, a beginning, an end, style, voice, rhythm, etc. I even won an Aspiring Poet award in WV. I was so thrilled that I had to write the college professor and give him the news, sort of as an "I told ya so." He returned correspondence by sending me a letter addressed to "Kathy Dunn-Poet." He made my day. So maybe writing, creatively is not necessarily a gift, but simply hard work and revision, revision, revision.
ReplyDeleteLiz and Kathy:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your comments about being a writer. I would have liked to have met your HS teacher (and wonder how he got away with having you call him by his first name!) You are a writer, Liz and Kathy! But the question remains whether you can be taught to write.
Though I risk being called an evangelist, I would encourage both of you to check out the Summer Institute of the National Writing Project at Kent State. Though I wrote (bad) poetry as a teen and even won a writing competition about animal rights (I've always preferred nonfiction to fiction writing myself), I don't think I felt confident enough to call myself a writer until I attended the Summer Institute in '02. Before being a Teacher Consultant (what they call you when you complete the SI), I don't think I
ReplyDeletea. considered myself a writer
b. really knew how to teach kids to write
I knew how to set up a writer's workshop, but it was a routine and not a passion. If as a teacher you have passion for writing and are willing to share your writing successes and struggles with your kids, you are more likely to help your kids see themselves as writers, too. I think it gets back to Frank Smith's idea of the "literacy club." Being a writer is just as important for membership as being a reader.
Liz, it seems strange to me that you wouldn't consider yourself a writer when you write constantly and for a variety of different purposes and audiences on a daily basis, and you're clearly an engaging writer. I have always considered myself to be a writer, so it's hard for me to put myself in the position of those how don't identify themselves as such.
ReplyDeleteI like when you quote, "surely the goal should be to get people to learn to think while they're writing, not after they have written" (p. 111). We've been thinking a lot about the writing process recently, and how students are taught a vast array of planning and drafting skills to use before they start writing, but none of this really works for me - I used to do it to please teachers, but that's not how my writing takes shape.
I love these blogs so much because I get to think while writing. I had little idea of what I would say when I started this comment, but I take a quote that interested me from your blog and then I just start thinking about it on the page; as the writing takes shape, my ideas take shape. I "edit" in one sense, in that the backspace button on the keyboard is probably my most used, but other than that, I think while I write, and not before or after.
I also found it interesting to hear about your writing workshop where you read your poetry to others and heard their work, yet you don't recall any specific scaffolding. Do you feel that maybe the social interaction was part of the learning process here, that simply interacting with others as you all struggled as writers might have been the way you learned? Just a thought.
Hmmm, interesting that you mentioned the "social interaction" Rachel because that is the piece of the class I remember most clearly. The supportive atmosphere certainly encouraged more writing to be completed and shared. I'm sure the writing I did for myself was a result of that creative writing class. Isn't that the goal of any teacher? For students to be brought to the learning table at your request; and then to be self-motivated consumers on their own without any prompting?!
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