Facilitators: Joe Akers and Tammy Younts
Recorder: Stephanie Krajicek
Solutions & Actions - download in print-friendly format
Based on what we currently believe about writing instruction…
- What should we be doing?
- Who should be doing this?
- How should this be accomplished?
Discussion notes
Significant Issues From Morning Discussions
- Who decides “What Knowledge is of most worth?” – Deb Meier
- Past experiences have a strong influence on beliefs & practice.
- Writing needs to be “demystified” – made more systematic
- Good writing comes from “within.” Good teachers try to figure out how to get there.
Transcript
- What is writing?
- A tool for communicating thoughts
- Writing is about social conventions and social practices. These practices are different depending on time and place and community. Discourse communities make an impact on understanding
- Can we truly define writing? Does a pure definition serve us? Knowledge is always process.
- A community meeting discussed what was important about writing. The consensus was used to develop the writing program.
- An art teacher asks what is important about art, we gather all the teachers, and develop a list from our discussion. We are able to reflect the art teachers’ values. Often we allow the squeaky wheel to dictate what we do.
- Why don’t we have a night for parents come in to talk about writing? Would the parents we need to talk to come?
- What is right and good about writing? We need a paradigm shift – focus on what is right, what looks good, what is good? Inevitably, everyone identifies the same traits, creating a common vocabulary.
- Have a meeting to discuss writing. What beliefs do we have? Bring in an example of good writing and / or examples of writing done at jobs. (include policy makers, parents, politicians). You might have to front load (provide examples). We need to have the conversation before the conversation, or people will claim not to have anything to contribute.
- What happens when you get people involved in the conversation about writing whose opinions are really not welcomed?
- For instance, someone in your community who isn’t an educator but who is loud enough and involved enough that his/her opinion is taken over those of teachers?
- Sometimes it’s not a good choice to listen to business either – for instance – it doesn’t appear that GM has made sound business decisions – so how sound can their opinions be on education?
- Why do English teachers decide what to teach or not teach? (i.e. grammar, composition, etc.)
- Beliefs and preferences are hard to change.
- Our job is not to change people’s beliefs.
- In order to get the flexibility to do our jobs, we have to change the public’s perception.
- Anything we do about beliefs about writing instruction needs to be supported by NCTE and we can’t go wrong.
- We need to start the conversation in order to start change. When we decided that writing was going to be a focus across the curriculum at our school, initially, there was a negative grumbling. When students started doing better, the grumbling stopped and a sense of pride developed. Our students have come back talking about their success.
- People will be on board once there are not afraid of looking stupid.
- Can we separate writing from language arts? Is there a difference in the public and professional definitions of writing?
- Some elementary level teachers refuse to use books that use language in ways that go against what they are teaching. (i.e. fragments, using and to start a sentence…)
- How do we engender these conversations?
- Policy makers and politicians that have power believe that there are best practices, that these best practices are relatively simple to identify, and that all that needs to be done is simply expose people to these simple solutions.
- Everyone reads and writes daily. Find ways that they are literate.
- Literacy is all over the place and are social practices that connect us and allow us to communicate. That which we teach in English class are specific kinds of literacy. There are advantages and disadvantages to teaching specific kinds of literacy.
- One Great Read – act of reading together of literacy is sharing ideas.
- Literacy is a part of our social fabric.
- Models for expanding conversations about writing into segments of the community that are traditionally excluded.
- Parental advisory boards to reflect best practices.
- We are experts at particular literacies. There are other literary communities with different conventions. We need to be aware that there are experts in different literacy and language.
- Can writing become objectified? Can / should subjectivity be taken out of assessment?
- Non-English teachers don’t teach writing, they have their students write in the curriculum. But they use the common rubric with the English teachers who actually teach the craft of writing. When other teachers have students write it gives us (English teachers) more to work with.
- Be proactive – showcase good things to school board before parents complain.
- Commentary
- It is a relief; it is good that so many people are concerned about what we teach.
- When kids have a reason to care, they care.
- Teachers nee more opportunities to have their kids’ work out in the community, showcase our beliefs about writing
- Perhaps students can be a link between home and school
SOLUTIONS AND ACTIONS - PRESENTED
- We need to develop/use models for expanding conversations about writing
- Especially to groups that are typically neglected or disconnected
- Establish a recognition that writing is about social conventions and social practices.
- These practices should and will be different depending on time, place & community.
- It would be helpful to establish discourse communities
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