Because Writing Matters

Reading so many blog posts from my colleagues who are seeing such a divide between how reading and writing are viewed, and also about how so much more research is being done in the area of reading instruction than that of writing, I decided to revisit a wonderful book called Because Writing Matters in an attempt to find comfort. This slim volume by the National Writing Project (NWP) and Carl Nagin reflects the most recent research and reports on the need for teaching writing. Read the Story Behind the Book and how the NWP continues to increase awareness of the need to make writing as important as reading.

I was so encouraged when I joined the NWP and thought I would go back to my district and help enlighten my district, but it is true that it's difficult to be a prophet in your own land and my ideas fell on deaf ears. Only a few colleagues loved what I had to say and joined me in working on improving the teaching of writing. I encourage everyone to pick up this book when inspiration is needed and to investigate applying to the NWP Summer Institute when possible.

Identity and Writing

"Research on identity has largely neglected the domain of sexual identity, and efforts to develop gay-friendly pedagogies have not yet engaged with poststructuralism" (Nelson, 1999, p.1). Fascinating. How can research on identity exclude such an important aspect of oneself? Is it even possible to separate your sexual identity from your identity as a whole? This statement has me furious. I don't even understand how this is possible.

The earlier quote was actually from a research article on the impact of sexual identity on ESL students. Reading further, the following quote left me speechless, "some colleagues are puzzled, even perturbed, by the idea that lesbian or gay identities could have any relevance to language learning. To them, gay-friendly teaching is at best of marginal importance, of interest only to a small minority of learners and teachers (gay ones), and at worst invasive, inserting a discourse of (homo)sex into a field in which that discourse is neither relevant nor appropriate" (Nelson, 1999, p. 3).

The article then goes on to explain how sexual identity is indeed an important consideration for English Language Learners (and everyone else, for that matter), citing specific vocabulary and experiences. I found this article while researching my topic and realized I have new avenues to explore in combination with writing as healing for LGBTQ youth.

Read the article HERE

Take a Risk: Reach Out

I just want to share a little advice with my colleagues. During the process of investigating my research topic, I have made personal contact with several authors and found them to be quite accessible and willing to help. I began by emailing certain authors of journal articles that I found interesting and wanted a little more information.

Since that was quite successful, I branched out and emailed the leading researcher in LGBTQ issues who happens to be a professor at OSU. She was so wonderful and wanted to talk by phone. We had a lovely half hour conversation and she gave me great advice. I was even so bold as to ask her if she'd consider being on my dissertation committee down the road and she said she'd love to. Imagine that.

I was flying quite high after that, so I took another step and actually emailed the leading researcher in the area of writing as healing. All the other researchers in this field cite his work. He emailed me back within hours and gave me some great advice, too. He even asked me to keep him informed!

It really is a wonderful boost when these people take time out of their day to talk with you and even bother to give you some advice or a new direction. It makes all the hours sitting on your numb butt in front of the computer worthwhile :-)

Writing and Social Change

This chapter in the Bazerman text was interesting as it relates to conversations I hear with increasing frequency in the teachers' lounge.

S0 many teachers keep complaining about how texting is leading to the downfall of spelling, yet they really don't do anything to address it.

Since 'Writing constitutes and reflects social practices' (Faber, 2008, p. 269), and language/writing has changed over time, it only makes sense that we will see change in our lifetime. Instead of complaining about how it's ruining spelling instruction/skills, I would propose to educate children as to the proper times and places to use formal vs. informal spelling. We do it when we teach the language differences between Personal and Business letters, so why not text-speak?

Faber discusses how people must understand and 'strategically utilize' the genre in order to make changes to it (p. 274). This is the perfect venue in which to use something in which students are interested to help them understand the parameters of usage and be able to use both systems appropriately because it's not going away.

So Cool!

I was in Borders yesterday (big mistake!) and came across a new book that I just HAD to buy. It's called Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook by Sarah Schmelling. It's really clever and fun and has so much potential for new literacies. Just wanted to share :-)

So Much to Read, So Little Time!

Books to the left of me, articles to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle again!

~ with a nod to Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan

(and if you don't know what I'm talking about, well, you're too young!)

I feel as though I can't read fast enough to find out what I need to know to write this paper! There are so many topics that weave in and out as I try to investigate writing as healing with LGBTQ teens and young adults. First, there's the notion of writing being therapeutic to begin with. Then I need to have an understanding of these alphabet letters: LGBTQ (not to mention the other Q and I!), because people who identify as one of these populations do not all agree on their levels of oppression in our society.

As I navigate through these concepts, I also realize that social networking is another aspect of writing as healing through the connection of isolated teens before they are able to join larger groups on college campuses where LGBTQ populations are larger and more accepted. It's all so interesting, but I'm feeling quite overwhelmed with the nonlinear route this is all taking. I should be used to it by now since all the papers I've written this past year have been like this, but I just feel I have to read EVERYTHING since this paper reflects my dissertation focus and I'm just so fascinated by what I'm discovering. I do have to give a shout out to Mary for her latest post about writing as healing! Thanks, Mary :-)

Before Writing: Rethinking the Paths to Literacy

At first, it seems an odd choice to read a book about early literacy when I'm concentrating on working with teens and young adults, but Gunther Kress discusses the very foundation that early literacy provides for later life. Kress summarizes the importance of being a 'language maker' over just a 'language user.' On page xvi, he notes,

"Not only does language provide the means through which we make sense of a very large part of our environment, but it also provides us with the means to express our sense of that environment for others. Writing allows us to externalize our relation with that environment, and to communicate it to a potentially large, disparate and distant audience. Language gives us the means to put our conceptions to others; to imagine other ways of being; and to make these public, and the subject of debate."

This seemed to be a wonderful basis for my exploration of using writing as a means for LGBTQ teens and young adults to express themselves for therapeutic purposes. Especially since it is a way in which to be able to make sense of the world and tell their individual stories, as Kress points out in the later chapters. We must understand the importance that interest plays in the development of language since "we see the world from our own place, and that place differs from that of our neighbour" ( p. 90). LGBTQ writers can share their experiences in order to make meaning as they see it.

I read with interest his idea that "what people do with literacy is closely linked to an explanation of what it is 'made of' and how this mode of representation actually works; or, conversely, to explain what is or what is not really possible with this medium, and in this mode" (p. 112). It seemed to suggest that we need to continually think about literacy in new ways and I think using writing as healing needs to be explored further. I'm interested in using writing in various forms with this population and for different purposes within the therapy realm. I can see wonderful opportunities for using narratives, poetry, diaries and blogs, in both paper/pen and online. The excitement grows.

OCTELA conference 2010

Whew! What a ride :-) This past year has been such a nerve-racking, yet rewarding experience for me. Planning and presiding over a state wide conference was more work than I could have imagined, but I learned so much.

Although I didn't get to attend any breakout sessions, I was responsible for choosing them and I was pleased to see that many dealt with writing strategies in some way. It always seems that reading takes the forefront in English Language Arts instruction and I was happy to be able to offer a fine mix of both, along with the other 21st Century skills of building community, motivation, engagement, cooperation, and technology.

Click here to view the program of the two day event.

Local Literacies: Chapter 8 Cliff

For me, the story of Cliff in Barton and Hamilton's Local Literacies was especially interesting.

I was intrigued by his love of letter writing and how it was such an important thing in his life. He not only used it to keep in touch with his daughters following his divorce, but he also used it as a means of entertainment, as well as a link to the wider world since he was unable to travel due to certain circumstances of his life.

The fact that he really didn't like reading, but did see the value in it to gain information that was applicable to various life situations was also interesting. In my experience, people enjoy reading over writing more often than not and he was just such an unusual character.

What endeared him to me the most, though, were his quotes. When discussing his recorded voice with the interviewer, he realized he said 'yeah' often and he wasn't bothered by it. He went on to discuss how people are often embarrassed by what they say and how they speak, but that he was fine with himself. "I suppose accents or dialects are like music and some are nice on your ears and some are not..." (p. 130). I just liked that.

When discussing his lengthy letters, he said, "I write as I think, not as I think it should be written...and there's a difference." Yes, Cliff, there is. I just love how he has such a realistic view of who he is and the part that literacy plays in his life.

The fact that he sometimes appears to be depressed and worried led me to wonder if writing as therapy could help him with some of those feelings. Presently, he uses writing to correspond to others, but writing about his life and feelings in a more directed way might help him, too.

Narrative Theory?

I continue to read the Queer Theory Chapter in Tyson, but it really isn't ONLY about Queer Theory. Lesbian and Gay Criticism are related, but different from Queer Theory, and each other. It is all so fascinating, but I find I have to re-read sections to clarify the similarities and differences among these critical theories.

To thoroughly complicate things, I have stumbled upon Narrative Theory which is credited to Walter Fisher and defined in Wikipedia as follows:

"Fisher's narrative theory is based on the concept that people are essentially storytellers. Storytelling is one of the oldest and most universal forms of communication and so individuals approach their social world in a narrative mode and make decisions and act within this narrative framework" (Fisher 1984).

Further discussion:

"Narrative theory clashed with several pre-existing beliefs as to the nature of human beings and how they communicate and act. Fisher describes this contrast by identifying the tenets of what he sees as two universal paradigms: the rational world paradigm, and the narrative paradigm.

Rational World Paradigm:

*People are essentially rational

*People make decisions based on arguments.

*The communicative situation determines the course of our argument.

*Rationality is determined by how much we know and how well we argue.

*The world is a set of logical puzzles that we can solve through rational analysis.

Narrative Paradigm:

*People are essentially storytellers.

*People make decisions based on good reasons.

*History, biography, culture, and character determine what we consider good reasons.

*Narrative rationality is determined by the coherence and fidelity of our stories.

*The world is a set of stories from which we choose, and constantly re-create, our lives."

(Source: From Fisher, 1987)

I say that it complicates matters because I may want to use this in combination with 'coming out' stories since it is a perfect avenue for using writing with the LGBTQ population. This was a suggestion made by a wonderful new friend. He happens to be a doc student in Kent's English Department and an out gay man. He's the one who suggested I look into this idea and said he thought it might be quite innovative.

I'm in the process of reading about this concept and what it might mean for me in terms of my research. I also know a professional storyteller who just received his PhD, so I plan to see what he knows about this theory. I think my blog title is reflecting this journey in an uncanny way!

Pedagogical (Dis)location

I've veered off the official reading list for awhile while I gather resources for my wiki, paper, and even my dissertation! While perusing the shelves of the National Writing Project office, I came upon the book, Lesbian and Gay Studies and the Teaching of English, edited by William J. Spurlin. His introduction relates the personal story of his teaching English in Singapore as a young man right out of college. He didn't know how to handle the students in Singapore reading Shakespeare through their cultural lenses and says, "I was not yet familiar with the discourse of theory and the possibilities for critique it opens, and therefore was unable to deal with my sense of pedagogical (dis)location at the time..." (p. xv). Dr. Spurlin continues by telling how this experience "radically politicized my teaching; my student's (re)reading of King Lear enabled me to interrogate more fully the relationship between the text and the cultural context in which it is read and interpreted...and to see critical reading as a struggle to (re)write the text against indeed transgress, the grain of dominant discourses, hegemonic images, and received knowledge" (p. xv).

The introduction section previews the various essays collected in this book and the connecting thread is how our society perpetuates the hegemonic view of heterosexuality as the norm and how we can "theorize, to varying degrees, queer difference as a lens through which to read, interpret, and produce texts, or as a way of reading the classroom and indeed the world..." (p. xix). I am reading this book as a companion to my chapter on Queer Theory in Critical Theory Today.

Beyond the introduction, I have read one chapter and I found it most interesting. Chapter 13: Fault Lines in the Contact Zone: Assessing Homophobic Student Writing by Richard E. Miller discusses grading the writing of unsolicited oppositional discourse. In this case, a teacher in a pre-college-level community college composition class had to deal with an essay that was crude, violent, and definitely anti-gay in theme. When this was brought up at various conferences, professors' reactions were varied, but most were summed up in one of three ways:

"read the essay as factual and respond accordingly; read the essay as fictional and respond accordingly; momentarily suspend the question of the essay's factual or fictional status and respond accordingly" (p. 237).

Scenario one would have the student removed from the classroom and turned over to authorities.

The instructor actually treated it as fictional and restricted his comments to word choice, imagined audience, and compared it to A Clockwork Orange in its depictions of violence and surrealistic detail. Many of the professors discussing this called it cowardice, but the instructor felt a sense of victory because he was able to "successfully deflect the student writer's use of his writing to 'bash' his professor, with the unexpected result that the student not only stayed in the course, but actually chose to study with (him) again the next semester" (p. 238). This was most intriguing since the instructor is an openly gay man, so he helped the student learn "to cope with an openly gay instructor with some measure of civility" (p. 238) all in the way he handled the grading of one paper.

The Free Appropriation Writer? Really?

Well, The New York Times just ran an article about a young German woman who wrote a book by appropriating the work of other people. The 17-year-old writer said it was "mixing, not plagiarism."

Read the article here.

Louis Menand "suggested that, as with any creative movement, if the results are compelling and profound enough, even rigid conventions come around to making what seemed like a sin into a virtue." I wonder how long it would take for society to accept this thinking because this concept fits right into my earlier post about how people are worried about posting their writings online and putting them out into cyberspace. Interesting concept, this 'free appropriation writer.' Hmmm....

Found My Focus

I can't describe the feeling I have now that I know what I want to research. I've had several ideas over the past 7 months since starting on this journey, but nothing about which I truly felt passionate. Feeling compelled to support acceptance of all people, I especially gravitate toward the LGBTQ population for many reasons. Having a gay nephew gives me a personal reason.

My love of writing led me to wonder how writing (in all of its forms) may be of help to this population. I'm thinking along the lines of writing as therapy, and maybe even using social networking, to build community to combat feelings of isolation and also to promote acceptance outside of this population. I've been a 'whirling dervish' since deciding upon this path of inquiry. I've become the teacher-advisor for our high school's Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), met with a professor, and made contact with several people in positions of authority on working with LGBTQ teens/young adults. AND I've READ, and READ, and READ.

The Handbook of Research on Writing had two chapters that touched on the subject and I decided to read those, even though they were not specifically assigned. In Chapter 24: Teaching of Writing and Diversity, the authors ask "should students be encouraged to cultivate a voice in writing that may be unacceptable to the academy?" (p. 387). Often, LGBTQ students don't feel safe or comfortable writing what they truly want to write, thinking they won't be understood or accepted.

Chapter 30: Writing as Physical and Emotional Healing, was very interesting and gave me concrete ideas for conducting research. I was especially intrigued to learn that recent findings have "energized a research program among psychologists and medical scientists, but writing researchers have yet to join this community" (p.485). This chapter discusses research using short, brief writing activities and journaling over time to measure how writing can help various populations. Not only did they see improvements with physical ailments, but expressive writing was found to be effective for people feeling socially isolated (p.496). This gives me great hope that I can make inroads as a writing researcher, but that there is basic groundwork for me to build upon.

New Literacies?

So, this just made me laugh! In recent discussions about student engagement, motivation, 21st century skills, and New Literacies, I never thought about the possible transfer into the 'adult' world. Is this what the future holds for the 'cyber' generation as they move into the world of work? Talk about discourse communities.

Just look at what a cartoonist can say in one frame!

Questions of Authenticity and Translation

Two key concepts in Bazerman's Handbook, Chapter 5: History of Reflection, Theory, and Research on Writing,

caught my attention over everything else. "Death of the Author" just sounds so sad and scary, but with recent technological innovations which allow "readers (to) actively (re)shape texts they encounter" (p.85), it is more and more difficult to authenticate text. So the idea of authorship is something that will be constantly changing in the future. I know that some writers have no problem sharing their work online in the form of blogs and online critique groups, but others are quite wary of sending their work into cyberspace for fear of it becoming community property. It's an interesting dilemma.

The question I keep thinking about, however, is "whether there are universal language/thought structures that allow the transfer of meaning from one to another language, or whether texts are so culture-specific that something is always lost in translation" (Benjamin, 1996,; Chomsky, 2002; House, 2002; as cited in Bazerman, 2008, p. 86). I know that there is not always a word for word translation available, but I never really thought about meaning ALWAYS being lost in some way. It makes sense, though, when I compare the idea to what I know to be true regarding sign language interpretation. Having been a teacher of the deaf and fluent signer, I know the difficulties that exist when trying to transfer meaning from a spoken to a visual representation or vice versa. Most people who are unfamiliar with signing don't truly understand that meaning from a spoken/written language can never truly be transferred EXACTLY to a visual one. That's why it's called 'interpreting.'

I don't have any answers, I just found these two ideas interesting. I'll have to keep them rolling around my brain for awhile.

Where do I start?

There is so much to ponder in Where did Composition Studies Come From? by Nystrand, Greene, and Wiemelt. Trying to sift through the dense nomenclature of this chapter as it follows the development of writing research over the decades was taxing. I found the charts on pages 302 and 303 quite helpful in deriving some meaning out of all the comparisons of the 'isms' since I am, at times, a visual learner. What held my attention the most, however, were the continuous connections I made to current practices in my school.

I wish more teachers would recognize "a powerful sense of dissonance between their responsibility for teaching writing and the inadequacy of their understanding and training for doing so" (Lauer, 1984, as quoted in Nystrand, et al, 1993, p. 268). As the article points out, writing is more than just mechanics of our language, but is a cognitive, social, and recursive process. I still know teachers who use formulaic patterns and think that 'good writing' is technically correct. One teacher even told me she doesn't enjoy teaching writing, but it's so easy because you just use the 'formula' and plug it all in. UGGH!

Schoolwide, we have formal writing assessments twice a year to monitor writing growth. The grade level teachers rate the compositions using a 16 point rubric that equally weighs the four categories of Content, Organization, Language, and Mechanics on a scale from 1 to 4. The given prompts are not tied to student interest or background knowledge and the students are not provided the opportunity to use any reference material in keeping with the state test protocol. It pains me to participate in this, knowing that "despite receiving the same prompt for writing, the students interpreted the task in a variety of ways" (p. 307) and that these two writing samples are not truly representative of what the students know and are capable of producing given more appropriate circumstances.

In keeping with this train of thought, I found it sad to read that "most students did not feel that they could challenge the authority of received opinion, nor did many students believe that they were really invited to develop their own ideas" (Ackerman, 1990, as cited in Nystrand, et al, 1993). This just flies in the face of everything I believe about teaching in general, but writing is something that students could truly have some control over. The fact that many teachers still value memorization and formulas over real learning is beyond my comprehension.

Can creative writing be taught?

The Menand article, Show or Tell, struck a nerve with me. I can owe the beginning of my career as a teacher of language arts to the 'Writing Process' of which I knew nothing when I interviewed for the 6th grade Language Arts position I eventually held for 14 years.

I began as a teacher of deaf students and, having finished college in 1981, was not familiar with the idea of the process steps of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing that were so in vogue when I decided to leave deaf education and enter the 'regular education' world. I always loved writing stories and poetry and fancied myself a wannabe novelist, so I thought teaching writing would be fabulous. I just didn't have any real experience in teaching writing to the non-deaf population. I remember asking the resident reading specialist in our building what buzz words I should know when interviewing for this position. She handed me an article on the writing process and explained about the various stages involved.

Being the quick study I am, I had all the facts down pat and wowed the principal in the interview. He was familiar with my teaching style since I was already in the building in the special education department, so he was sold! I have to smile when I think about that because I didn't know what I was doing for quite awhile. I loved it, though, and eventually learned that wasn't the only way writing could be taught.

So, can creative writing be taught? It seems many experts disagree. The statement that "writing cannot be taught but that writers can be encouraged" (p. 106) seems a little too nebulous. I believe people can be taught to think in different ways that encourage creativity. I've witnessed this with my students. They can learn about craft and read like a writer, but when it comes down to trying their hand at creating something, they fall back on replicating plots of TV shows, movies, or other books. When introduced to the 'What if' game of taking an everyday situation and applying 'what if' questions, students begin to think differently. Granted, it's a guided creativity, but once they are successful with this, it comes easier after awhile.

That's just one example. I do feel frustrated with the old fashioned notion that elementary teachers should teach all core subjects. How in the world are we supposed to be experts in everything? I'm the first one to admit that I shouldn't be teaching math. I can handle 4th grade math concepts, but I'm not the best math teacher these kids could have. Likewise, there are teachers who don't really know what it means to be a writer and continue the antique notion that good writing means spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar are correct and nothing more. This continues to be a point of frustration for me.

My favorite line, "Teachers are the books that students read most closely" (p.112), is a direct reflection of my assertion that teachers of writing should be writers, themselves. Would we accept teachers of reading that don't read? That notion seems just silly, yet in classrooms everyday there are teachers teaching students how to write based on out dated models and little if any true writing experience.

Please visit The National Writing Project site for wonderful information regarding the teaching of writing.

Awesome isn't Awesome anymore

I started reading Local Literacies by Barton and Hamilton and loved one of the first things I read in the Introduction on page 3, "Literacy is an activity located in space between thought and text." The authors go on to discuss how literacy is hard to observe since it includes things like values, attitudes, feelings, and social relationships (p. 6). I also loved the idea that "People appropriate texts for their own ends" (p.11). The kicker came when, on p. 12, I read, "Literacy practices are as fluid, dynamic and changing as the lives and societies in which they are a part."

I realize that reading and writing are the major focus here, but the whole discussion of fluidity, change, and social practice hijacked my brain and I couldn't stop thinking about the use of slang. Every generation has its own particular words and phrases and I find it fascinating to think about how words change. Who decides what words will mean and how does the new usage spread so quickly? Andrew Clements' Middle Grade novel, Frindle, is a fun story relating to this idea, but slang seems to travel faster than that in real life.

These slang terms are what unite people or separate generations. Sometimes I feel old saying, "Neat!" The word 'cool' is my favorite and it seems to be pretty universal. I still can't say, "Sweet!" It just seems stupid to me. What bothers me most, though, is the overuse of the word 'awesome.' I love that word to mean something that inspires or is truly breathtaking and people use it for the most mundane things. 'Awesome' just isn't awesome anymore and it makes me sad. How personal is that? It seems like such a trivial thing, but words mean something to me and having taught for 29 years, I have witnessed the changing of slang terms in school to be quite interesting.

Maybe we should start a project to bring back 'the bee's knees ' or 'the cat's pajamas.' Maybe we could make up our own and see how far we get! Worth a try!!

Click here for a link

to a variety of slang sites.

Parallels

My intention was to read Chapters 9 and 10 in Bazerman's Handbook of Research on Writing in order to gain a historical perspective on writing, which I did, but I kept finding parallels that were even more fascinating. Early on, Chapter 9 cites some of the things that writing was able to accomplish, like facilitating organization of information; constructing abstractions; holding stable certain procedures, rituals, recipes, and formulae (p. 143). However, the line that struck me most was the following, "Writing facilitates inspecting exact wording to hold authors accountable for what was said, as well as comparing accounts for inconsistencies, differences, and contradictions" (p. 144).

I'm wondering if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Like everything, I believe it is dependent upon the lens we use to view the situation. I immediately thought of how careful we all have to be with our words online these days. Teachers are often discouraged from participating in social networks because districts are afraid of words and images getting into the wrong hands. Administrators even warn us about how we word emails to parents and what we send to our colleagues using our district's system. Students are carefully advised to censor what they post for fear of possible employers viewing their private world.

Another parallel situation within Chapter 9 was the reference to writing being the tool of the elite classes in certain cultures. How interesting to see a similar situation with our new writing technologies, the computer and text messaging on cell phones. These forms are still not accessible to everyone and creates a divide in some areas.

I also found it interesting that in contrast, the scribes of ancient India were of low status and that writing was viewed as a "teaching aid for those too dull to remember" (p. 148). At this time in history, teaching was through recitation and learning was through memorization. The chapter continues to list all the significant discoveries that were made by these people in this time, but the lack of transcribed written text allowed others to take credit for some of these discoveries much later. This must be the reason Copernicus gets the credit for the heliocentric theory of gravitation in the 16th century, even though Indian astronomers formulated this idea in the 6th century!

The major parallel I can draw in Chapter 10 is that of how the invention of the printing press resembles that of the internet. Both provided a means to disseminate knowledge across vast distances and to allow people to connect to one another. "Gaining knowledge of each other through books, scholars across Europe engaged in lively correspondence networks" (p.159). Interesting.

Click below to read an interesting comparison of scribes illuminating the Bible to the internet.

"Change the lens and you change both the view and the viewer" (Tyson, p. 10)

The conclusion to Chapter one of Lois Tyson's book, Critical Theory Today, helped me finally feel that I'm where I'm supposed to be in this journey. Believe me, I've been having my doubts! She writes, regarding her reading of Jacques Derrida's "Structure, Sign and Play" during a thunderstorm, "I was just beginning to learn about critical theory, and my reaction to the essay was a burst of tears, not because I was moved by the essay or by the sublime nature of the thunderstorm, but because I couldn't understand what I'd just read. I'd thought, until then, that I was very intelligent" (p. 9). She continues reading my mind and putting me more at ease by stating, "I had no road map. I was lost...We simply don't know how to get there from here" (p. 9).

I started to relax and contemplate what I had just read and then read it again. I haven't been bursting into tears since beginning my PhD studies, but I have felt flustered and lost several times. I've found myself reading passages over and over in certain texts and thinking that I must not be as intelligent as I thought I was. Part of it could be that I'm pushing my brain in new directions while I'm trying to teach, grade papers, plan a conference, read dense text, research, blog, revise an article and a book review. I just have to change my lens a little. One way I've done that is in response to her idea that "Knowledge isn't something we acquire: it's something we are or something we hope to become" (p. 10). I'm slowing down, accomplishing things in smaller increments, and really trying to see how things fit together. I'm trying to build my road map one road at a time. Sometimes I meander down the out of the way scenic paths, and at other times, I speed along the highway, but always wearing my new lenses.

So Familiar!

The Introduction to the Handbook of Research on Writing sums up exactly what I've been trying to communicate in my district for so long: the fact that there is so much emphasis on READING instruction and so little on actual WRITING instruction, yet reading is more of a passive act and writing is not.

After reading the following quotes, I didn't know whether to feel validated in my beliefs, or frustrated that these ideas are not yet embraced. "It is by writing that we inscribe our place in the literate world and all the social systems that depend on literacy" (p.1), and "It is a truism that extensive reading expands one's resources for writing, but it is equally essential that as one writes one becomes more deeply engaged in reading, to enter into dialogue with the literate world" (p.2).

In the article, The Reader, The Scribe, The Thinker: A Critical Look at the History of American Reading and Writing Instruction, Monaghan and Saul have put together a clear historical look at exactly why reading is emphasized over writing. The historical perspective relating how reading was an easy means of social control, was fascinating and a little scary. Equally scary for me is the fact that I have just been asked to pilot a Basal Reading Program that has just been purchased for our district. We have been using the Guided Reading philosophy successfully for the last few years which I have adapted to include even more student choice in reading material and now they want me to go backwards. I am fighting this as much as I can, but I think I'm going to lose. I went for the training and it made me a little ill to hear the publisher rep say things like, "You don't even have to think, it's all done for you." I wanted to run from the room screaming.

So, the content of this article was all too familiar to me and not in a good way. So sad.

50 Years of Research on Writing: What Have We Learned?

Who knew you could find Peter Elbow, Charles Bazerman, and George Hillocks discussing writing research on You Tube? Talk about Web 2.0! Here is the link to the hour long conversation moderated by the director of the South Coast Writing Project, UC Santa Barbara.

Watch Video Here

New Focus?

The more I think about what I want to research, the more I am intrigued by the idea of writing in connection with LGBT issues. I am quite passionate about working with this student population because I think it is something with which schools continue to struggle. I wonder how teacher bias affects these students, either outright or in subtle ways and how writing can be of help.

I'm leaning toward looking at how writing assignments can be used to help students express their feelings and help others understand what they're going through. I'm thinking about looking at the use of a writing community idea (online/global connection?) that might help them find support. I'm anxious to take a hard look at what is currently being studied and how I can formulate a related research topic. Maybe I'm way off here, but it's something I've been thinking about for a long time. Having a gay nephew has brought me close to the situation and I think this is an important issue for schools today.

Here We Go Again!

Back to the blog! It's been a busy fall and here I am back in writing mode. Since last summer, my journey to find a research topic has taken a zig-zag route. Over the course of my Research in Reading/Language Arts Seminar, I thought I had narrowed it down to investigating student engagement and motivation. While this is still very important to me, I realize I am also interested in using writing as therapy. Oh, no, here I go again!

I briefly looked for scholarly articles on this subject and didn't have any luck. I did find an interesting

perspective, though. I'll have to look longer later, but here is a good introduction to the topic:

Writing as Therapy