I have found becoming a writer every bit as much a process as writing itself. One does not become a writer overnight but over time, and I offer the following stories as examples of some of the steps I have taken in what is proving to be a life-long process.
My initiation into writing was typical of the 1960s, when I began receiving a public education at Elementary School. Writing consisted primarily of penmanship, books reports and research papers, all with highly structured formats as designated by the teacher or by the textbooks the teacher used. Our schools days were equally as structured with class time divided by subject, the major ones being English, math, science and history and the minor ones being gym class, art and music. The terms “interdisciplinary and “cross-disciplinary” were not included in the vernacular at that time. English was one of the subjects that, for me, floated to top like cream, while history just didn’t churn my butter. I loved reading fiction and even devoured the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation, but I detested dry history books and memorizing names, dates and places. When we were instructed to sit quietly and read our history books, I would hold mine standing straight up on my desk and hunker down with something more interesting hidden inside it, like Jane Eyre. Thus I came to appreciate those large history books. By the time I advanced to junior high, my dislike of history was as well-ingrained as my love of English.
It seemed this would be the case for the rest of my life, had it not been for an English teacher at John Marshall Junior High. Although the Great Disciplinary Divide continued, as it would throughout high school, this teacher (whose name I don’t recall) chose to ignore i...
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...eloped and taught, “Integrating Technology in the English Language Arts Classroom,” my syllabus stated that the final project and accompanying paper had to demonstrate a grasp of the theory and practice of integrating new technology. Yet such old standbys as grammar, spelling, punctuation and meeting the deadline counted, too.
As an instructor, I want my students to appreciate the craft of writing as a serious art, but I also want them to have fun and feel accomplished doing it. Most of all, I want my students to see that there are endless choices available to them as writers and that at any time they can step from the well-worn path to the less-worn one and back again. Contrary to what Robert Frost says, I think it has been my travels on both kinds that has made the difference, thanks to those teachers who guided me along the way. And I am all the better for that.
...s educational system on traditionalism that focuses on fluency, appreciation, and comprehension. King states, “no one can be as intellectually slothful as a really smart person” (138). As a whole we are “creatures of habit”, thus resisting changes in the traditional sphere of academics. King uses his spin on popular culture to engage future readers and inspire the next generation of writers. “Some of this book—perhaps too much—has been about how I learned to do it. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it—and perhaps the best of it—is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will.” (King 269-270). “On Writing” is a poignant, educated, and inspiring book, a book that is sure to help hundreds of struggling writers and will motivate others who may pick up the book not for inspiration, but mere curiosity.
Ralph Fletcher’s story in the beginning of the introduction quickly grabbed my attention. Although the story was humorous, I found there to be a lot of truth in it. In the story, the young students realize that their teacher will take anything and make them write about it. It seems to be that the teacher does this so often, that the students are afraid to take joy in the simple things. The students don’t want to assigned another writing prompt. Fletcher then says that teacher need to be sure “not to get too evangelical about teaching writing.” I agree with this statement. It is very important to teach students how to write, but as a teacher we need to know when we should take a break so the students do not get burnt out. Once students get tired
Most of us write in some form every day, so you would expect that most of us would be well practiced and pretty good at writing. I read and write all the time; I have been taken several college courses and nearly all of them require write of some form. However, before taking this class not only was I not a good writer, I knew I wasn’t a good writer. Now I am not saying that I am ready to write my first novel, but I certainly more confident in turning in my college papers. The content of this course and the style of teaching was incredibly beneficial to me. Throughout this course we had multiple assignments that were aimed to improve us as writers. I am sure that everyone took something different from this course, and I am sure that each student took more from some areas than others; however for me there were three major things that I saw that I benefited from most. Our weekly craft lessons, grammar plan, but most of all, observational learning.
My relationship with writing has been much like roller coaster.Some experiences I had no control over. Other experiences were more influential. Ultimately it wasn’t until I started reading not because I had to read but because I wanted to, that's when my relationship reached change. I would have probably never cared about writing as I do today if it weren't for the critics in my family. When I was a child, my aunts and uncles always been in competition with who's child is better in school. I have always hated reading and writing because of the pressure to prove my family wrong was overwhelming for me. I had to prove them wrong and show them that I was capable of being "smart" which according to them was getting straight A's in all your classes.
Melissa Duffy’s essay titled, “Inspiration” is an excellent example of how a someone’s attitude toward a certain subject influences their performance. As I read, it dawned on me that the approach our teachers take in teaching us have an immense influence on our attitude towards it. If a teacher does not give their students guidance and support, their chances of success become limited. Teachers have to implement guidance into their students in order for them to truly learn and become motivated. In my belief, Duffy tells her story of “Inspiration” in a periodical format to lie out the moments in time that shaped her as a writer. Melissa Duffy’s positive attitude towards writing stemmed from feelings of support and guidance that she had initially received from two of her high school teachers and a friend who inspired her as a writer.
Writing is a way in which a person can express their thoughts and ideas through the use of words. Everybody has their own writing styles. Some may consider theirs as inspirational while others think of it to be bad. Writing requires a lot of patience and time. In my case, writing has never been my favorite thing to do. I am no Shakespeare and I never will be, writing has always made me feel uncomfortable. In the past, I had always considered writing to be one of the most difficult tasks. I often wrote about topics that were not of my interest. I rarely did any writing out of school or for leisure as most people do. I only wrote because the teacher asked us to. Writing has always been forced onto me. Even though my writing isn't that great, I've felt that I've never been given the freedom to express my voice. Academic writing has always made me anxious. And, anxiety had resulted in my procrastination. Even though I consider writing to be one of the toughest tasks, I've felt that giving myself enough time to think allows me to do better. Silence helps me think beyond horizons. However, the fear of impressing someone, the anxiety and frustration is what makes me a developing writer.
With our first paper, a Literary Analysis, I wrote about the struggles of changing writing styles in college. I reflected on the types of writing we did in high school and how it shaped everyone to write in a passive tone to get more information across to the reader. With this paper, Dr. Schlueter let us write in our own style. This was a big change from what I was used to in high school. I was able to understand different types of writing though the research I performed to find out what kind of writer I was and how I should be writing in college. Without being given specific guidelines, besides “write about a memorable experience involving reading or writing”, I was forced to use my own creativity to write a paper that met the limited requirements (I use the word limited very loosely). This first paper really helped me figure out my style and made and impact on my other papers that I wrote for this class.
Throughout my high school career, I have had instructors that shaped my writing tremendously with their feedback. The teacher’s opinion truly matters to me and helps me develop my writing skills even further. A writer should have an open mind.
Writing has incessantly been a struggle throughout my short life. Within writing, everyone possesses the entirety of tools needed to produce greatness, but many lack in the manufacturing of the product. You may have the greatest ideas for novels and short stories, though be unable to truly express yourself within the confines of only words. This precise issue faces me on a daily basis. All these exceptional visions spinning in my mind, yet I have not been able to master the art of putting these visions onto paper. However, I do admit I have grown as a writer over this single semester, and have major goals set for myself, not only as a writer but also in my career field.
I am not the kind of person who talks or writes much. Putting my thoughts on papers is something I have always struggled with doing. I believe this class will help me improve on transferring my thoughts to paper, in an organized fashion. I look forward to becoming a better writer because of this class.
I first learned to write in school, as I remember it. My earliest memory pertains to Mrs. Holkman’s lesson that taught writing the actual letters, both in printed and in cursive. Since then my writing has increased both in quantity and quality. Outside of school I did not write much, or at all for that matter, because there was no real intrinsic motivational drive for me to, and no extrinsic reasons either. In school I began writing in gradually excelling increments, as everyone else probably did. Slowly my words became sentences, my sentences became paragraphs, my paragraphs became stories, my stories became pages, now my ideas are allowed to fully flow from my mind to the page in an appealing manner.
First of all learning is the key to moving forward your education. If you allow yourself to learn, you will further your ideas and spark more creativity which produces unique and original work. Teachers crave original work because it reveals auntincity and credibility from the writer. One of the hardest parts of teaching is getting a student to learn a teacher’s specific
Based on my recent past experiences, writing has been a challenge for me. Beginning my first semester with King University, and being expected to write book reports, comparison essays, and answering discussion board questions was extremely overwhelming. My writing strengths were limited to determination and were based on my previous appreciation for writing. Initially, I felt ignorant and defeated by the whole writing process. It has been twenty-six years since I graduated high school, the writing format has changed drastically from what I can remember, I’ve had to come accustomed to the APA format of writing. As years have passed and time has changed there is a greater expectation with writing skills, keeping the new generation engaged in
Many of our students are just learning to "trust" themselves as writers.Most haven't had the opportunity in high school to explore what writing can do for their thinking; they have been taught that "writing" is a product produced for a teacher.Student-centered pedagogy seeks to de-center teacher authority, and has moved away from traditional methods such as the lecture format to more group discussion.
Taking a creative writing class was a good way for me to express my thoughts and feelings onto paper, as well as read my other classmates stories. Reading stories created by other people lead me into their mind brain to experience what type of writer they were, it was an overall exquisite class. I believe that every person has a way of expressing who they are through writing stories of their own, fiction is the best way to express your creative imagination. This class that I took for two years helped me become a better writer and helped me understand the types of writers we have.