Write for more than just a grade

Well, it's here. The day I always use to dread in high school or college English classes. The day to work on poetry. Now, let me stop you before you say it. I know what you're going to say. "Don't creative writers like to write and read poetry?" Well, the answer is nice and simple. NOT ALL OF US. To clarify, I think most poetry is beautiful. I like reading some, and I don't hate writing it. But it is not my first choice. I feel as though sometimes it's hard to follow it. I think some poetry gets too deep, too wacky, and too hard to understand. I KNOW. That's the point of creative writing and poetry. But I don't LIKE IT. My mother was a poetry writer in high school and college. Life has taken over and she doesn't do it much anymore, but I have the poetry book she kept and it's one of my favorite things. I can follow what she says. I don't get confused or overwhelmed. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just don't have a gift for readin...

As a teacher, I think it's super important that we familiarize ourselves with different ways and ideas when teaching and grading. One of the most interesting sections of this reading is the "Procedures for Giving and Receiving Responses". As a creative writer, I am very familiar with giving and receiving responses to work. I've spent many times reading and responding to other's work, and also reading the responses that others have given me on my work. I for one take comments and suggestions seriously, and I think it's a useful tool to use in the classroom. When discussing early or late drafts, I think it's helpful to give and get feedback on both. While there are times when the writers as no intention of changing a specific piece, and there will be times a student thinks their writing piece is great and should earn them an "A", I think that there's always a spot for responses. I'm not saying there will always be bad responses, but the...

So there is an awful lot I want to talk abut from these readings, so I think what I'll do is start with the larger talking points. My thoughts on the Winn and Johnson readings tie into the Lathan reading which I greatly enjoyed, so I think this should all flow nicely. Dear white teachers. I mean, that's quite a title. It makes it clear who the intended audience is, and it sounds like it could go one of two ways. Thankfully, this author did an incredible job of getting her point across in an appropriate way. Initially, I assumed this would be someone bashing white teachers for something they did or didn't do, and that it may or may not have been justified. After reading this article, I can say I couldn't agree more with what Mrs. Lathan says. The fact that other teachers send their students to her when there is an issue with discipline is insane. If you can't handle your students, you need to reevaluate whether or not you're fit for this job. Now, there are s...

For starters, the concept of posting on a blog is foreign to me. Some how, I have managed to slide through all my years of high school and my undergraduate degree without having to post on a blog. I've had to provide constructed responses, but nothing to this level. It's weird, and is confusing to me in a lot of ways, however I'm eager to learn and figure it out, since I assume it will only become more regular in the classroom. The Hawley Turner and Hicks reading was helpful to understanding more of the point of a blog, as well as how to construct one. Going in, I kept thinking to myself, "how long does this have to be?" and "WHAT am I going to write about?!". Thankfully, my questions were answered within the first few pages of the chapter. One thing that stood out to me the most is when "web-based texts" are defined as "more than just alphabetic texts". That, to me, means that in addition to writing words on a blog, it's encour...