Steffi knew of a million insightful and intriguing ways she might answer the essay prompt; the paper she handed to her teacher didn’t show evidence of any one of them. Instead it contained a collection of ideas discussed in class, and exactly what she knew the teacher wanted her to write. Steffi could care less about that paper. Really, the fact that her name was written at the top of the page was the only thing the two had in common.

The Writing Dilemma

How often do wondrous and intelligent thoughts fight for their freedom? Students like Steffi, will choose to hold inside their feelings, ideas and opinions because they fear the only way to do well in writing is to reproduce the teacher’s ideas, putting them above their own. This conflict was illustrated in the case study of Page’s in Structure and Freedom: Achieving a Balanced Writing Curriculum:

“feeling she must choose between writing what she wanted to write, enjoying writing it, and getting a bad grade or writing what the teacher wanted, hating writing it, and getting a good grade.”

The article stated as students hit their intermediate years into high school, “essays are written to please the teacher, reflecting the teacher’s ideas, never the students.” Another reason students don’t search within themselves to produce truly personal work is because for many students conveying thoughts into words becomes too much of a struggle. Sometimes writing cannot keep-up with thinking. Atwell looks to teachers to help students who struggle with this conflict. She write that students

“ need teachers who will guide them to the meaning they don’t know yet by showing them how to build on what they do know and can do. Student writers need response while the words are churning out, in the midst of the messy, tentative act of drafting meaning.”

Atwell suggests that when specific problems arise in student drafts, more direct approaches are needed. For the many issues surrounding writing, Atwell chooses to address them through minilessons, writing conferences and workshops. Her strategies in the classroom have proved to be successful.

The reality of the writing dilemma is if a student is capable of writing, they have no option-out. Meaning that in every school subject at some point the student will have to write. They will have no other alternative form of representing. Writing has been and will continue to be an indispensable facet of our world. I believe this because applying for a job, submitting any sort of commentary to a newspaper or town council, leaving friends and family important notifications, working towards a degree, and taking-part in social media networks like blogger, facebook, and twitter, to name a few, all require people to be able to write. Under these terms exist specific necessities of writing, more a tool of survival than anything else. For this reason, writing conventions such as syntax, spelling, and sentence structure, are paramount to teach young writers. Many other avenues accompany writing, and when a student cannot find the words to write, value in other forms of representation such as music, drama, artwork, dance, graphic novels, podcasts and voice threads, shouldn’t be ignored. After all, “art” takes a rightful place in teaching English Language Arts.

Teaching what’s important

What then is important to teach students about writing and representing? Three teaching focuses are crucial for developing writing and representing in students: the power of art in language arts, the conventions of writing, and the requisition for opportunity to let students be original writers.

Language Arts

Writing time and again takes the front seat in a Language Arts class, as it is generally the most frequently required vehicle of representation. This makes perfect sense when we see the vital necessity of writing in school curricula. Every school subject calls for students to demonstrate their writing skills. Nonetheless, in English language arts, writing does not stand alone as the only vehicle for students to express themselves. Teachers need to explore the other vehicles with their students. The BC ministry of education acknowledges the many avenues of representation.

 “The expanded definition of “text” in the IRP acknowledges the diverse range of materials with which we interact and from which we construct meaning/”text” in the IRP is used to describe oral, visual, or written forms including electronic media.”   

Other mediums, like picture books are prime examples that invite students to explore a deeper understanding of a story. Chris Riddell states "we punish young people who can read by taking away pictures in their books.”(quote from In The Power of Picture Books) This observation takes into account the common attitudes towards picture books as juvenile stories that don’t hold strong academic value. The authors suggest these attitudes are misguided and rather picture books are extremely valuable because they allow young readers to search for deeper meanings in the story. Graphic novels often require a skill to read and are another form of engaging representation.

Paintings, drawing, sculpture, and photographs, are also examples of mediums that serve the purpose of representing. Technology tools such as podcasts and voice threads are appealing 21^st century mediums, which promote both informative and highly creative work that can be shared on a global level. Students like Page might be motivated to care more about the quality of their work if they are striving to see it published on the net. If students are encouraged and applauded for all forms of representing, their creativity and intellect might prove beyond what sole writing confines them to. The diversity of students in our classrooms establishes the ideal environment for remarkable production in all art forms. Some students are painters, others might be actors, and there might even be students who are ignited through interpretive dance. Whatever the art form, each plays a role in developing students’ learning. Teachers should let their students explore their options and not limit them to the obvious-writing with a pen and paper.

The Conventions of Writing

The most important element in writing is the conventions that establish the framework for understanding. Proper grammar and effective syntax are vital skills that need to be nurtured for students by their teachers. Students may rarely grasp the importance or the reason for this skill, so rarely do they dedicate serious efforts to its development. If as teachers, we take the time to explain the reasons for all the rules of writing, maybe our students will understand that the rules matter. What they want to say, in the way they want it said, won’t make sense to anyone else but themselves unless they follow the rules. Atwell makes a point of how:

“awkwardness and error distracts readers and interferes with meaning. There needs to be a focus on conventions (p.250)/we do our students a big favor by approaching rules and forms not as minutiae to be mastered, but as a means of helping them make their writing look and sound as they wish it to and in order that readers will engage with a text and take it seriously” (p.185)

Teaching the indispensible conventions in writing gives our students the tools to write. Really, the rest is up to them.

Opportunity to be original writers

Right off the bat young writers need self-agency. They also need support and direction from their teacher because the student, like everyone else is going to run into a problem of some sort in their writing. A teacher can’t just give a student a blank piece of paper with a pen and say, “go! Write whatever you want. There are no rules.” Our students need guidance, they need the scaffold and they need to be provided with the opportunities to try-out the many avenues of writing and representing, to explore the colossuses of genres: non-fiction, fiction, poetry, biographies, journal entries, personal reflections, creative writing, factual writing, the list could go on. Robin Kital suggests: “genre should be unlimited”. Once students connect to a genre, they connect to a way to express themselves. Teachers need to provide their students with a variety of opportunity. Whether it is inviting famous authors into the classroom, letting the kids explore a library of different approaches to writing and genres, or introducing the various forms of representation, teachers provoke their students to at least try-which is always the first step. The ELA IRP defines the purpose in ELA is giving student opportunities. It is important for teachers to show their students that the opportunities in writing and representing are unlimited as long as you’re willing to try new things. Atwell presents her minilessons on literary craft where she will focus on different genres. She exposes her kids to web pages, young adult literature, letters of all kinds, plays and skits, books reviews, songs, standardized writing assessments, political ads, resumes and vitae, petitions, and parodies.

The Writer’s Voice

First our students need the chance to find what gets them writing and representing. Next they need to be given the opportunity to speak their mind and get passionate. Tom Romano writes: “words resonate when they are from the heart.” I believe this to be true. Students will write when they are allowed to speak from the heart, when they feel what they have to say is important, and when they choose to share their work with a wider audience. For instance, publishing work on a blog post, or in a book that will be put in the school library. Atwell writes, “when student believe that what they have to say is important, they care about how their words go down on the page.” (p.250) This is why teachers should embrace students’ ideas and opinions, especially when they differ from their own. This open-minded practice I believe will make me a better teacher because it will expand my point of view and enrich my understanding of what writing is for other people and not just myself. I see writing as a personal endeavor, and when personality is allowed to show in students writing, it often produces thoughtful and heartfelt work written by proud young original writers. 

Steffi and Page are discouraged because they feel they have no voice in their writing. As young developing writers, these girls cannot find their voices alone. They need their teachers to step up and guide them to a place where they can be confident and reclaim their writing voices.