But What if They Write it Wrong?
I know this has been a thought in the minds of each teacher with whom I have worked, and I bet it’s been in yours too. We fear that what students put onto their paper isn’t quite right, isn’t good enough, or isn’t showing what we’ve taught. As much as we may not want to admit it, we also fear that it won’t be up to par for that eventual and dreaded state exam.
I believe this concern is a common impetus of teachers’ writing instructional decisions. It is what drives choices about lessons, pre-writing activities, individual support provided and so much more. Worse, it limits the risks we are willing to take as teachers, and those we are willing to allow our students to take in writing, and ultimately causes the way we instruct our writers to be the exact opposite of what they actually need.
The Fear
Let’s analyze this fear of ours. How do we decide what makes a piece of writing wrong? This idea must begin with having an expectation of what’s right. But when it comes down to it, there truly is no “right” way for our students to write, there is only THEIR way. They are each on their own path of writing development. They are each using the skill and creativity they have in the best way they know how. In order for us to facilitate a love of writing along with development of skill, we must honor each student’s abilities and accept them as the writers they are now.
I always like to use a sports comparison: a coach cannot make a lackluster team of beginner soccer players automatically start winning games or playing on a collegiate level by teaching high-level techniques above their ability level or holding their hands to guide their actions as they practice. This would be the result of having a focus on the outcome, on winning. Instead, coaches need to take each player as they are, learn about them-their attitudes, confidence, skill level-and coach them to develop their individual skills in order to grow each player and eventually the team’s success.
I was once working with a first-grade teacher who was in the middle of an informational writing unit and was deliberating over how to support writers who were not quite producing what she thought they should. Her expectation was that their pieces would include more facts as well as more elaboration of each fact. However, many students were only providing one or two facts with little detail. Her initial thoughts were to either repeat the lessons she had previously taught, provide choices of topics instead of allowing students to generate their own, and/or to sit down with students who were ‘struggling’ so that she could help them to write more.
It was clear from the solutions she was considering that her concern over students not ‘writing it right’ was prohibiting her from taking the time to identify the true needs of each student. After speaking with one of her aforementioned writers, we were able to see that they simply did not take the time to plan out or think through the facts they knew about their topic. For another, the issue was more about stamina than ideas-they just weren’t ready to sustain a long period of time for writing or for staying with one piece. Neither of these students would have been helped by listening to repeated lessons, having two topics from which to choose, or from having the teacher guide them to add facts or details (this last one may get more writing on their paper, but it won’t make them write more on their own next time!).
Her concern over the writing being produced was also preventing her from identifying writers’ strengths! When reading over each student’s piece to identify what they were doing well with writing, we found creative topics, interesting word choice and illustrations that revealed many details and could help writers add to their writing. If this teacher had decided to only provide two topic choices with the hope of increasing the number of facts they would be able to provide, it would not only take away her writers’ autonomy, but indirectly show them that she valued quantity over uniqueness. Instead, we should provide strategies for generate facts for their very interesting topic. When we as teachers worry about our students ‘getting it wrong’, we end up taking away their chance to grow as writers.
The Reality
“...the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities”
In his TED speech, Do Schools Kill Creativity? in 2006, (I definitely recommend this speech-it is thought-provoking as well as funny!) Sir Ken Robinson spoke of the trouble with fearing mistakes saying, “we are now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities.” We cannot allow this to happen in our literacy classrooms! Creativity is a crucial component of powerful writing.
When researching what makes a piece of writing ‘good’, I found characteristics such as efficacy and voice or style. Each of those characteristics have much more to do with creativity than technical skill. I am not implying that ‘good’ writing does not need to demonstrate skill in areas such as structure and grammar conventions but bringing attention to the importance of honoring each of our writers’ individuality along with supporting growth in other aspects of writing.
The true goal of writing is not to create uniform pieces that all follow one mold. The goal of writing is to produce works that readers find readable, engaging, clear, compelling and so on. When we attempt to control what students write or how their pieces will end up, we are inadvertently forming them into one type of writer (picturing me pointing to myself) because we are inhibiting their ideas and making them use ours instead. Keeping the true goal of writing in mind, our job as teachers is to help each writer grow from their current stage of development to the next, taking into consideration all aspects of ‘good’ writing that need to be enhanced, including the writer’s unique style.
Much of the instruction implemented in writing, however, is focused on the product. We provide a common planner for each student, hoping that each piece of writing will end with an identical structure. We instruct our writers to “add this” or “change that” so the piece looks like what we expect. We look to ourselves for decisions about how to revise student pieces rather than asking our writers what they think should be done. We allow our fear of students getting it wrong to squelch writers’ creativity and control each piece of writing in order to have it be ‘right’.
Re-Writing Expectations
If success in writing comes from not only utilizing command of the English language, but also having a unique ability to craft language, persuade readers, and evoke emotions, then our goal as teachers of writing should be to foster the individual capabilities of each young writer so that their distinctive style and talents can shine.
So, how can you ignore the fear you have and start focusing on your writers? Here are my suggestions!
The first step is to rid yourself of the belief that there is one good way or one right way for your students to write. Regardless of your own, your school’s or even your state’s requirements, there is a large part of writing that is subjective and that requires individuality. (FYI, the need for grades is something that also contributes to our control of what our students produce.)
The second idea I believe needs to be understood is that—just as with that soccer player—despite what you hope your writer can do, you must honor and begin with what they ARE doing. (And remember to celebrate them!)
Think about your purpose! Evaluate every instructional decision according to the goal you have for writing.
Did you provide a topic due to fear of students not choosing a strong one? Is that planner being given out to ensure every writer includes three reasons? Are you telling a student what to write so they have more in their story? All of these reflect the goal of a students producing ‘good’ piece of writing.
OR
Are you allowing students to choose their own topics knowing that is a part of being a writer-regardless of how it works out for them at this moment? Perhaps you had students create their own planner or allowed them to just start writing prior to providing a support for planning their writing. After noticing a writer having difficulty with a certain skill, did you take time to speak to them about their process? All of these instructional choices reflect the goal of growing writers!
Finally, set a NEW expectation for your students: to get excited about themselves as writers, find their writer’s identity and take their skills to new heights in ways unlike anyone else!
There is no need to fear your writers getting it wrong. Just focus on how to help them be even more AMAZING!
