Diverse skill levels- We should realize that each learner in the class learns and works at different paces. Therefore, some may be aware of how to structure their sentence as it pertains to subject and verb agreement, how to spell terms accurately or even when to use punctuation symbols when and when they should be utilized.
Motivation and engagement- It is often that learners view
writing as a daunting and tedious task. This may be because of their prior
experiences in classes where teachers kept it strict and rigid. Children may
also form that conception because they lack experience in this area.
Writer’s Block- Experiencing writer's block may come at any
stage in life whether children, teens, young adults and adults. It comprises
of having a fair failure not allowing a child to begin writing or having a lack
of ideas. A result of this may look like procrastination where it is seen as
such a challenging task that one may put it back until the last minute when it is
due.
Environment- To create brilliant writers, it is important
that we foster an environment to support and aid writing. Writing goes hand in
hand with Reading. A phenomenal author Steven King once stated “If you don’t
have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as
that.” With that being said all classrooms should comprise of reading stations to
allow learners to explore and discover topics which interest them most.
Feedback and revision- Excessive marking on children's books
with red ink pens has the potential to harm a child internally causing low
self-esteem, lack of confidence and fear of failure. Rather teachers should
have specific classes on how to edit and revise their own work. This enhances learner's
critical thinking skills.
Time constraints- As we’ve identified writing as a tedious
process before, instructors should be more aware of the limited time of class
sessions and break tasks into smaller sections to become more manageable tasks.
Can you think of any other solutions to combat the issues listed above?
By Jaylene Peters
ReplyDeleteThese points are unfortunate truths as traditional approaches have produced these challenges thus stifling creativity and critical thinking which should have been the goal of teachers. Having a cookie cutter or one size fits all approach to their learning experience will have students labeled as failures simply because they did not develop cognitively at the pace required of them which is an unrealistic expectation of “developing” students. In the same way an artist cannot paint a beautiful art piece without inspiration and quality time spent on their piece, a student cannot produce work which captures meaningful experiences in a hostile environment where writing is seen as a chore with time constraints than a delight, a way of expressing experiences to build on which is the building block to learning. Writer’s block is the same as having no ink in the pen, then why expect students to write without exposure to experiences which more than likely was misdiagnosed as procrastination. For this reason, they should be given writing prompts, exciting texts to read, and experiences to spark their interest in writing. Their environment should resemble a world they have yet to explore so to navigate through writing as a way of documenting their discoveries. Writing is not a means to an end otherwise scientists would be punished for publishing their findings. This is being done to students who publish their discoveries to their teachers. Yes, correction should be administered, but should it be done on their drawing board? Shouldn’t the editing be done by them as they develop as writers? They should be given opportunities to examine aspects of a variety of text to help them refine their craft of writing.
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ReplyDeleteOne Solution can be using the Writing workshop where students view and share their written work with no time constraints. The writing is based on topics that interest them and any editing is done by them but only after teaching mini lessons to clear up misconceptions. They also get to explore genres that spark their interest to view different styles of writing.
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