Let me give you a scenario.
"Today, we are going to begin our next writing unit: Persuasive Papers. I'm passing out the rubric now. Please read it carefully because that is how you will be graded. You have two minutes to come up with a thesis. Then, please find three quotes per focus point to use in your paper." Sound familiar? Trust me, I understand that students need structure in their academia because it's easy to flounder in school's bits of information scattering all over the place. It is nice to have a rubric to position ourselves to make clear expectations for our writing. However, does writing really fit into a few boxes on a page? Not writing from the heart anyway. Expression comes in so many forms. It's time to deconstruct structure. Mr. Friedman gave my class and I the chance to drop the rubric and play around with our written communication. We had in-class and outside of class essays and instead of having a rubric, we had one-on-one meetings with him after our first draft and final turn-in. In my experience, most teachers didn't converse with students after the grade was circled at the top. I appreciated Mr. Friedman's dedication to our work since he saw it as a journey, not a destination. There was no grade to mark the finish line. We discussed the next plan of action that I can do in order to take my writing to the next notch, but get this, specifically for my style. I have a style? Yes, he guided me to explore my comfort in grammar and content. He didn't compartmentalize language use, but combined all my elements, almost like us as people. Can you really separate your hobby life and your social life? I bet there is an overlap. Expression has a lot of overlap too. Here's to celebrating writers' journeys.
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Greetings!I'm Kelly! I like to find beauty in what might seem mundane to us over time and bring to life what we experience each day. Check out the About Me tab for an additional look at who I am. Archives
July 2019
Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is. |