Chapter 1 Simplify the Teaching of Writing

I can honestly say that at one time or another, I sounded like the teachers described at the beginning of this chapter that complained about their students' writing ability. As if by magic, my students should become good writers. When I became a 5th grade Language Arts teacher I formed new beliefs and found a new passion for writing. I didn't have much guidance and it was definitely not a simple process, and I might have even used a little of this from 'a program' and a little of that. In so doing, I also formed the belief, "Teaching writing well is like giving our students a lifetime gift." I actually feel that my expectations for my students' writing increased in the process. I enjoyed conferencing with my students on their writing and watching them when they found just the right way to communicate what they wanted to say. No, not every student was at the same level or wrote with the same amount of easy, but my students became more confident writers with an increased joy for writing.

I now struggle with the fact that writing has taken a back seat to other subjects in my 6th grade classroom and I don't know why. I have struggled with feelings of being an inadequate teacher of writing for about a year. I ask myself, "Is it because of all the state assessments, changing of grade levels, time or the fact that I don't just teach Reading and Language Arts?" So I am thankful for this class. I don't necessarily agree with all the author has said, but I hope that it will inspire me to take that first step again to improving and refining my instructional practices so I can give writing the central, meaningful, enjoyable place I believe it deserves in my curriculum.