A Response to Atwell & Peterson

As a prospective English teacher, I found Atwell's story quite refreshing. Her story first struck me because of how closely the evolution of her teaching narrative itself mimicked the writing process, in that she began with a particular way of teaching that she found most effective, her first draft. Through critical reflection, or editing, she refined her craft and found a more effective way to educate her students by employing a writing workshop style in her classroom. I found her story motivating; that kind of writing-central style of teaching is something I would like to adopt in my own classes rather than only adopting the typical writing forms, like essays, for example. Involving students in short writing activities would encourage them to become better writers because it is something that could be done frequently while also involving more creativity and personal input.

However, as Peterson points out, I think it is also important to not give students absolute control or freedom over the subject matter of their writing as that many options and so little guidance could prove rather overwhelming to students, especially for those who do not think they are particularly strong writers to begin with. By giving students options to choose from, they are still being offered a choice rather than limiting their focus to one strict topic in particular. In doing so, students can write about things they relate strongly to at first. As they become more comfortable with their craft, they can broaden their horizons and delve into subjects they otherwise would not have previously. This can be accomplished in numerous ways. Journaling in response to teacher prompts using prose, poetry, drawing or any other creative form would be a strong starting point. Accommodating for students, like Atwell did for her student Jeff, is important because students are given the choice of how they feel most comfortable responding to given material. As they grow more comfortable in their expression, journaling allows the teacher to transition into other short writing tasks and, eventually, into developing arguments or responses.

I believe that this type of structure is ideal in encouraging students to explore their own creativity through writing, developing confidence and strong writing skills, and, eventually, in producing strong final products. To further encourage this growth, I think it is important that students are given incentive to keep producing quality work. This can be accomplished by displaying chosen writing in the classroom, on a class blog, or in the school paper.