On Writing.

I believe that students can discover and accomplish things they never thought possible through writing. When learners read, the effect is comparable to that of an individual watching a movie. The writer gives you specific details or snapshots that you, as a reader, are given to form characters, themes, and a plot. When they have finished reading, readers step back often with only what the writer has left them. Alternately, writing amplifies thinking as learners are left with only their own thoughts and a place to jot them down. I am sure that my students will ask me, "Miss Fix, why do we have to write? What is the difference?" My answer is simple: You understand and comprehend information better when you are forced to do something with it. Writing is one excellent way to process and store information into long-term memory in an effective and relevant way.

Personally, I am a big brainstormer, and, just as Romano, I believe it will be important to reveal my writing process to students. Now that I have spent some time observing in the high school classroom, I see just how important it is to start students off on the right writing foot. I have learned it is VERY dangerous to assume that students understand all steps of the writing process and minimal instruction is okay for certain assignments. I have observed many students who do not take writing seriously, either because they feel that the paper is too much work or because they think they know exactly what they are doing. As an English teacher, an essential part of my job will be to help students see both a process AND a reward. Unlike tests, writing assignments give students a chance to be creative, show others what they have learned, and allow them to have a permanent copy of their hard work. Writing also allows both teachers and students to see progress and areas in need of improvement.