Response to Reading Assignments

07/11/07

Becoming Your Own Expert-Teachers as Writers
This article makes an obvious point: How do we expect to be writing teacher's if writing isn't part of our life? I guess the point isn't obvious enough because I personally can say I didn't write that often with my students, I didn't put myself in their shoes? How can I expect to become good at anything if I don't practice it myself. I guess the old cliche can be applied here 'practice makes perfect'....Well, maybe not perfect but it will allow me to discover my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I will allow me to draw real life experience into my teaching but most of all it will help me be a practicing writing teacher.

"Whose Writing is it Anyway"? Kids Love To Write...Don't Wait Until They Read
Children are writing before they read. We always hear that we must teach the children to read first if we want them to be better writers. As the points made in this article hold to be true. I can further add by talking about my 27-month-old son Elías and his attitude about writing. He loves it! My little boy is still developing his vocabulary yet you give him pencil and paper and he can write, really scribbles in his case but he can read it back to you. The thing he likes to write the most are name of the people and things that he likes the most. He will hold out the Shrek, Incredibles, Veggie Tales DVD's and trace his little fingers under the titles and he'll read them to you. Yes it's environmental print but he goes back and 'writes" on paper about all this things. His handwriting is just scribbles for now but pretty soon he'll be writing his name even before he can read a book on his own. He'll rather stick to his own stories.

Computers and English: Future Tense...Future Perfect
Stephen Marcus was truly a visionary in his time. If he was still alive today he'll be able to see that many of his 'prophecies' have become a reality. The integration of technology in the writing process and the emphasis in writing being a process not a product. The deterioration of hadnwriting and how schools don't teach it anymore. The lack of interest in students to write assignments without the aid of spell check. Technology as a means to resurrecting the art of writing is great. It may not be writing in the way our ancestors know it but it is writing nonetheless. We have been able to achieve things that they could have only dreamed off. Wikipedia comes to mind as a successful example of innovative cooperative writing.