7 years—good days and bad days. Why do I still react like a rank amateur?

1. 7 years—good days and bad days.Why do I still react like a rank amateur? • Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher. • What good teachers bring to the classroom: • Their love for the subject…for learning. • Their love for students… • Their identity, their selfhood, their heart…

2. Writing That Matters* “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” W.B. Yeats *Chris Gallagher & Amy Lee, Teaching Writing That Matters

3. Writing teaches writers how to write • We writers know (and all teachers of writing are or should be writers) that writing is … • Messy • Painful • Filled with false starts • Difficult • Recursive • Joy filled • Rewarding • Primarily about ideas/experiences/life lived. • Not formulaic • Writing Matters---not because of any assessment but because writers HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY TO SOMEONE… And we need to emphasize the joy of writing…the joy of communicating something important in words that sing…

4. “There is all the difference in the world between having something to say and having to say something.” John Dewey • Sure, sometimes we have to tell students they must now say something about… • But writing classrooms should be mostly about discovering something that has to be said to someone—discovering an important conversation. • Listening to students—what they have to say. • Listening to the world, to texts, to other writers—what they had to say. • Responding with a specific comment to a specific audience

5. Testing Despair: Teaching and testing the parts does not create the whole—or “the tail wags the dog.” • Teaching modes (expository, narrative, persuasive) • Implies that real writers write this way—they don’t. • Implies that the writer’s purpose is secondary to his/her writing methods—it isn’t. • Turning skills into a curriculum (6 Traits) • Implies that skill mastery = great writing. • Implies that worksheets and exercises translate into writing improvement—not much research to support this. • Timed writes on unfamiliar topics • Truncated thinking—truncated teaching • Where’s the inquiry, conversation, reflection?

6. What the heck is good writing? • Nebraska 11th grade DWA--2001: • Assume that the Nebraska legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit high school students from working at after-school jobs during the school year. 1) Determine your position on this proposal. 2) In a persuasive essay, present your opinion and provide examples to support it.

7. Sample 4 (highest grade) —Used to train scorers The Nebraska Legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit high school students from working at after-school jobs during the school year. I am against this proposal because after-school jobs provide work experience for future jobs, teach students to manage time, and give students the opportunity to use money wisely. First, I am against this proposal because it takes away from work experience for future jobs. Many of the basic job skills come from part-time jobs that took place while that person was in high school. If this bill was passed, students would not receive the hands-on experience required in professional or non-professional job areas. Secondly, I am against this proposal because part-time jobs teach students to manage their time wisely. Many students hold after-school jobs and receive very good grades in school. I put in about 20 hours a week after school at my job, and I still manage to be top ranked in my class. After-school jobs tell students to work harder at homework while in school, because their out-of-school time will be spent at work. Finally, I am against this proposal because after-school jobs give students the opportunity to use money wisely. Some students get jobs because they want to save money for college. Other students want to buy a new vehicle and need a source of income. By setting financial goals, an after school job can help accomplish these goals if the student decides to spend and save their money wisely. All in all, I am against this proposal because it takes away experience from students in high school who are looking forward to a college education or have set financial goals for themselves. An after-school job teaches students skills that are necessary in the work force.

8. Is this the kind of writing we’re after? • Clear, focused, carefully organized • Perfect example of “five paragraph” essay • But superficial—generalities building upon generalities • “Many of the basic job skills come from part-time jobs that took place while that person was in high school. If this bill was passed, students would not receive the hands-on experience required in professional or non-professional job areas.” • What skills? What jobs? What experience? Are skills and experience the same thing? Why would this bill mean students couldn’t get work experience? Where is the evidence to support this? • And contradictory—argument unravels • “After-school jobs tell students to work harder at homework while in school, because their out-of-school time will be spent at work.” • This says students with after-school jobs will not do homework and therefore will work harder in school. (?)

9. And the real tragedy—this writing doesn’t mean anything…it doesn’t matter. • Writing to be evaluated, not to be read • Bright, talented writers (like this writer) trying hard to conform to what’s expected, the formula that’s taught • Why wasn’t the writer asked to write a “newspaper editorial” or a “letter to a legislator”? • What do we do with the Native American writer who writes, “There are no jobs here, period.” • Good Writing Is Always Meaningful, Always Contextual: It takes place in a specific place for a specific purpose for a specific audience.

10. Job #1—the Context • Rhetorical Awareness—an ability to size up a situation, assess what it requires of us, and respond accordingly… • Tapping Rhetorical Awareness • Seniors—Letter to Parents—why I won’t (or will) be going to college next year. • Sophomores—Brochure for soon-to-be 9th graders—What makes or breaks high school relationships? • Senior Projects—creating a product that actually helps folks in the real world. • Sophomores—Presenting a “This I Believe” or “This is what I stand for” statement to their class.

11. Inquiry Units • More than thematic units or focusing questions • Focuses on an essential question(s) • Question that all people have on one level or another • Question that experts in the field face • Question demands new understanding, raises other questions. • Changes the classroom • We are all exploring together—joining a community of explorers. • Student input as valuable as expert (text) input. • Real discovery happens—new knowledge in real time. • Requires (and rewards) student ownership.

12. Inquiry Unit—English 10What Makes or Breaks Relationships? • Essential Question: • What makes a good relationship? What breaks a relationship? How do we repair a damaged relationship? • Final Projects: • Brochure for soon-to-be 9th graders—What to know about high school relationships. • Letter To Author: What I’ve learned/think about relationships and about your insight into relationships. • Close Reading Essay: What does crisis allow people to see about their relationships. • Group Poster—visual representation of major lessons.

13. 3. Backwards Plan • Frontloading and Hook: • Questionaire. “Why do relationships matter?” • Journal Writes. • Movie: The Snow Walker • Movie Notes • Letter to Director • Short Story: “Initiation” • Guided Reading, How Stories Work, Millicent’s Moral Dilemma. • Novel: A Separate Peace • What good readers do: Ask Questions (4 kinds), Make Predictions, Vocabulary, Reread, Visualize, React • Close Reading Essay • Brochure & Poster Project: group/class project

14. Writing with experience, text, research • Good writing is about our own thinking, our own insight, our own discovery. • 3 Primary Ways • Writing With Experience • How has my experience given me understanding, insight, inspiration? • Writing With Text • What does my conversation with someone else’s ideas/work mean? • Writing With Research • What does my conversation with a group of experts mean?

15. Inquiry Unit— College Eng. 101The effects of work and chores on people’s lives. • Essential Question: What are the positive and/or negative effects of work on people’s lives? • Culminating Project: Personal Essay • Backwards Plan • Readings/ Rhetorical Analysis • Discussions—Work Experiences • Fastwrites/Journal Writes • Intro and Conclusion Mini-lesson • Draft 1, Peer Review, Teacher Review • Final Draft