Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. ~Sholem Asch
This week we learned about assessing writing. I think that it takes people a very long time to become good writers. Most literate people can write basic sentences and paragraphs, but a lot of people are not necessarily good writers. I am sometimes just astonished by the poor quality of writing that is taken place at the high school and college level. Obviously, I know that I cannot expect my ELLs to be the best writers. A lot of them speak native languages that do not have the same sentence structure as English and some of them are not very literate even in their native language. But native English speakers that I have come across cannot even write simple essays. We have implemented a school wide writing rubric at work just to make sure that everyone is teaching the students the proper way to write. I had a class of college bound students who had no clue how to even do a reference page. I had to take another college English course a few semesters ago, and not that I am the best writer, but there was not a lot of quality work coming from some of the students. I am even surprised at how bad some of the English teachers that I work with write.
I chose the above quote because it reminds me of how I feel sometimes about writing. I really hate to write about topics that I have nothing to talk about. For me, the hardest part of any writing assignment is coming up with a topic that interests me and that I think I can come up with enough ideas to write about it. That is the one thing I do not like about some standardized tests. You get some topic to write about that you really have nothing to say and you are expected to write something decent in a very short time period.
Hi Daniele, I feel the same way. I do not personally enjoy writing about topics that I have nothing to talk about or take interest in. It does take practice and time for a person to learn how to write, especially English language learners. I too see my writing as imperfect and I am a fluent English speaker.
ReplyDeleteI certainly can relate to the quote. If I have a topic that interests me or I feel strongly about, I can write pages, but I am challenged to write about something I about which have little interest or knowledge.
ReplyDeleteWhen teaching writing to ESL- I worked hard to create prompts were personal for students. I found that it was always easier for them to tell organized, personal stories or describe their own ambitions in writing than to respond to a dry prompt. Then, when I assessed them, I was sure I was assessing their writing skill and not their capacity to discuss something boring. The litmus test for me was always myself- could I write a five paragraph essay on that topic? On occasion I would write one of my own and share it with the students- not so much to give them a model of writing, but to show them that I am not expecting anything of them that I am unwilling or unable to do myself. And also, as the essays were often personal (though not too personal), to let them glimpse into my world as they had so often allowed me to glimpse into their own. It help me establish trust with them and allowed me to push them more than I might otherwise have been able to push.