Thursday, March 19, 2020

Words For 2020: #3 Write

When I was in college about a hundred years ago (actually, I graduated from undergrad in 1981), my professor in Classroom Methods was like so many back then--hopelessly out of touch. The guy hadn't been in a highschool classroom in decades. He didn't teach us much of anything at all that was of Value. It was a lot of Sixties stuff, like Rap Sessions and Creative Listening and junk that bordered on Being A Mime. He drove us all nuts because we knew it was crazy, this hippie crap, and that if we even attempted it, those teenagers would tear us apart.

Little did I know that school systems everywhere were already wrenching their English programs into the far less demanding-sounding course called Language Arts, and embracing things called Whole Language, Sight Reading, and for the upper grades, Journal Writing. By the time I was in an English classroom teaching five classes of sophomores, Journal Writing was a Thing, and we had to make them do it at least once a week. We had to come up with a topic, give them classroom time, and give them credit. At our department meeting we all griped about the prospect of grading these journals. Merely lugging them around was bad enough, but do the math: the sheer volume of grading was staggering and downright punitive. All of us lamented our college majors; why hadn't we chosen phys ed or art? Or music?

Several veteran teachers shrugged and admitted they didn't read them at all. They marked them with a check and gave a grade for completion. Others said they read only a select few and graded those. Others said they told the students to choose their best three for grading and if they didn't complete all the entries, oh well, they simply had fewer to choose from. A few rebels admitted to me that they refused to give journal work to their kids; they thought it was stupid and a time-waster for everyone involved.

I have to admit--I eventually became one of those rebels. And it didn't take too long, either.

Let me explain why.

I value Writing. I value it highly. Good Writing or Writing with purpose means a great deal to me. No one should disrespect someone's Writing. If a student is going to be asked to Write, then that Writing should be read. At the very least, it should be read and reacted to. The idea of someone sitting there, flipping pages of student Writing, making checkmarks on it, bothered me. That Writing represented that student's thoughts. It's like ignoring that student and saying his time or her thoughts were inconsequential.

(It also bothers me when kids are punished by Writing sentences. All that does is teach kids to hate Writing. Please don't make learning or self-expression a vehicle for punishment.)

Writing is my preferred method of communication almost always. Even though I was a verbal communicator/teacher (and a good one) for thirty years, I still prefer Writing. It gives me time to think, to unwind my thoughts, to pick the best words, to organize my ideas, and to refine everything I want to say.

I don't hate Journals, either. I keep one semi-daily. I Write in it at about the same time, a time set aside specifically for Writing. (And I use a certain kind of pen because I need a gliding pen, not one that blots or scratches.) I pick it up, Write the date, and just start in. It is private, very personal, and in it I can sort out all kinds of thoughts and ideas I want to untangle. I can celebrate in it; I can bitch in it; I can mourn in it. In short, I can be myself in it, unedited. I keep the previous pages of the Journal under a rubber band so that I don't go back and read them, and I never go back to previous Journals, either. Why go back to the Past? If I'm near a dollar store, I grab a few cheap little Journals in there, and that's what I use. Nothing fancy. And, believe it or not, I don't worry about my punctuation as I'm Writing in my Journal. It looks a lot like Emily Dickinson in there with all the dashes. It's very liberating.

Back in January I decided to try harder to Write here more often. That is still my intention. So, for 2020 and beyond, Write is one of my Words.

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25 comments:

  1. I hope you actualize your word because I love reading what you write.

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    1. Dee--Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind encouragement. I do write here to be read, along with tossing my opinions and thoughts out for discussion. I'm very glad you found me, and glad I found you, too.

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  2. When I was in college I took a, hmmm, I'm trying to remember what the heck the course was. Natural history? Something like that. We took field trips to interesting places in Appalachia (my school was in the mountains of western NC). Anyway, for some period of time we had to keep a journal of things that we noticed about the world around us. I did a lot of really good work in that journal! (At least I thought so at the time.) At the end of the semester I tried to get it back from the professor, but I'm pretty sure he just threw it away. I mourned all summer over that.

    All that to say this: THANK YOU for not making your students write things that you weren't going to read!

    P.S. I agree with Dee - I love reading what you write!

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    1. Bug--Thank you for your enthusiastic encouragement. Every writer loves to hear that!

      I wish I could go back in Time and get your Journal for you. Failing that, I'd like to give that prof a good hard smack for merely tossing student work without asking if anyone wanted hers back. Likely the Journal was untouched and perhaps unread--used only as a decider if the student's grade was on the line between a B and a C, or the like.

      And you're welcome. Truth be told, it used to bother the hell out of me when I'd take the time to thoughtfully comment on student work, and they'd just look at the letter grade and toss the paper.

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  3. I took a class in college in the '80s when I went back to finish up a degree I started 25 years earlier and in that class we had to keep a journal. Not only did the professor read it, she made many notations in the margins. We had to hand it in every Friday and would get it back on Monday. I love doing that and her input. Her class changed my life.

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    1. Jean--What a terrific statement, and I hope you had an opportunity (or made one) to tell her that her class changed your life. You'd have brought her immeasurable Joy.

      What a tremendous gift your prof was able to give by reading and thoughtfully reacting. No one wants to write in a vacuum if it is not personal writing.

      (See! Journaling was definitely a Big Thing in the '80s.)

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    2. I once made a comment to her about how much time it must have taken her to read 23 journals every weekend and she said she put as much time into them as what the writer did, which apparently wasn't much for some of the others.

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    3. Jean--Great response from her, and I completely understand it. For some students, journaling is a serious and valuable exercise. For others, a chore. For still others, a waste of time.

      And you can tell which is which by reading.

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  4. I was never required to write a journal, nor do I especially enjoy doing that as an adult. I did the morning pages for about four years, then decided that for me it was a waste of time. I shredded all of them which made me happy. I enjoy writing and I like words, so for me keeping a blog has been the way in which I communicate best.

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    1. Ally Bean--It's definitely not for everyone. Some people are uncomfortable with it, as I was with a Gratitude Journal, which felt sappy and inauthentic to me. That went by the wayside very, very quickly. And I could never, ever write in the morning. I haven't found my personal energy yet.

      I have this mental picture of you (even though I have no idea what you look like) gleefully chortling and grinning as you run pages through a noisy shredder. Time well spent if it made you happy!

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  5. When I was in junior high I took a creative writing class. One of my teacher thought I had a way with words and the next thing I knew I was in charge of our school's newspaper.
    I love to write, hate to journal. I file logs, like on Star Trek. I have event calendars. They catalog births, weddings, any, and all special events, etc...
    Poetry is my main menu when writing my thoughts..
    In my next life, I'm going to be a rapper...
    On that note, Happy Spring

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    1. Denise--Oh, Creative Writing! How I miss teaching that class! It was my honour and privilege to do so for many years.

      Your logs and poems are merely a form of Journaling. Journals are whatever you want them to be, far different than diaries. Have you looked at modern Journals lately? You'd love them. Even doing an image search for Journals would intrigue you.

      Happy Spring to you, and I'd love to hear your Rap Name.

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    2. Since I call my grandbabies, Babins, some of them call me Gramins, my family nickname is Nise... A rap name is suppose to mean something personal. Its only logical that my rap name would be, Lil GraminsNise... However, my nom de plume is Danya Lange.

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    3. Denise--I love that you already have it all figured out! And with such thought behind it.

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  6. If you ask them to write it, you must read it. And, yes, sometimes it takes all weekend. I was always afraid I would miss a cue if I didn't read carefully. Once I identified a student as being at risk for suicide and I was right and we saved her.
    I made my daughters keep nature journals. They made me draw in them. Fair exchange. Given all the spare time I seem to have, I may scan a page of one of the journals, after I get permission, that is.
    Writing is a rite, right?
    Glad you do it. Always a good day when a post of yours arrives.

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    1. Mary--You bring up a good point that so many students will use their writing to communicate with a trusted teacher. It has happened to me a few times. I felt a bit overwhelmed, but very privileged to be taken into their trust and confidence. Good thing you were there for that girl at the right time. It meant her life.

      As I tried to say to Denise, above, there are so many different kinds of Journals: art journals, nature journals, bulleted journals, etc. I have a wine journal!

      And for me, yes, Writing is a rite. And a Right.

      I'm glad my posts help brighten your days. I certainly love it when all my blogfriends have something new at their sites as well. Virtual friends, cyber friends, writer friends...we can never have too many friends.

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  7. Count me as another one who enjoys reading your posts. I've tried keeping journals at various times in my life, but it has never worked. I think it felt too much like school! But, I do enjoy writing letters and writing my blog posts (which, by the way, I never think out - I just turn on the computer and write about what pictures I'm putting up, or life in general). Reading various blogs is a good way to stay a bit sane in these crazy times!

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    1. Vera--Thank you!

      I don't think anyone should write anything if they don't enjoy it or if it doesn't feel rewarding. Even when I labour over a blogpost, I still find it rewarding when it's done, when others comment, and when I can look back and read it myself as a record of that time in my life.

      I admire you for not thinking out your blogpost ahead of time and being able to fearlessly compose at the keypad. I do that very rarely. Having even the germ of an idea is almost crucial to me; how I get there is about as spontaneous as I care to be.

      Reading blogs is part of my daily routine, usually in the morning after the newspaper. It's a nice way to get a more personal connection to the world around me. And yes, it does help to stay grounded and keep perspective, especially now.

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  8. I love your posts. You are a very good writer and you shoot from the hip; I love that.
    Sometimes I m just writing stream of consciousness style ..on my blog.
    Stay safe . We shall get through this. And then the smart sociologists will study how we behaved. There will be much to learn.
    When Chicago had a merciless heat wave over 20 years ago, the lessons learned were invaluable. The greatest number of deaths occurred for people who did not cool off for at least ? 3 hours a day. That is why we now have cooling centers. The greatest hit were single elderly men who were isolated in apartments and no one checked on them. Their bodies couldn't handle the enduring heat and humidity with no nighttime relief. Anyhow, It will be interesting to see what we learn about social distancing.

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    1. kathy b--Thank you. I think the best compliment anyone can give me is when they say I'm a good writer. It means so much to me.

      Vera, above, also said she just opens up her post editor and starts writing on her blog. I can do that in my Journal, but not here at the Dept. (Probably why I look forward to my Journal time!)

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  9. Although I am not a talented writer, I did enjoy writing my blog. And I composed right on the laptop with litte thinking ahead. Our son is a gifted writer and even in grade school he wrote such beautiful stories it was hard to believe they were written by a ten-year-old.

    As an avid reader, I have great admiration for good writers. And as a blog reader, I also have admiration for good writers like you. Poor writing/editing will cause me to stop reading. There is too much good stuff out there to spend time on the sloppy. So keep up the good stuff, Nance.

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    1. Typo messed up the word "little." Drives me nuts but not to the extent that I am deleting and re-posting.

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    2. Carolyn--I didn't even notice it. I know that people are commenting using phones and tablets, and often trying to get their comments from their brains to the dialog box quickly before they lose their train of thought. I don't apply standards to Comments.

      I hope your son still Writes sometimes in some venue. I think often of my Creative Writers; it makes me feel a pang of sad regret to know that the likelihood is that many of them are not writing anything these days.

      And thank you for your kind compliment. It is one I cherish.

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  10. Wow, reading a bunch of High School journals sounds like torture. I’m glad you’re writing here, I always enjoy hearing your voice.

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    1. J@jj.com--LOL! Sometimes it was. Slogging through really bad writing (mechanics, usage, grammar, spelling, and plain old disinterested responses) is horrid. Some students would write engagingly, often directing comments right to me, which was fun.

      Thanks for the kind words. The same goes for you.

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