A lump fills my throat as I think about what the upcoming school year has planned for me. You know that feeling you get when reluctant tears just won’t fall? Yeah, that’s me in a nutshell right now. I'm excited to teach writing again, but at the same time apprehensiveness boggles my mind.
For the second year, my principal has assigned me as the fourth grade lead teacher. I am confident that I can successfully be a great mentor and leader, so that's not where my issue lies. The Scylla and Charybdis is having three new teachers on my team who will be tossed in the fiery furnace with 20-plus students who know nothing about writing. On top of that, these enthusiastic educators are expected to work miracles! How's that for your first year?
My new colleagues know that they have to prepare our great students to be writers, something that's typically not done until these jewels reach fourth grade. This brings me to my next point. Why aren't we successfully preparing our students to write? Why is it that 4th grade students don't know how to compose a sentence or even know that a sentence ends in punctuation for that matter? Where have we, as educators, gone wrong, and what can we do to fix this? It's a team effort, and it starts at the top.
Administrators realize the severity and importance of writing sometimes when it's a tad bit too late. It's when those failing scores come back that they ask, "What must we do?" Well, I'll tell ya-- start writing literacy early! This simple suggestion isn't difficult to understand. Introducing writing at the early elementary level is key to shaping and molding our students to be auspicious learners. Implementing a school wide writing program is necessary if we want our students to be accomplished writers. This program needs to be closely monitored to ensure fidelity. It's not okay for Mrs. Johnson, a first grade teacher, to issue a journal topic once every quarter if the program clearly states that first graders should compose narrative stories monthly. Nor is it ok for Mr. Williams, a fourth grade teacher, to allow his students to write half a page (for what was supposed to be a full expository story) and deem it acceptable. Educational leaders should set expectations for new implementations and reprimand accordingly. Enough about what our administrators should do. How can classroom teachers make the difference? After all, we are responsible for teaching our students and expanding their knowledge. Let’s not fail them.
So you think, “Great! You want me to teach writing, too?” It’s no secret that classroom teachers are swamped with to-do lists, directives and deadlines. The thought of adding another extremity to your already over-crowded daily schedule may seem absurd. But our students so desperately need it. Even if you haven’t been asked to, per se, teach students this beautiful art, will you grant them justice and do it anyway?
Writing is a powerful tool. Not only does it improve students’ penmanship, but “[it] supports development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills” (Carpol, 2013). Through writing, students learn processes, which benefits other aspects of their learning.Planning, organizing, researching and peer review can help students make connections to what they’re learning in their other courses. Research also suggests that writing aids in social and emotional development. If a student is experiencing a life-changing event, writing can help them cope as they release their feelings on paper with their favorite writing utensil. Also, “since writing requires the student to consider audience and purpose, [constant] practice can help the student apply the same considerations to verbal communication” (Carpol, 2013). Second grade HISD teacher, Lena Henton, agrees. “There’s a direct correlation between oral and written development. Often times, students speak how they write. Usually if they have well-developed oratory skills, it carries over to their written linguistic ability.”
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