Evolution of Teaching

This weeks readings were quite interesting in terms of evolution of teaching strategies for a teacher. Nancy Atwells article was particularly inspiring as it explored her own growth through teaching writing. For my own personal teaching strategies, I found this article one of the most crucial and beneficial that I have read so far in teachers college.

Atwell begins with explaining how she moved from one town to another and had to start fresh and new in a school that was not to the same standards as her old one. With that she changed up some teaching strategies to help her young writers. One such writer was Jeff. He was a 16 yr old boy who was in a grade 8 class. Atwell quickly realized that Jeff had not been given any opportunity to develop his reading and writing skills and was very behind in terms of his age and grade. Atwell made it her personal mission to help Jeff learn, in that year he was with her, to write and read. Atwell was successfull at first but soon became aggravated when Jeff wouldn't write in class like all of the other students. Jeff would instead draw pictures during writing time and refused to write. Jeff finished the year and Atwell was pleased with her work but that she couldn't do more for Jeff.

Atwell then went to a conference and heard from another teacher that drawing pictures was a form of jot notes. Jeff was drawing out his story and then going home at night, where he felt safe, and wrote the story. Atwell felt upset that she couldn't see past her own strategies to see that Jeff was trying to learn in his own way.

I feel that most teachers are like this at some point in their careers. They teach a course a number of times and get into a routine of teaching with the same materials and the same strategies. A teacher cannot effectively reach each student and their individual needs if they do not adjust their strategies to accommodate the needs of each student.

In Peterson's book 'Writing Across the Curriculum,' she explains the need for teachers to recognize each students personal writing process. Not all students are going to create their first draft writings in the same manner. Some students think linearly and some think in more abstract ways. I also think that it is important to write alongside the students so that they can see that even you have difficulties with the beginning stages of the writing process.

The main thing to take from these readings is that that are many ways to learn how to write and that teachers should always strive to understand each students style and help them develop in their own way; not your own.