I can’t believe how much I resonate with Lamott. Two pages into this week’s readings and I found myself thinking “seriously, so true” and “I do that too!” For example, lets talk index cards. After reading the first page of the chapter on index cards I stopped and looked around my house. Yep, index cards and little scraps of paper everywhere; bed, computer, fridge, purse, counter. I even have paper and pencils in the car, but not because I think I am a writer and might randomly come up with some great fact or thought, but mostly because I am very forgetful. Yes I use the index cards and papers to make notes, but usually for the grocery list, something I want to look up on the web when I get home, or a homework assignment I really need to start working on. I loved her lines “If your mind is perhaps the merest bit disorganized, it probably just means you’ve lost a little ground…..when a child comes out of your body, it arrives with about a fifth of your brain clutched in its little hands…” I don’t have kids, so what’s my excuse? Lol. I think it’s safe to say my mind is a bit disorganized because of how much I have going on…that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
On to writing groups. I used to absolutely dislike writing groups. I don't remember having writing groups in elementary school or even middle school, but definitely in high school. The thought of having my peers read my writing and then give me feedback drove me up the wall. Thoughts like "what if they don't like what I wrote" or "they will see all my grammatical errors" or even "what if they don't think what I wrote is intellectual" would race through my mind. It wasn't until college I found writing groups to be beneficial. Maybe if I would have had the experience of writing groups in my primary grades it wouldn't have affected me so much in high school. I know Lamott is mostly referring to adult writing groups, but I like the idea of having them in classroom at all levels. I am currently doing my main placement in 3rd grade classroom and hope my master teacher will let me form writing groups for the students to get peer feedback and or suggestions for topics. I am sure some students will be hesitant to want to participate in such groups, but the encouragement from fellow classmates might be just what they need to move forward with their writing.
I completely agree with you about writing groups. In our group, we eventually had to say "no more qualifiers" (this is really bad but... or I don't really like this but...). I love Lamott's chapter "Shitty First Drafts". OK - all first drafts are crappy so let's get on with it! I'll have to work on putting that into kid language.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am finding these writing groups helpful. Everyone has been so encouraging probably because we all know how tough it is to put yourself out there.
I have thought that kids get over being nervous to do presentations if they do it a lot, and I want to give them plenty of opportunities to present in my classroom. Now you've helped me to see that sharing writings a lot will also get easier with practice.
“Hello, my name is Mrs. Clooney and I am an index card user.” There, I said it. I use index cards for grocery lists, homework lists, and ideas for papers. As I write them out, I think to myself, “I really should eat more Omega 3’s” since I too, don’t have children and can’t use that as an excuse. Yet, I seem to forget to add it to my shopping list. Hmmm, funny isn’t it?
ReplyDeleteI must agree with you on writing groups. I wish I had writing groups in elementary school. I think I would’ve learned a lot from them. Plus, Elbow, Lamott and Routman would agree! I think in high school I had a few writing groups, but that was it. In high school, so many people are self-conscious and are worried about what other people will think. I know I was that way. Writing is a way to express yourself and you might pour your soul into the piece. You might even expose who you are and that can be scary. If someone was to make fun of you or your work, it could be very hurtful. The key thing there is feeling safe. Did you feel safe when you shared your work? Since we are working so hard on creating safe environments, I believe that writing groups will be great in our future classrooms.