Writing Under the Influence of Love

After reading the first four chapters in The Writing Workshop:  Working through the Hard Parts (And They're All Hard Parts), I feel as if I were sitting down in a personal setting with the authors.  The book is such a great, practical read that is easy to comprehend and follow.  I love it so far!  I thought I would never enjoy a writing workshop book as much as I love Nancie Atwell's In the Middle, but I stand corrected.  I found myself highlighting MUCH, laughing some, agreeing often, and wanting to discuss my reading with whoever was around me at the time.

While reading chapter one, I discovered that I have never thought of students using the writing process versus doing the writing process.  I always thought it is important for students to learn the writing process, but now I understand the value of the writing process as a tool.  As Wood & Laminack (2001) state, "[Teachers] see the writing process as a tool they can give their students to use when rocking the world, not just as something to learn to do" (p. 4).

My favorite aspect of chapter one is the section that addresses the need for a writer to fall in love.  Wood & Laminack (2001) quote, "And, most important, a writer needs to fall in love.  I'm constantly falling in love- with colors, with flowers, with wings, with bubbles, with mud, with goofy baby smiles...When you're writing under the influence of love, there's a power that will weave your words into magic..." (p. 6).  Wow!  From an early age, I loved writing, but I now realize that I need to fall in love with each day and take time to genuinely reflect on everything around me.

I desperately want the students in my future classroom to write about what they fall in love with and to "ache with caring" when they are writing.  I realize now that this will come when I "provide them with time:  time to investigate, time to read, time to think time to talk, time to write" (Wood & Laminack, 2001, p. 7).

A wonderful statement that stuck with me from chapter two is, "Writing is something you do, not something you know.  Students need time to just write so they can gain experience as writers" (p. 25).  The twelfth grade student that I homeschool is extremely against writing.  She claims to "not know how to write" and says that she "can't write well".  I cannot wait to share what I am learning with her.  Writing is not something that you must learn how to do- it is something that you do.  It is something that is personal and meaningful to the writer.

I particularly enjoyed the ideas Wood & Laminack presented in chapter three concerning words we associate with our identities.  I found that I, too, label myself as a reader, but I never called myself a writer (even though I writer often in journals).  I am an avid reader and wish that there were such a job as professional reader, but I will now make sure to classify myself as a writer.

Wood & Laminack (2001) state, "Watching, noticing, and thinking deeply will help them be better writers, but it will also help them be better scientists, sociologists, historians, mathematicians, and on and on.  Watching noticing and listening- reading the world- is what smart people do" (p. 35).  It is exciting to know that what I will teach my students in my writing workshop class will prepare them for their futures.  My students will become more intelligent, more thoughtful, and more engaged in their worlds as a result of writing.  How exciting!  I also greatly appreciated reading that students who are nurtured in a writing workshop will not easily lose what they learn.  It sticks with them over time.  

After reading chapter four, I long to be the writing teacher version of the dance teacher in the dance studio.  I want my students to view me as one who can guide and instruct them in writing.  I want them to view me as a real-life writer alongside them.  I want us writing together as we journey through the school year.  I want my classroom to be comfortable, inviting, organized, and a place where writing flows.  There are so many ideas in this textbook that will guide me to that place.  I am ready to fill my "purple notebook" and discover my own "laundromat people" that will give inspiration.

I could write on and on about the first four chapters.  I am thrilled to learn more and to write more during this Writing Pedagogy class.  I am looking forward to the required reading books to arrive in the mail.

Ray, K. W., & Laminack, L. L. (2001). The writing workshop: working through 
          the hard parts (and they're all hard parts). Urbana, IL: National Council 
          of Teachers of English.