I haven’t posted in TWT in a while, and I miss this community. I’m especially glad to be writing today, as I’m having existential angst with my writing instruction. My sophomores and juniors are so apathetic right now that I’m finding it difficult not to scream every day and pull my hair out!! Sounds drastic, right?
It does until my 2nd grader brings home her work from last week, and in the packet is a story she wrote about a girl named Alex who feels like other girls at school are bullying her because she doesn’t have the right kind of clothes. I have no clue what the assignment was, but the only feedback she had on the paper was a minuscule check mark at the top of the page. When I ask her about it, she says she just wrote something down because she “doesn’t have any stories in my head.”
After this exchange, all I want to do is cry. My high school students feel like my Lily. For so long, their voices haven’t mattered, except for a check mark that they did something. I see them just want to get an assignment finished — not write for an authentic audience or get feedback from me or share with classmates. Writing is something to hide — and to whisper in my ear or on a post-it note that they used to like to write, but now they don’t because there are “no stories in my head.”
My angst comes because the more I try to be mad at the apathetic teenagers sitting in front of me more concerned with their cell phones than my grand lesson plans, the more I see a room filled with tall Lilies….begging me to bring their stories out no matter how much they whine and complain and pretend that they have nothing worth saying.
Why can’t I just be mad?????
BoxofChocolates29's Blog 
December 10, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Writing on demand is SO different from writing with passion for an audience. Buy Lily a journal and become her passionate responder whenever she leaves it for you. Encourage your students to write and respond…respond…respond….ONE THING I take from my own TWT experience is the power of an audience. We all need one.
December 10, 2013 at 9:10 pm
Lily doesn’t have stories to write?! How can this be? She was such a writer in kindergarten! I use her leprechaun story every year as an example of what is possible for kindergarten kids. (Do you remember her voice thread story?) Check out Deb Day (Coffee with Chloe), see what she’s doing with writing. Everyone has stories and each and everyone matters. You just have to find the key to unlock them.
December 10, 2013 at 9:13 pm
Anita has said it well… getting a response to your writing is so powerful. It is sad that the only writing so many students know is writing to a prompt with a checkmark for response.
And I love what you wrote: “My angst comes because the more I try to be mad at the apathetic teenagers sitting in front of me more concerned with their cell phones than my grand lesson plans, the more I see a room filled with tall Lilies….begging me to bring their stories out…” The idea of seeing your daughter in your students is so meaningful!
December 10, 2013 at 9:58 pm
Lily’s check mark made me really mad – kids need real audiences, and real feedback. They need to feel valued. I can see why you’d be frustrated with your high school classes – it takes time, and teachers who give cursory checkmarks, to build up that kind of apathy. But – your high schoolers have you – perhaps this is their year?
December 10, 2013 at 10:56 pm
a check mark for Lily makes me sad….but luckily she has you! Your students are lucky to have you too…you’ll find a way to speak to each of them individually, I know it 😉
michelle
BigTime Literacy