In some of our FABULOUS previous posts, we have discussed the need/how to embrace tech-based/tech-influenced writing as part of a growing number of new tools that can be added to a teacher’s tool belt.
Take the following for example … Rather than complaining about students whose reading time is filled with comic books or “fluff” reading, we are learning to celebrate the happy truth that they ARE reading. In these situations we have learned to embrace student preferences and give them “what they want” in order to “teach them what they need” — want proof? to the delight of students and the benefit of reading teachers, graphic novels are growing in publication each year.
It’s time to apply this POV to writing, as well. My sister was a high school English teacher and my mother must have been one in a former life :-), so I grew up with a pretty good command of “how to write right;” however, as a current teacher educator and a mother of three young children I realize that the essence of writing is to COMMUNICATE and CONNECT, and we are silly to not admit that that can come in many forms.
Now, before the English teachers revolt against us, I agree that LEARNING the current rules of discourse and syntax are important (but, let’s be honest, those rules DO CHANGE! and they are meant to be broken — i am looking at you e e cummings!). But if we are going to ask students to write OUR way, then we must also make some time to write THEIR way; after all, when we LOVE to write, we are more apt to do it!
Melody Bowdon, English Prof @ UCF, recently posted a blog in which she made arguments for embracing the TEXTING and the TRADITIONAL. We write in order to communicate — either to communicate a story/paint a picture of words, communicate information/explanation, or communicate opinions/make persuasions — so that we can be CONNECTED to our audiences (personal and professional). In today’s world we have so MANY options for communicating our ideas, information, and influences and so MANY audiences to connect with.
What I think matters more, though, is that we demonstrate as individuals and as a culture that we value the ideas of young people of all backgrounds and experiences, and that we embrace and promote their skills of assessing varied personal and professional situations and making language choices that advance their personal goals and, ideally, contribute to the communities in which they live.
To do this, we must support innovative and inclusive public education and be open to ways in which the kids of today will subvert and re-appropriate emerging communication tools, and we have to accept that the occasional modifier might get dangled in the process.
As teachers, it is our job to CONNECT to students so that we can effectively communicate with them — what better way to demonstrate to our students that we care about them, their ideas, and the way they choose to share those ideas than by sometimes welcoming the TEXTS, TWEETS, TYPING, PAINTING, SCULPTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, TRANSCRIPTIONS, DICTATIONS… that they feel comfortable sharing with us and others?!
Let us know how you have embraced writing WITH the tech-generation
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Check back for more ways/reasons to continue re-defining HOW and WHY we teach kids to write!
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