Mary Long

Dr. S. Cannon
ECI 307
06 December 2016
Philosophy of Teaching Writing
Overall Philosophy
Writing is scary; but then again, anything is scary if it remains a mystery. Too many times,
students are asked to write lab reports with no formatting help, history teachers assign documentbased questions without showing students how to synthesize sources, and English teachers ask
for literary criticisms without guiding students through different critical lenses. Not only are
students required to succeed with a high-stakes paper; this is normally there only chance to
engage on a deep level with writing. Quickly gradable multiple-choice assignments serve as an
ill-fitting replacement for everyday writing. Good writing requires practice, feedback, more
practice, more feedback, sharing, collaboration, and reflection. It is not as simple as putting pen
to paper and calling it a day. The writing classroom needs to be an environment where students
can creatively and safely experiment with composition like never before. High school English
education is not just writing about teaching students about Shakespearean sonnets or the novels
of the Bront sisters. As teachers, we are students to engage with the English language in new
ways, to reason with logic and other argumentative devices, and to use critical thinking to
evaluate sources outside of the classroom. Writing education should be catered to students, not
the other way around. Best of all, writing does not have to be scary. It only has to be taught.
Belief Statements
1. Writing does not have to boring. Too many times during high school, teachers would
assign boring explications and dry research papers. They always complained about the
colorless writings students turned in, without stopping to consider that the essay prompts
they provided were part of the problem. Writing does not have to be solely academic; it

can be personal and emotion as well as academic. This will make it more exciting for
students and teachers to engage with.
2. Students must be comfortable before they can learn. In Educational Psychology, we
learned about Maslows hierarchy of needs (Martin and Joomis). Before students can
begin to begin to grow and learn, their safety and security needs have to be met. If they
constantly feel that their writing is being emotionally attacked or that their ideas are not
accepted in the classroom, they are not going to make any progress with their writing.
Students must feel comfortable physically, emotionally, and mentally to start making
good progress in the writing classroom.
3. You do not have to love literature to write well. There is a common misconception that
the phrase English class automatically equates with loving every novel like The Great
Gatsby and Wuthering Heights. It should not be forgotten that a well-rounded English
class should read a plethora of different genres. Non-fiction articles, poems, published
essays, letters, and many other different texts. This variety will also allow for flexibility
with writing. Writing well does not mean you become an instant bookworm. It just means
that you know how to use the conventions of English authentically and critically.
4. Writing is both science and art. Every writing process is different. Extensive research
papers require objectivity, precise explanations, and properly cited resources. A free verse
poem has no defined structure but creativity. Regardless of the form students are writing
in, there is still an opportunity to engage with material on a deeper level. They are taking
language and creating it into a representation of the thoughts in their head. If that is not
art, Im not quite sure what is. Scientific approaches can be taken to learning the forms of
rhetoric, syntax, and other structures commonly found in good writing. When you
combine scientific and artistic approaches to one piece of writing, the results are those
that students can be intellectually and creatively proud of at the same time.

5. Writers can be taught. Without a doubt, we want to have high expectations for the
students coming through our writing classroom. However, if we expect them to be
natural born writers before ever waltzing through our doorway, then our assumptions
have been misguided. Writers are not born; people who do not enjoy writing or who lack
proficient can be taught. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) takes a
very strong stance in their position statement: Certainly, writers can benefit from
teachers who simply support and give them time to write. However, high-quality
instruction matters. Teachers of writing should be well versed in composition theory and
research, and they should know methods for turning that theory into practice
(Professional Knowledge for the Teaching of Writing). Teachers with up to date
knowledge and solid pedagogical strategies can teach anyone to be a writer that performs
well in many different writing contexts.
Designing a Classroom Environment
As high school English teachers, we are striving to meet the educational needs of a diverse group
of students. Having an impact on teenagers does not automatically happen by magic; it takes
conscious effort to design a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable express
themselves through discussion and writing. Kirby and Crovitz heartily promote that the most
important element is the way it [the classroom] feels (Crovitz and Kirby, 2013). My perfect
classroom environment is conducive to collaboration of all types. The desks would be arranged
to facilitate sharing; some days, students might do peer reviewing conferences in pods. Other
days, they might be arranged in circle around the classroom for a student-led discussion.
Regardless of the setup, it would always be easy for students to look any direction to find a
collaborative partner. Student work would also be shared through a classroom display at the front

of the room. By showcasing written products without judgment, each individual would have the
opportunity to take pride in his or her writing. I know that writing is not automatically associated
with fun for most people; I want to make the experience as comfortable and enjoyable as
possible with a safe classroom.
Designing a Writing Curriculum
The semester spent in any classroom should not be disjointed units; rather, it is better for students
if there is some kind of spiraling built in. Learning benefits from repetition and reinforcement
(Smagorinsky, 2010). By returning to some of the same discussion topics and using new lenses
to examine them, students can start to use background knowledge to help make connections and
engage with material on a deeper level. Learning about the structural composition of narratives
and practicing them might help students connect with short story readings throughout the
semester. This is just one example of the many connections students can start to make with
course material. It also important that students have the opportunity to practice many different
types of writing styles (Smagorinsky, 2010). Essays are not highly authentic representations of
quality student writing; they need to be provided with space to write news articles, letters,
poems, free responses, narratives the list goes on and on. The curriculum just needs to allow
room for many writers voices to be heard throughout the semester.
Technology
Teaching in the 21st century requires extensive pedagogical knowledge of ways to incorporate
technology in the high school English classroom. I hope to usefully integrate different
approaches in my classroom. Every time I introduce a new program (like Smore, Podomatic, or
Cahoot!), students will have time to experiment and explore its features. This is to ensure that
when it is time to complete a class assignment, homework, or project, there are no distractions of

not knowing how to navigate the program. By using interactive programs like this, students will
get a chance to practice their multimodal writing skills and experiment with Moffetts
communication triangle. They will also have the opportunity to be more creative in synthesizing
different types of sources by potentially integrating videos, pictures, and hyperlinks into their
assignments. Technology will play an important role as students practice writing, but it will
always have a very specific purpose that aligns with the Common Core State Standards.
Assessment and Feedback
In a country that admires competition, it can be hard to let go of grades, regardless of the subject.
Writing is not immune to the perfect-score obsession students might grapple with during high
school. Individuals are fighting for college acceptance letters and scholarships, so an 83 on that
extended definition essay just might be the end of the world. I want to reverse this vicious cycle
in my writing classroom. To begin with, not every assignment will be graded. These low-stakes
opportunities will be important while students are grappling with new concepts and trying out
new writing styles. It exemplifies that as a teacher and a reader, I value their personal
contribution without judgment. As students learn that their writings are not being attacked, they
will become more receptive to feedback. I will never refer to feedback as criticism, as it rings
harsh in the ears. For the assignments that I do grade, my comments will be positive and
constructive, offering guiding questions to assist students through the entire writing process of
drafting, writing, editing, and rewriting. However, I do not want students to be reliant on
feedback only from one reader; this is where more collaboration will surface. Kirby and Crovitz
claim, grading by peers teaches students that grades belong to them. They come to realize that
those letter grades do not flow out of the diseased mind of a cruel teacher. The grade represents a
readers estimate of the worth of the piece (Crovitz and Kirby, 2013). My favorite distinction is

that the grade represents a readers (not a teachers) estimate of the worth of the piece. I hope
that my future students can connect with audiences in new ways, instead of solely relying on my
feedback and opinions.
Conclusion
Writing is a complex process that needs constant guidance, support, revision, and feedback. To
teach writing effectively, I need to make sure that my writing classroom is a safe environment in
which students feel comfortable enough to share their ideas. I need to develop lesson plans that
will allow for the activation of background knowledge. My curricular units will link together
somehow. In order to give students more experience with different modes of writing, I will also
make room for practice with different technology programs. To help students feel safer,
assignment feedback will be positive and constructive, but never personally attacking. Overall,
my English classroom will be a blend of creative space and academic sphere in which student
can practice writing routinely over extended time frames, experimenting with the English
language and gaining new skills to use inside and outside of the classroom (North Carolina
Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts).

Works Cited
Crovitz, D., & Kirby, D. L. (2013). Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing (4th ed.).
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
D. Martin and K. Joomis. Building Teachers: A Constructivist Approach to Introducing
Education, (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2007), pp. 7275.
North Carolina Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts [PDF]. (n.d.). Department
of Public Instruction.
Professional Knowledge for the Teaching of Writing. (2016). Retrieved December 02, 2016,
from http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/teaching-writing
Smagorinsky, P. (2010). The Dynamics of Writing Instruction: A Structured Process Approach
for Middle and High School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.