Again, thanks for the sharing....
Nancy Farnan
________________
>One of the founding principles of the National Writing Project is "Teachers of
>writing should also write." Before I went through the Maryland Writing
>Project's Summer Teacher Institute, I would have objected to Fred Kemp's
>statement just as Julia did. But I don't object anymore. I know that you are
>not saying, Julia, that teachers of writing SHOULDN'T write...you agree with
>the premise that we should, but you argue that we just don't have enough time
>because of all the pressures of our jobs. In fact, there was an article in the
>March 1990 English Journal in which Karen Jost, a Wisconsin English teacher,
>complains about that very thing. She says that people who teach in the
>universities have passed down a "Thou shalt write" commandment to hs English
>teachers who have "much less to gain professionally by writing" than do those
>in higher ed. She also cites a lack of time. Tim Gillespie, writing in the
>Winter 95 edition of The Quarterly, a publication of the NWP, says that the
>English Journal experienced an avalanche of responses regarding that article.
>You might want to check that article out along with the follow up responses.
>There was a 25 page follow-up forum in Sept 1990 with letters pro and con and
>another essay by Karen Jost where she confirms her original stance, stating no
>hard research proves students write better in classrooms where the teachers
>write. Then in March 1991 there was another volley of responses on the same
>subject. Gillespie states, "this is an issue of great consequence and emotional
>import to a great many teachers." He goes on to raise three important points
>about why writing teachers should write, and with your permission, (or
>without!) I'll list them here:
>1. When teachers write, we establish our own authority. When teachers state
>defensively that they don't have to feel guilty about not writing, he states,
>they reveal how disempowered they must feel. Writing, Gillespie feels, is one
>way to reclaim that power.
>
>2. Writing teachers should write to expand our repertoire of useful responses
>to students. Our own experiences with the joys and struggles of writing give us
>personal insight into possible problems and strategies for dealing with those
>problems as well as firthand knowledge about approaches, disciplines,
>frustrations, shortcuts, dangers...If we write and reflect on our writing
>regularly, we enlarge our capacity to respond to student compositions. We can
>offer feedback or guidance from the wisdom we have gained from our own
>experiences as writers. He goes on to say that if the message we convey to our
>students is that people with busy lives don't have the time, or more
>significantly, the need to write, why should we teach the skill? If even a hs
>writing teacher doesn't want or need to write, who actually does? Why is
>writing really a necessary skill for anyone?
>
>3. A final reason Gillespie gives has to do with our professionalism...we are
>often confronted withthe popular notion that teachers don't really know much
>about anything, except perhaps a little pedagogy. This image is at the heart
>of widespread disrespect forour profession. Can you imagine, he says, articles
>such as "Why swimming teachers shouldn't swim"..."Why reading teachers
>shouldn't read"? He urges us to fight against the famous aphorism of GBS:Those
>who can, do; those who cannot, teach."
>
>One final point Gillespie brings up is that Karen Jost CAN DO...in fact, her
>article caused a heated debate and she inspired others to write in response
>to her...so she represents all teachers well because she has demonstrated
>to her
>students andher community that she practices what she preaches in class. He
>urges us to all "sharpen our pencils, uncap our pens, let our computers hum.
>Writing and teaching are seamless work."
>
>I'm anxiously awaiting your responses.
>Barbara
>PS: Where have all the Ishmaelers gone?
Just a few thoughts....
Nancy Farnan
San Diego State University
School of Teacher Education
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-1153
FAX: 619/594-7828
Phone: 619/594-1370