Intro & Outcomes: Conversations and Conclusions

Think about why some students may have this artificial divide between reading and writing.  Here are just two reasons we will examine today:

1. Don't write in the book.

Most high school students are told NOT to write in their books.  They go through high school without ever annotating a text.  How sad that our students are denied that most basic means of simultaneously functioning as a reader and writer.  If students aren't allowed or encouraged or required to write comments and questions in their texts, they won't get that low-stakes experience of using writing to engage and challenge a text.  They won't get to use writing as a safe way to learn and grapple with meaning.  Simply put, they will be denied the simplest way for them to engage in a conversation with a text.  And yes we LOVED seeing that some of you are thinking of more ways to include annotating in your assignments and activities. 

2. Get that grade!

The most powerful reason they maintain this stifling divide between reading and writing has to do with how they view school.  Students don't rhetoricize their writing because they only see assigned writings as a means of earning a grade.  Ask them why they are writing an essay or report, and they will tell you because my teacher assigned it.  They don't see their writing as a means of continuing or starting a conversation.  They don't think of their writing as something that will be read or as something that will inspire a response. They just know that the correctness of their writing will be evaluated for a grade. How do you think a student reads when they conduct research with this passive "find the answer" mindset?  

With today's discussions and activities we will hopefully look at some practical ways to address these issues.