Inspiring to Write

As I consider my philosophies for teaching writing, I have realized there is one overarching idea I must implement in my classroom before any real writing can take place: students must be inspired to write.  In other words, they must discover some story or topic in them waiting to burst forth, and they must want to tell that story through writing.  This will certainly be no easy task, and will likely take some time with many students; however inspiring students to write is an essential part in creating a classroom of writers.

This topic has also really reached home for me this year.  Somewhere in my schooling, I lost my love for writing.  I think this is because I never had the chance to write something fun, for me, or that I cared about.  I answered prompt after prompt.  I wrote well, but I never cared, and so I never really enjoyed the process.   This is key in getting students to write--they must find something they enjoy writing about.  This year, I have rediscovered my love for writing.  I have had time to write freely, and to explore topics I want to explore.  As a result, I want to simulate a similar experience for my students so they too can rediscover (or discover for the first time) the power of writing.

I think one way to inspire this is simply to give the students a lot of opportunities to write, especially in the form of free-writes.  Free-writes hold no consequences in the form of grades, points, or even sharing (depending on the situation).  Journal free-writes will often be shared with me, the teacher, or with their peers if they choose to do so, but this will not be required.  Without penalties, students will be free to write what they want and experiment with form and style without being afraid they will loose points for taking chances.  Free-writes also give students the opportunity to explore a variety of ideas before committing to one for a paper.  They can explore without consequence.  Penny Kittle endorses this idea in Write Beside Them, saying, "This is something most students crave: to write freely, to experiment with their thinking and ideas, to try on voice, or to rant about life.  No grades attached: It is a time to speak" (29).  This free-writing helps students find their voice as writers.  They need to learn that they have something worth saying.  Once they have something to say, they have something to write about.

My favorite free-write experience this year has been the Writing Marathon (introduced to me by Dr. Robert Petrone).  For these marathons, students split into groups and go out to write.  Each group picks a writing location, writes for 10-15 minutes, shares without commenting on each other's work, and then moves on to a new spot.  This process is repeated for an hour so depending on time constraints.  At the end, the whole class reconvenes and each student shares their favorite written piece from the marathon. The teacher is involved as well, reinforcing the concept of "writing beside them."  This was a powerful experience for me.  Each location brought out a different memory, or idea to write about.  It was an excellent chance to explore the things I had to say, and ways to say them.  In the end, I discovered a powerful story I needed to put on paper for my own benefit.  I was hooked on writing.  I hope that using this activity with my students would inspire students to have a similar experience while having a fun opportunity to go out and write.

Once these free-writes are completed, they can become something more.  Free-writes are a great way to have students discover a paper topic.  By playing with several options, students can discover what they are really dying to say and then turn that topic into their paper.  Kittle uses this technique in her classroom as well.  She has students spend time with the free-writes, picking a favorite, and then story-boarding or otherwise developing and editing that beginning idea.  I would like to do the same in my classroom.  Students write better when they are interested and care about what they are writing.  They are more likely to invest their time and effort, a goal every teacher strives for with writing.

Through these methods, I hope to help my students discover their writing voice and a passion, or at least respect for the power of writing.  Writing is an essential skill for all students, regardless of their future career aspirations.  Helping them foster this ability is one of my key jobs as an English educator, and it will all begin with inspiring students to write.