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Expectations are everything. As Routman describes in this chapter, raising expectations isn’t about length, it’s about depth. We should find out where our students are, and start from there. We have to help our students find success, provide more authentic writing opportunities focusing on something of interest to them, praise their work ethic, and build on their ideas by asking questions and showing genuine interest in them. I student taught in a third grade classroom where most of the writing they did was on a worksheet. I saw changes in their attitudes when I used the gradual release of responsibility model and provided authentic writing opportunities that focused on their ideas and interests. The next semester, I student taught in a second grade classroom where journal writing and responses to reading was an every day practice - they were comfortable doing it!
When it comes to editing for punctuation, spelling, and grammar, we have to find a happy medium. As the text states, we need to come up with clear criteria for editing expectations as a district, school, or grade level and communicate this to parents and students. If it is being published, I think more care should be taken, but I don’t want to hinder any student’s attitude about writing by making them fix all of their mistakes. I do think that a big word and enemy for some students is care – taking the time to go back and correct. It’s amazing how the attitudes change when we give them a choice in what they write, and when there is a real audience.
I found it very intriguing that Routman describes her instruction is the same no matter how poor the school or how diverse the students are. The high quality and explicitness of the instruction is the same but some may need more of it. Building a trusting relationship, setting goals, and encouraging risks are all part of the foundation to get them where they need to be.
I like your last paragraph. So often we get into a rut of saying, "well, my students are unique because. . . " and in all true reality, we need to just realize that they are ALL learners and we should hold them to high expectations. The first step is having a caring, compassionate, trusting relationship.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you had the opportunity to work in a classroom where the students were involved in authentic writing as opposed to merely learning the skills and completing worksheets. What a difference you must have seen! Also, I completely agree with your comment that we as teachers need to have high expectations regardless of our student population. In fact, I find that many of my struggling learners that have a tough home life really step up when we have high expectations for them. This is exactly what they need.
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