RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2010)

You made an interesting point that not everyone may want to reveal their feelings in the written word. I think back to high school when we were asked to write about personal prompts. At the time I was too insecure to really write about how I felt, afraid to expose my feelings to my peers. However, I do think writing can be cathartic. Writing forces us to analyze our experiences and to articulate our feelings. While this can be painful, it can also help us process out experiences. Writing also relieves the storyteller of the burden of repeating the story over and over again. Think how much more of an impact these boy’s books have because they reach people in bookstores all over the world. Lastly, writing gives our experiences permanence. It is recorded for better or for worse for future generations. It’s proof that we lived. I am not saying force kids to write about personal issues, but they should have the opportunity to share their experiences if they so desire.
-Rebecca Ashby

Rebecca, I agree that some students have a hard time writing about their feelings. I know I did. Maybe we need to take the time to find out what our kids are passionate about, what really matters to them and give them a purpose for writing. that's one huge thing I got from this study, to give our kids a reason or purpose for writing. It would make so much more sense to them rather than just throwing a prompt at them or just telling them to write.It needs to have meaning. Maybe that would be a start.

Thank you both for your comments. One of my biggest goals this year is to provide more meaningful writing tasks. I have been working on this issue for several years. One successful writing activity that all of my students seem to be interested in is the "Get to know you" activity at the beginning of the year. Each student decorates a lunch bag, places special things inside and writes a few talking points on a note card. They then share with the group a lot like "show and tell". This is one of the least threatening activities that we do all year. Another great non-personal activity is to write about science experiments. Many students love this type of non-fiction writing. We also do a power point presentation of our favorite author. That includes research as well as writing.
Elizabeth Achor

Even the will of an elderly man was shared on his death bed. That was such a touching moment when reading the article. Knowing that one is dying is a true statement and the elderly man knew that he needed to tell his “story” before it was too late, even if it was his will. This is common in many incidents and I lived the moment when my dad knew he was dying and looked me in the eye and said, “Meredith, I am dying!” I did not want to believe it, but it was true, and he passed away a little over a week later. There were so many questions I had for my father, as many people do when they die. Questions they did not get to ask, or they were too afraid to ask. It is now through others oral stories of my father that I learn so much about his life that I never thought to ask or I was afraid to ask him. Has this ever happened to you? After reading this article I thought that it might be a good idea for me to write down things that I may one day want others to know, because like the elderly man and my father people still have unanswered questions about the deceased that could possibly be answered through journals or narrative writings.
In my classroom I do not make children share and if they write something they do not want me to read, they fold over the page in their journal and I do not read it; this way my students know that they have a safe place to write and it will only be for their eyes. This trust between my students in myself allows children to write how they really feel, since they know they will not be judged. How do we get children away from all the 21st century skills we are now being held accountable for in the classrooms through the” new” teacher evaluation?

Meredith

Elizabeth, In a recent class I took we had to write our memoir. Our instructor wanted us to share our stories in class. The night of the class EVERYONE was stressed about having to share. We were all discussing it and the general consensus was not that we were afraid to share our work, we were afraid to share our stories. When you write about yourself and your experiences it is very revealing and can leave you feeling vulnerable. Luckily, our professor did not make us share and we were able to view the memoirs on individual blogs. This is one reason I pointed out in my own critique what Perry stated. He states that no one should be forced into telling their story, it should only come when the storyteller is willing and ready. Also, I agree that it is very brave that the Lost Boys decided to share what must have been a horrible experience to live through. More remarkable is their understanding that their stories are relevant and serve a much bigger purpose in our world. How would we, as Americans, ever really know about the atrocities that are taking place in this region if not for these young men? As I read the research I couldn't help but think about just how incredible these young men (and women) truly are. They could have chosen to come to America, start their lives over, and forget all about their terrible past. Instead, they chose not only to remember, but to retell to a wide variety of audiences. How brave is that? At times I was so compelled by the boys themselves that I forgot I was reading research.

Merdith and Sally,
Thank you for your comments. Writing is a window to the soul, if you are not afraid of opening windows. I have always hated writing and this class has forced me to just open the window and respond to what ever flies in or out. Writing is very personal and I have always been a private person. When I say that I have always hated writing I do not exaggerate! I would rather do “anything” than write. Would you like me to come over and clean your house? Yes, I would rather do that than write. Much of my hatred and dread stems from the fact that I was the poor kid in class that never went out to eat or watched TV. I ran through the woods in the summer and read by a potbellied stove in the winter. I was made fun of not only by my peers but my teachers. This sad experience has scared me and I am determined never to put my students through the humiliation of sharing something too personal.
Merdith shared that she had many questions after her father’s death and is considering writing a journal to help explain things when she’s gone. This reminds me of “The Bridges of Madison County” when after the death of their mother the grown children find her journals and read them. Sometimes the truth is based on perception, you know, what the reader brings to the reading. I wish you the best in whatever you decide and I love your idea about students folding the page in their journal if it is too personal.
Elizabeth Achor

I agree that writing about our feeling can be difficult. I think everyone struggles to write about things that are personal. I have enjoyed writing my entire life. I even have things that I wrote as a child/teen that are hidden in my things. Although I have always enjoyed writing, I have never enjoyed sharing my writing. For me, those are private thoughts and feeling that are for my memories and not for others to form opinions. I think our students feel the same way about things that we ask them to write. I think that if teachers can provide some seperation between things that our students dont mind sharing and things that are off limits when they write, they will be more willing to write and even share stories.