The past couple weeks my literacy class has been conversing about writing- how to go about deciding what makes good writing and how to assess student writing. In class, our instructor showed us two samples of student poetry and opened discussion by informing us the grade each student received for their work. We were all stunned... The piece which had less emotion, feeling, and voice was the poem given an A. The poem which used a scarce amount of words but expressed the most emotion was given an F. This got all of us thinking (and talking)! How is it that the student who elicits the greatest emotional response gets an F while a humdrum retelling of a life moment receives an A? We could only conclude that the teacher was assessing off a rigid rubric which didn't award points for style or voice.
This example from class got me thinking long after we dismissed for the night. To be quite honest, it worries me... I worry that as a new teacher my assessment of a students writing will be confined to a prescribed rubric where risk taking and artistry are not rewarded but, like in this case, punished. How do we get students to initiate writing for their own purposes when we are failing them for trying something different? How boring would the world of books and articles be if all authors stuck to a rigid framework for composing? Since when has writing become getting words on paper instead of eliciting feelings from readers? Now I must say, I am not someone who would describe myself as a writer... by ANY means! However, the more I write the more confident I become with the task. Anyways back to the point, I am no amazing writer, but I can say I believe writing is an art form much like painting or sculpting (these areas I do feel more confident to claim as my own).
My question in all of this mumbling about myself is... How and when are we going to look at writing and see that not only do we use it to relay information, but we use it to make the reader feel something? Obviously, well-known New York Times bestsellers know this or they most likely wouldn't be on the bestseller list. When are we going to introduce this concept to our students? Couldn't this be used as a motivating technique? For some assignments there are no rules (within reason)- take risks, do something new, invent a genre, invent words (Dr. Seuss did after all). This kind of creative freedom should be a focus in and of itself. In order to develop voice in student writing we need them to feel safe taking risks and free to express themselves in their own way. Isn't this "their voice" after all? Carl Anderson writes in Assessing Writers, "Good writers create the sense that they are having an intimate conversation with their readers"(Anderson, 92). I would agree with this statement and go on to mention another quote, "creating voice by creating intimacy with readers" (Anderson, 92). This intimacy comes when students are encouraged to initiate writing that is important to them. Let them tinker- see words as their tools- manipulate sentences to work for them. Giacometti would not have been the sculpture he was had he never been left alone in the studio to tinker and experiment with materials. Why do we insist that students manipulate and create the way everyone else does? Or the way standards and politicians have decided is the right way? Let them explore the world of writing with fresh and young eyes.
Since reflecting and thinking more deeply about writing assessment, I want to work to create a classroom framework to guide my writers. Three broad expectations that I want them to keep in mind when composing their writing. The first- Make "Me" Feel Something! (me being the reader). The second- Try Something! (something being a risk, a new sentence structure, a different perspective, etc.) I haven't developed the last one because this has been harder for me to pin down than I had originally thought. Maybe I don't need three broad expectations.
In reality, I know it comes down to attaching a grade to a paper. How will I do this? I do not yet have a solid answer to that question. I will look to see if they have thought about the three broad expectations, but I will also use what I know about the writer and our conversations to guide my assessment. Ultimately, I need time in a classroom, with real writers, who have real questions, producing real work to know exactly what it is I value in student writing. I would like to think more about writing portfolios and holistic grading but that is another post for another day. If you have any insights on my thoughts, I welcome all opinions and ideas!
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