Success!

In previous posts I looked at what I feel students should learn and also how I want to be viewed as a teacher.  To further understand who I am as a writing teacher and what my philosophies are I need to know what success is for me.

What do I feel makes a successful writing class?

I believe that the first step in developing a successful classroom, whether it is a writing class or anything other subject, is to create a classroom community.  If a student does not feel comfortable or safe sharing their ideas and participating in the class or if a student feels that they have no control over their own learning then there is slim to no chance that the class will be successful for the students or the teacher.  

Early this fall I interviewed one of my high school English teachers.  I was able to not only understand her views and philosophies about teaching writing, but I was also able to analyze her answers and see if they applied to my own ideas.  The teacher I interviewed was my all-time favorite English teacher.  She had inspired me not only to love writing and continue developing my skills as a writer, but she also encouraged me to begin my career path towards education.  

I adore this woman! Her Husband, Mr. Smalley, was also my Chemistry teacher!  Mrs. Smalley and her husband are pictured here after inducting new member into the Portsmouth West High School Beta Club. 

During the interview I asked her how she developed the classroom community that I had succeeded in; ““During my first year of teaching I developed a classroom community by creating a comfortable learning environment with much reinforcement and support.  I tried to meet a variety of learning styles in order to help all students feel successful. Since then, I have added more options in my classroom.  By options, I mean I provide students with an opportunity to select their assignment from an option list.  Students will feel more comfortable and successful when they may choose” (Smalley 2013).  When analyzing her interview I responded with, “The idea of giving students options allows the students to feel as if they have a say in how and what they learn.  Students are more invested in their learning if they are given the chance to make decisions about it.”  

When developing my own classroom community I plan on creating opportunities for my students to have a choice in how and what they learn.  As a learner I have always flourished when given agency in my own learning.  With agency in learning the students take more ownership of their learning and their writing and then put more effort into their work.  To help support the given agency I will also create a community where discussion is safe and not critiqued.  A student should feel that their opinions and statements will be listened to and analyzed not ignored and critiqued.  

A supportive classroom community encourages the success of all the students and the teacher and allows the student to feel safe and confident in their own learning and opinions. Without a supportive classroom community, I feel that a writing class cannot be successful.  

In relation to choice in the classroom community I also feel that allowing students to connect personally with their writing topics is necessary for success in the classroom.

In an informal response to Beth Neman’s text, “Teaching Students to Write,” I stated that, “In the hope to be as balanced as possible in my class between the affect approach and the craft approach I will have to find a way to transition between the personal topics and more academic focused prompts.  As Neman discusses using personal topics to begin teaching writing composition she argues that, “there is so much to be learned with the first assignment that it would be a mistake to complicate the issue by calling for subject matter beyond that” (Neman 53).  Personal topics give students the opportunity to focus on the expository writing skills they have just learned and the pay closer attention to the organization of their papers while enjoying their topics.  Once the students have gained a base knowledge of how to execute a thesis and then support their argument through the organization of their writing they can then begin to focus academic writing prompts and move towards a more craft centered approach in learning the mechanics of expository writing."

 http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/building-community-classroom

 

For my writing class to succeed I must create a balance between an affect centered and a craft centered approach.  I will first allow the students the freedom to choose personal topics when writing to focus on the argument and content of their paper; this aligns me with an affect centered approach.  Once students have practiced developing their ideas and addressing content, I can then move on to a more craft centered approach where the students must learn and focus on the mechanics of expository writing.  A balance between affect and craft centered approaches allows me to create a successful writing class.  

There are many other elements that must be present for a writing class to succeed, but without an established classroom community and a balance between craft and affect teaching the students will not have the opportunity to succeed.  

I hope that once I am in the classroom I continually learn of new ways to make my class as successful as possible, but I will always have a community of writers that learn from both affect and craft centered teaching. 

 Building Community in the Classroom  -  This link takes you to scholastic.com. The article gives a multitude of tips and plans on how to create a successful classroom community on the first day of class!