As I read the first chapter of The 9 Rights of Every Writer, A Guide for Teachers by Vicki Spandel, I initially thought that I would receive several intense suggestions (a list) on how to improve student writing that I would need to memorize in order to be an effective teacher of writing. Instead, I experienced the pleasure of escaping with Vicki to the Boundary Waters and the Elephant Rock. The peacefulness of the isolated atmosphere freed my perceptions. I longed to take my family there where most of technology is nonexistent and our minds would become liberated from the daily cares of our busy lives. How I longed to visit this place.
"The Right to Be Reflective", the 1st chapter, cajoled me to reflect upon how I have taught writing in the pass. Did I allow my students a time to reflect? Did I focus more on content, grammar, voice, etc? Did I ever provide silent time for them to construct their thoughts, and experience the freedom of writing without focusing on mechanics? Yes, but not as often as I should have. Although, I believe these elements are necessary, the majority of my focus should have been on unfettering their minds from the fear of writing. Spandel and Kling encouraged me to rethink my approach to a student who is staring out the window or at the ceiling instead of writing. While some students may be thinking about what they’ll do once school is over, others may very well be developing a dynamic starter sentence through the reflection process.
Like Gary Paulsen, as a child, reading was my escape from the world and the trials of life. At the age of twelve, I couldn’t wait to sneak and pick one of my Aunt Linda’s innumerable romantic novels off of her sacred bookshelf, and hide to read it as often as I could. Students need to experience such a joy of reading! Reading and reflecting inevitably produces great writers. It is essential for us to value this concept and model it as often as possible. As the author suggest, I have experienced times when I wanted to feel "dialed-up" as she puts it. The fear of being alone to think/reflect frightened me. Well, that was before I had three children of course. Being alone now is like a glass of ice cold lemonade on an excoriating hot summer day! I treasure it like gold!
In essence, effective writing is a gradual process that should not be forced, but gradually developed through reading, reflecting, recording thoughts, and most importantly encouraging dialogue between teacher and student.