No tears with writing
“Wait. Say that again,” I gasped as my boss let me know the class she wanted me to teach the following year.
“I want you to teach two senior level classes for students who have not yet passed an English class in high school.”
I tried to hide a bit of my side smile because, secretly, I love a challenge. “Tell me more,” I said.
(Side note: that’s always my GO TO phrase as a teacher in the classroom too! As I am trying to gather my thoughts or trying to interpret what they mean, this gives me time and perspective. Try it out with your kids, too, when you aren’t quite sure what to say or what they mean!)
“We have about twenty-five students who haven’t yet passed a class, and when we dug into the data, all of them failed because they refused to turn in any essay. We want to build a class targeted for exactly what they need because we don’t want to send them out into the world without being able to express themselves through writing.”
I was hooked. Of course I wanted to teach that class. I was only bummed that I didn’t think of the idea first!
***
While I have taught multiple AP and Honors English classes, most of my career has been working with students who were grade levels behind in reading and writing. By the time high school rolled around and they were sitting in front of me, they were reluctant learners who had a very low concept of theirselves and their abilities to read or write. With teenagers, this looks different depending on the student, but most often, it looks like:
an unwillingness to do an assignment - quietly or loudly
a sudden need to go to the bathroom, office, drinking fountain, locker, nurse, guidance counselor, etc.
a constant need for reassurance and support every step of the way
some bargaining to do something instead first with an empty promise to get to it later
It doesn’t matter what it looks like. What matters is that writing isn’t happening. Or any writing that does get completed comes at too high a cost at home - sometimes with blood, sweat, and tears (from student and/or you!). Writing is difficult to teach, difficult to do, and difficult to build confidence… if you are doing it wrong. However, if you can figure out the tricks, it will become one of the most rewarding skills your child will learn!
***
You know your kid. You’re here because something is blocking writing from working at your home, and I totally get that! Let me give you a few quick tips you can try right away:
Focus on the positives! Remember those days when we were writing and a teacher marked everything we did wrong in red ink? It always felt like we couldn’t do anything right! To build confidence, use the 3:1 strategy (or 5:1 if they are really struggling) where you give three positives per every piece of constructive feedback. If students feel like they are on track, they are more wiling to try.
You need to teach a body paragraph structure - there are many to choose from.
Teach the body paragraph structure without adding new content. Isolate the skill of organization by having your child write about something they are interested in. I’ve seen kids write paragraphs on sports, their faith, Pokemon Go, K-Pop music, and even HGTV programming. The topic doesn’t matter. Understanding how to write within a structure is! Then, and this is key, ONLY GIVE FEEDBACK ON GRAMMAR AND ORGANIZATION!
As you build from there and start to add content, keep the feedback short and focused. Only look at three things for every paragraph or essay - grammar (always), organization, clarity, and cohesion. When those are mastered, you can then work on more complex aspects of writing such as style, elaboration, and complexity.
If you can follow this process at home, you will start to see improvement in mood, confidence, and skill. You will spend less time motivating the student to write and more time celebrating their growth!
***
As my school year winded down, my boss came to check in on my experimental writing class. I was happy to report that every student had written every piece of writing for the year and that about 70% of them were writing at grade level and all were at high school level.
I know how to get reluctant writers to put pen to paper, and this is exactly what I can help you with.
You don’t have to do it alone.
-Kristin
