“Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I’d say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it.”
When a cave person wanted to communicate the idea “Ugh,” there was just one option—saying it.
A few thousand years later, the clever folks of Ur developed cuneiform writing. Then people had two options: either say “Ugh” or write “Ugh.” You said it if the person was standing there, and you wrote it if the person wasn’t. The choice was clear.
I remember very well a vocabulary unit I had planned. I had gathered all kinds of interesting information about words, including how words are added to the language, how their usage changes over time, and so on. I enjoyed every minute of my research and couldn’t wait to share my findings with the students. Unfortunately, they didn’t share in my enthusiasm, no matter what I tried. I might just as well have given them a list of ten words and told them to define each one and use it in a sentence. (more…)
Two years ago for Christmas, after much begging and pleading on my part, my wife bought me a Chihuahua puppy. Dobie’s an affectionate little guy (5.5 lbs. now, fully grown) who loves to perform tricks. When teaching him a new one, I can see in the glint of his eye his effort to puzzle out just what his big buddy the human expects this time. And oh the excitement in his stance, his wagging tail, his bark, when it becomes clear! Watching him celebrate his success (with much bouncing and licking of my face), I’m reminded of my childhood school days, the joyful feeling of having finished a test for which I was well prepared in a subject I loved.
Over the course of several entries on this blog, I’ve called into question the value of traditional approaches to teaching literature. My objection has been two-fold:
A recent PBS documentary about China began with these words boldly appearing on the screen:
By three methods, we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
And third, by experience, which is the bitterest.
Q. True or false: The primary theme of The Great Gatsby is the disintegration of the American Dream during the very height of material prosperity in the 1920’s.
A. In the very act of asking that question, I have imposed two assumptions upon you.
1. You ought to have read The Great Gatsby.
2. The American Dream is related to an empty and unsatisfying material prosperity.
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
—Malcolm S. Forbes
I’m big on student-centered learning. That’s why I’m such a strong proponent of using the workshop approach to help students develop their writing skills. (See my blog entry “Writing Workshops: The Only Way to Go.”) This past week I read an encouraging post, “Teaching Without a Script,” on the New York Times‘ Lesson Plans blog. In that essay, Matthew Kay describes his teaching experience at the Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in downtown Philadelphia, and, as he puts it, things are so good that teachers and students are reluctant to leave at the end of the school day:
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