September 5, 2015

I have spent the last two hours reading stories my students wrote last week and it is heart breaking.  You can read the despair in their words.  You can actually see the despondency in their handwriting!  They cannot use their creativity for fear of the mechanics. I cannot seem to get them to understand that right now spelling and grammar do not matter; I want their thoughts and imaginative creations on the paper.  We will go back and take care of make their paper “pretty”.  I know last year they were constantly drilled on mechanics of writing and not the writing process. So I have to erase a lot of what is cemented into their memory about writing and try to start over and let them know that the most important thing inexpressive writing is their knowledge, thoughts curiosity and imagination.