Bomer Chapter 10

I agree with Kristin.  For some reason, this was not one of my favorite chapters of Bomer. While some aspects were interesting, I did not enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed his other chapters.  However, I will focus on the things that interested me.

 One aspect that did interest me was the concept of “magical thinking”.  Bomer defines it as “a tacit assumption that students will somehow pick of values and abilities to which I (Bomer, or in general, teachers) have failed to attend” (173).  Do teachers actually believe this?  In my experience as a student, I have seen teachers hold us accountable for things that we were not taught, but it amazes me that there is actually a name for this.

The most interesting aspect of this chapter was when Bomer was discussing reading his students’ non-fiction and teaching them to write well.  He states, “To have a reason to write well, students need to be under the same pressure to please.  A teacher as the reader won’t provide such pressure, since teachers have to read whatever crap is turned in, and the kids know it.  They think we like reading that stuff and enjoy catching thier mistakes.  That’s a very odd audience to write for” (182).  It never occurred to me to engage the audience in my writing when I knew it was for the teacher.  I always thought that the assignment had to be formal and informational.  As a future teacher, I see that I have to stress that the students are not onlyh writing to me, but to an audience.  The question is, what ways do I do that?

 Alexis

Bomer Chapter 10

Ok..I am going to be honest.  The “Making Sense of NonFiction” chapter is definitly something that should have sparked my interest because my future students need to know which genre they are writing in. However, I did not enjoy this chapter.  For some reason, I wasn’t really following everything Bomer was saying.

Anyway, I was instantly drawn to something that was said in the first paragraph: “our students are performing for a school enviornment that in no way matches what people who write this kind of thing do in the world.”  If this statment does not sum up everything we have been discussing in classes for the past year, than I don’t know what does.  The boring book reports, research papers, analytical papers - all of which do not personally relate to students, needs to go! (As I say that, I am wondering how I am ever going to get a job.)  How could we not expect students to be bored, falling asleep, writing notes to each other in class when most of the curriculum does not relate to who they are as people, who they are in the real world?

 Another statement that caught my attention: “I try to view teaching as a craft, and so I have to keep my ego somewhat detached from my practice. Just as I hope my students will come to view their writing and reading as crafts, assessing where they have succeeded and where they haven’t.”   I LOVE the idea of viewing our writing, each other’s writing, and our student’s writing as crafts. 

Do you guys think that if we introduced writing to students in this manner, they would appreciate the reading and writing process more?

-Kristin

Bomer Chapter 3

I personally like the idea of having a class use a writer’s notebook.  Bomer states, “…hoping to get them to reflect on their experiences rather than merely report them” (45).  I think this information is important because we want our students to explore their minds, and explore the world through language.

Bomer also says, “They were not used to thinking they were suppossed to invent new things to put in there” (52).  Students are so used to the banking system and having education happen to them, that they forget to realize how capable they are of writing in their own unique way.

I thought of an activity that students can also do as a writing assignment:

Each students writes something they like, are interested in, or dislike, on a small piece of paper. Put all the papers in a bag, and students pick at random, a piece of paper.  Whatever their topic may be, they being to free write about it.  Then students can discuss with the class as a whole, and/or with the person who originally wrote the idea, so  they can compare and contrast their opinion on the topic.

-Kristin

Chapter 3

I was interested in the distinction that as made between a journal/diary and a writer’s notebook. 

 I  also had mixed feelings about the assignment of the writer’s notebook as homework.  What do you think about it? Alexis

Bomer, Chapter 3

Here’s a little something to think about…

If you assigned your students to write in “writer’s notebooks,” how would you evaluate them? Would you evaluate them?

Have you ever been graded on a journal/notebook? If so, were you surprised at all by your teacher’s evaluation of your work?

 kh