Advice to Teachers and Rules of Writing

There are so many benefits to writing with your students as an educator. One of the benefits that Gillespie mentions is that a teacher can understand why their students are so visibly uninterested in writing if they write the assignment themselves. Sometimes it just has to do with the assignment being uninteresting. When teachers test their writing assignments and feel everything their students feel as they write, they can better adjust the assignment so that it can be more exciting to write.

The author mentions something interesting, he says “When teachers write, we learn empathy for our students”.  He goes on to say how beneficial it is for teachers to write their assignments and see how long it takes them to better assign a due date. As a student, I often find myself struggling to get my work done so I look to my peers to blow off steam. I ask them, “Don’t these professors know we have other classes?” From personal experience, I feel professors have no idea that their students are in many more classes. I think it would be kind for teachers to write their assignments, be distracted by their kids, have writer’s block, go to work, and see how long it takes them to write a great revised and reworked final draft. I’m sure it would take a lot longer than they anticipated. 

I also liked the idea of teachers writing in front of their students or even showing their first draft. It reminds students that not all writing has to be perfect the first time around. It also shows students that teachers are not perfect and also have the same struggles when they write. Gillespie says, “If we share our projects or write in front of our students, they can see what a sloppy, difficult act writing is for all writers.” I also think this is important because teachers can see the flaws in their writing, and then fix them to later help their students overcome that same issue. 

Stephen Kings Rules 

Among the twenty rules for writers, there are two I will take with me that could be beneficial for students or aspiring writers.

1. Eliminate distractions. 

Although I already do this, it solidifies the idea that distractions are terrible for writers. I feel I write the best when it’s just my word document, my hands for typing, and my brain. 

2. Take a break.

Stephen King says going back to your book after not reading it for six weeks is strange but exhilarating at the same time and it is the same for writing. We recognize that the writing is ours even after we take a break but then again it also feels like someone else’s work. After some time away from our writing, when we go back to it, there will always be something to change.