03 May 2023
Use It or Lose It! That’s the model for keeping and improving your knowledge in math. As much as someone can be a math wiz, if you don’t practice you face the possibility of the rules and formulas fleeing from your memory. However, I never really imagine that correlation with writing. Apparently, the same procedure applies. The author of the article, Becoming Your Own Expert – Teachers as Writers’ says “I know that if I don’t write daily, I lose a lot of steam. It takes me longer to get prepared to write, to build momentum if I don’t write regularly” (Tim Gillespie). Applying this method can be beneficial to all teachers, especially those who teach writing because the more advance they are at writing, the better they can help their students. recognizing the difficulties they face in their own writing.
Students need to see the authenticity in their teachers’ writing so they can understand even teachers make mistakes. The article states, “When teachers write, we give ourselves a chance to test their own assignments….Writing makes us experts on teaching writing…When we write, we learn empathy for our students.” However, not everyone agrees with the fact that teachers need to continue to improve their writing and become experts in order to teach students how to write. For example, when Tim Gillespie tried to explain the idea to an administrator, he replied, “With all due respect, I am a little tired of all this creative experience stuff. I don’t give a damn if my teachers can write a pretty little poem or story. I want them to know how to teach writing.” He is clearly missing the whole point of the project because it is designed to get the same results that he wants. Except for the fact that they have an approach to achieve it.
The Writing Rules That Should Not Be Ruled Out!
Recognizing that writing is important, many experts in the domain have come up with different ways and strategies to help others nail their assignments every time. The renowned author Stephen King wrote an article with twenty rules that writers can apply to their projects. After reading the article I find that some of the rules resonate with me more than others. Our last blog is on an article by Kyle Weins; a business owner of iFixit, and Dozuki. He claims that for anyone to get a position at either one of his companies, their grammar should be flawless. Here, one of Mr. King’s rules describes in his article, Top 20 Rules for Writers, says “Don’t obsess over perfect grammar.” He says that our main focus should be making the reader feel welcome, and the story as real as possible. He also advises writers to Turn off the TV, and to Eliminate distractions. Once again, when I completed the experiment working with my TV off, and working with it on; it was clear that I was less productive when the television was on. Some of the other rules that I also find interesting include Don’t use passive voice, Don’t use adverbs, The magic is in you, Read, Read, Read, Take a break, and Write one word at a time. However, the few that I elaborated on are my favorites.
Leave a Reply