Following “Dave” around in three different classrooms was helpful in seeing how he interpreted writing in different contexts. It made sense that being a biology major, the writing required for that class had more meaning, especially compared to poetry which had a limited function for him. I guess most of us don’t think that hard about what we write or how we write we just write. One of my students was kind enough to share his essays from history class with me because he’d recieved high marks whereas in my class they have not been as high. I wanted to see what the difference was…if he was writing differently or we were grading differently. The latter was true and I told him so. The history teacher was focused on whether he was familiar with the content and not so much concerned with organization or grammar. I think students are pretty aware that each class is different. The other day they were going on and on about how every class is different and every instructor is different and grades differently. What I don’t think they are as aware of is how their own writing shifts in different settings.
Out of the three classes I would want mine to be like the comp class in terms of its teaching writing as a process that we have control over and the level of social interaction between students. I like the relationship described between the kid and his biology teacher becuase the student felt like his professor treated him as an equal. I think some of my students may feel the way Dave felt in his poetry class: like the writing has little meaning or function outside of class, a lack of motivation because of the grades they’ve received. I think part of that is due to a lack of interst on their end. Just like D doesn’t care too much for poetry, not everyone is going to develop a love for writing. I also think that on my end I have to be conscious, as McCarthy says, about the purpose and context of writing assignments.
May 15, 2008 at 4:56 am
Yes, what counts as “good” writing varies from class to class. That is really all we have to awaken students too. And they know it too. That’s part of a rhetorical approach to teaching writing: help students figure out what counts as good writing in each new writing context they enter, wether by asking questions, studying models, collaborating with peers, etc. Students need to learn how to identify and adapt to new writing situations. The example I’ve used over and over again: don’t teach MLA format like it is the only one that exists in the world.