Here I am!

Paper #1 (Final)

Melanie Stanfill

September 21, 2008

ENG 319

Rough Draft #1

Students and Teachers Unite

"So let me say that we shouldn't think of ourselves as frontier guides but as managers, people who manage substations in the cultural network, small shops in general production of readers and writers." - Bartholomae

Growing up I always wanted the freedom to write however I wanted and whatever I wanted, but that was never an option. I felt we were often told what to write, how to write it, and we all sat down and came up with very similar ideas. We were trapped and there was no getting out of this writing nightmare. There was a large gap between the teacher and the student. The teacher just taught, the student just followed. The teachers ideas where important, and the students were not. However, now that I am on my way to becoming a teacher I feel that my "structured" writing was not a total waste of time nor was it purposeless. My teachers taught me grammar, sentence structure, and many more basic rules to produce a well written paper. Although we had a lack of free writing and our topics were assigned, it gave the teachers the ability to grade us on the same scale and in an equal manner. The topics were boring and we produced the same style papers for years, but we must all admit we learned tons about basic writing and that is why you cannot have a teacher-free classroom. Like Bartholomae says, "there is no writing that is writing without teachers...to hide the teacher is to hide the traces of power, tradition, and authority present at the scene of writing." And as a future teacher I want my students to understand that statement but also enjoy the writing part of their academic career so much that they will never dread writing again because my students will know how to write.

Teachers should give the students an overall background knowledge of what a proper paper looks like and the internal workings of a good solid paper. However, teachers should have no role in picking topics or judging students views and thoughts. All styles of writing should be taught to make well rounded knowledgeable individuals. A well rounded knowledgeable individual is someone who can write in any style, and can take any paper assignment and make it their own (using their voice), while still following rules like punctuation, spelling, and so on. Students should also draw on prior knowledge from readings and free writings. These readings can be anything from classic books, art work, music, news, and even the latest issue of People Magazine. We can unite as teacher and students to create works of art based on their own thoughts but still have them be well written and structured pieces. Uniting the teacher and student will not only satisfy the needs of the teacher but will satisfy the wants of the students.

How can I change my student's minds about how writing is important? How can I have them enjoy doing it, yet be able to grade them on their individual thoughts? To close this gap between student and teacher I need to not only take on the role as the teacher but also as the learner. To achieve success with my students I feel that Elbow and Bartholomae can both assist me with my teaching process. As a teacher my role can be to incorporate more free writings, writing without boundaries, and judgment. I can "remove" myself from their thoughts and let them just write. Elbow believes that the teacher should be a part of what the students are doing (by this I mean writing when they write). Although I do not plan on taking part in the writing, I do not have to give a grade on their free writes. I can do credit for completing the task but avoid shutting down their ideas, and fixing their grammar. That way as a teacher I will still have a role in my classroom but I allow my students to teach themselves. I wish for my students to want my assistance when creating their work. I yearn for them to need me to help create their work. I would like to challenge them in ways they have yet to be challenged, so when they complete these challenges they feel proud and we both can feel a sense of accomplishment. This in return will help my students create their own "works of art."I want my students to be proud of what they are writing and be influenced by my classroom techniques, so that they feel their time is worthwhile and are wanting and willing to continue the writing journey. As the learner I can find out what are current issues my students are dealing with, to help me relate better to them and overall this will help me with writing assignments and grading techniques. I will still hold authority and my power will be present; the only thing of the academy that will change is the tradition (sorry Bartholomae).

Like Elbow would say this method would not be "foolproof," but it would be a start to help close the gap between teacher and student. This would help unite the classroom better as a whole and benefit both the teacher and the student alike. Students would keep their true selves and be able to express it, and teachers will be able to be the educators and mentors of the students thought process. Both teacher and student have the ability to learn from one another and make the academy more desirable. Students can learn writing in a fun and free minded environment, and teachers can guide them to making their writing purposeful. The classroom can develop into a discourse community of its very own and one that people will be proud to be a part of. The teacher will still be present but the traditional idea of a teacher will not be so obvious. And together the teacher and the student will finally unite.

Word Count: 1,011