NCTE Beliefs about the teaching of writing

When one thinks of an exceptional writer, the adage, ‘practice makes perfect’ fits in impeccably. The more practice an individual gets in the skill, the more efficiently they acquaint themselves with the process entailed in writing. Writing is an amazing form of expressing one’s thought, however, what is important is how well these thoughts are expressed and how refined they are. Already, it has been established that there is no born writer and that good writing calls for a lot of work and application of learnt skills. Years of practice may seem the only way to acquire these impeccable qualities of a sound writer, however it should be supported and taught by one who is versed in the field with careful adherence to the principles of what constitutes exceptional writing

Throughout the education system, teachers have been branded with the task of teaching students how to write. Evidence substantiates the assertion, that teachers can help students become better writers, by providing much needed guidance and support and allowing them to practice the skills that they have learnt and acquired. I support the idea that anyone can get better at writing and that what teachers do makes a difference in how much students are capable of achieving as writers. Continuously engaging students in the art of writing and not limiting the practice helps develop them somewhat into the writers that we may want them to be.

Surprisingly, I agree to an extent that getting better at writing requires doing it, but how does that statement account for students whom after years of being taught the rules of grammar, punctuation and vocabulary are still not able to apply these basic skills in writing?. How does the statement account for students who are unable to apply the rules of sentence structure more or less write a paragraph? The NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing article states clearly that the more people write, the easier it gets. I to shared that belief however after much deliberation, my opinion slightly differs. In as much as the statement does to some extent seem plausible, it must be made mention of the fact that engaging a student in continuous writing does not necessarily ascertain that the process gets easier for that student and it certainly does not mean that there is any motivation in writing. It may just as well be that the student is writing just for the purpose of getting a grade. Most times, when students think of writing, they think of it within the box of doing it academically. They believe that the rules of sentence structure should only be adhered to in the class. I remember going to secondary school and thinking; I write because the teacher asked me to and my main aim is to impress my teacher by exhibiting and or applying the concepts that were taught. At secondary school, most times my motivation lay in the promise that the best script would be publicized. In consideration of this, it was abundantly clear that maybe I understood what was expected of me and maybe I did not, but how do I explain the fact that I usually got scolded at for writing sentences in my social studies class which were incorrectly punctuated?

Since reading the NCTE Beliefs about writing article, some of my views have been altered. Up till recently, I thought that writing was a natural skill. Just like some people were born to be song stars, some were born to be writers, however, since reading the article, I have learnt that writing can be taught, that indeed, everybody has a capacity to write and that teachers can help students become better writers. According to the NCTE Beliefs, support can best come through carefully designed writing instruction oriented toward acquiring new strategies and skills. It is believed that writers can benefit from teachers who simply support and give them to write, however, of importance is that these teachers should already know and practice good composition. How effective would an unskilled teacher be to a roomful of students hungry for knowledge?

Writing is a tool for thinking…this statement I totally agree with. Reading this statement and a plethora of thoughts flooded at once. When one is engaged in the art of writing, it requires thought and creativity. For instance, as a student, a teacher asks to write about the mysterious house on the field. Almost immediately, the words and phrases start pouring, and students remember a house similar to it, they start using their creativity to guess and make up unimaginable tales about the house. This is a way of getting students to think, getting them to use their prior knowledge and critical thinking skills in order to describe something authentic or make believe.

Through reading the article, I have become aware of a few implications for teaching English. Of importance is the fact that writing should not be limited to the classroom, students should be given an opportunity to practice their writing outside of the school. Moreover, considering the fact that reading and writing are interrelated concepts, time should be allotted to allow for practice in both fields; reading helps expose students to the skills and structure of writing. It gives them a chance to explore the various genres of writing and ways of improving their writing skills. in addition to that, due to the technologically advanced society that our student are exposed to, it will be a good initiative to try as much as possible, to implement various forms of technology in the class. It would be interesting to take students away from the standard practice of limiting them to just pen and paper. Allowing them to use the most recent technologies such as emails and text messaging within the classroom setting will not only make the class an interesting one, but it will as well motivate the students to participate. Most importantly, as a teacher it will be beneficial to utilize multiple teaching strategies in order to get students to be active participants in the learning to write process

Writing is not just a skill that we acquire just because we think we have to, it is also a means of communication. Therefore it is important that all English teachers are exposed to the ideas put forward by the NCTE beliefs about the Teaching of Writing in order to make the teaching- learning process beneficial. Exposing teachers to the ideas expressed in the article is a good alternative, whether it is through word of mouth or having them read the article and understand/ discuss the different strategies that may be utilized to perfect our students writing. At the end of the day all the teachers shall benefit when their student are able to apply the concepts that were taught, so why not make it a universal achievement.