Writing: a Mode of Thinking Danling Fu and Jane Hansen
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page 426 Conversation Currents Writing: A mode of Thinking Danling Fu and Jane Hansen n this issue, Language Arts editors talk with Danling and Jane extend our own thinking about Danling Fu and Jane Hansen about writing, the how to make the writing process a bit more visible Ithinking that needs to be made visible, the roles for our emerging writers. of evaluation in writing, and writing across disci- plines. They discuss how engaging in the slow and deep thinking that writing requires deepens reading This excerpted conversation was recorded on comprehension. They also talk about the prescrip- January 11, 2012, and has been edited for publi- tive nature of writing programs and the push for cation. The full conversation is available as a pod- standards. Significant in this conversation is how cast (http://www.ncte.org/journals/la/podcasts). LA: The first question I’d like to pose to the the depth of thinking demonstrated in our teach- two of you is how might we, as language arts ing or in our students’ work. So I think it’s very educators, put thinking back into the school important to bring the thinking back and into our writing curriculum? writing. Jane: Danling, would you like to start? Jane: Yes, and maybe Danling: Okay. something that we need Now in our teaching of to spend more time on, writing, if there is any as teacher educators and teaching of writing, we teachers, is leading stu- hear much talk about dents through our think- the focus, organization, ing processes, because elaboration, details, or we have been brought even descriptive words, up to think that writing variety of sentence struc- is a mode of learning. tures, or some people So when we think through what we might write even talk about peer- about—maybe we’re writing about a book or a teacher conferences. But we read the student’s personal experience or a US history topic—we work and think “he’s so shallow” because al- start somewhere, and then we think out loud, though the writing might be wordy and lengthy, That idea led me to this idea, and this idea led it is without depth or not well thought through. me to a third idea, and by the time I arrived at So, while we talk about high-order thinking or the end of my thinking, I was someplace where I critical thinking in our teacher programs or in wasn’t at the beginning, and that’s what writing inservice workshops, teacher workshops, or even does. Writing helps us to clarify our thinking our curriculum standards, we don’t actually see process. Language Arts, Volume 89 Number 6, July 2012 A420_July2012_LA.indd 426 5/31/12 8:43 AM CoNVErSATIoN CurrENTS | Writing: A Mode of Thinking page 427 Danling: Yes. I so agree. We need to stress continue, but you don’t put it aside for very long demonstrating more thinking and thinking because then you forget where you are. process in our teaching of writing. And we need Danling: Yeah. to teach writing in every subject, not just in language arts. Because writing deepens reading LA: We really like those ideas, Danling and comprehension, subject knowledge learning— Jane. And we’re wondering about the concern of math, science, social studies, language develop- time, because we constantly hear in our courses ment. So without writing, which allows people and working with teachers that there just seems to engage in slow thinking or deep thinking, to be a lack of time to do this sort of deep think- we read, but we may not reach certain levels ing that we’re talking about. Can either of you of understanding or remember well what we address how you might work with teachers to have read. We learn the subject knowledge, but help them to re-craft their time? may not digest well the new concepts; we study Danling: You know, when we say we don’t language and may recognize language rules and have time, it really means we are trying to cover vocabulary, but we may not own the language too much. But I don’t think the goal of teaching rules and words, we may not use them to think, is to cover, so when we think time is an issue, to express, to dig deeper into our thinking. Writ- we should cover less but really learn what we do ing can enable this, it can help deep thinking study. That’s what I believe. happen. Jane: I also think that time has to do with Jane: It seems like we need to maybe bring priorities. We have time for something, because back the notion of the draft. I think sometimes it we have 45 minutes for writing class every has gotten lost. The draft is where we go through single day, or maybe even longer if we have our thinking. We think about it and we keep block scheduling. We fill that time, so what is it writing and we think about it some more and we that we really think matters? keep writing. And then after we have finished a LA: I absolutely agree. draft and maybe talked about it, then, when we revise, we start to rethink and sort of focus in Danling: Yes, when I go to the school, I and clarify our thinking. It seems like we maybe look at the question of time. I ask, “Do you have have short-circuited writing. 45 minutes or more of writing?” Yes, they have it, but when you look at how they use it, you Danling: Yes! Yes, yes. You know, I do hear, “Okay, let’s write. Use beautiful language, think revision is the core of writing. That’s what use big words and pay attention to the sentence separates it from speaking, because revision is correctness.” I just feel like there is so much rethinking, reorganizing our thoughts, re-review- stress on the surface level, not the thinking. So I ing our presentation, and rewording or re-finding don’t think we require our students to do enough our expressions. It’s not as simple as making of the kind of writing we’re talking about. Depth changes to surface-level content or structure; it of writing should progress from elementary to goes deeper to thought process, so I think revi- college. Even though we include writing in our sion is often misinterpreted in our teaching of school standards, we focus on writing as funny, writing. exciting, entertaining—whatever it takes to at- Jane: I think part of the thinking, and tract audience attention, to make people laugh— what is missing sometimes, is ongoing writ- but we rarely strive to make people think. We ing because our thinking is ongoing. Students, just don’t require student writers to put much regardless of their age, need to write frequently, thinking into their writing, so that’s one reason so after they start a piece of writing, they can why we struggle to make readers think. We pick it up and keep writing and pick it up again stress the correctness, the so-called beautiful and keep writing. Writers want time and several language in writing, but the depth and logic of opportunities to continue to think about what- thinking are not there. I believe we waste a lot of ever their topic is—just like reading a book. You time in our teaching. read it for a while and you continue and you Language Arts, Volume 89 Number 6, July 2012 A420_July2012_LA.indd 427 5/31/12 8:43 AM CoNVErSATIoN CurrENTS | Writing: A Mode of Thinking page 428 Jane: Danling, maybe you could say a little all know that when you are working all the way bit about this as you see it in the field of English through a piece of writing, from jotting ideas to a language learners. finished piece, you have to have a computer con- Danling: You know, we always see English sistently available to you over a period of time. language learners and think they are learning That’s just not possible in many schools. language, so when teachers have ELL students LA: Right. Right. So we have to keep in write, they stress language learning, not think- mind, then, that as teachers work with kids in ing. So writing for ELLs is mostly a writing classrooms, we are using all sorts of technolo- exercise, language practice, it’s never treated gies, whether that’s paper and pencil, an oc- as expression or thinking. If we want ELLs to casional computer, smart phone technologies, write, they have to use their first language or whiteboards, all of those options. But at the heart more proficient language to think for their writ- of it all is this: What is it that children are com- ing. Real writing is not just a language exercise; posing? Is their writing generated by responding it is a thoughtful expression and exploration. If to prompts and prescriptive curriculum or are the students are forced to think with their limited we giving them space to bring their own lives proficient language, their thinking and ideas will and experiences into that writing curriculum? be very limited. Jane: Let’s think for a minute about what Jane: You know, I’m afraid that some of you said with regard to the writing of younger what you’re saying also applies to classrooms children, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten chil- where there aren’t very many English Language dren. They write every day and, in many cases, of Learners, or where we’re not necessarily think- course, their writing is drawing.