Thoughts on Atwell's Story

I found Atwell’s story to be very informative in terms of the practice of teaching. I was schooled via the French private system which espoused a very traditional educational philosophy. Classes were teacher-centered and heavy directives, constraints and topics were mandated by students. There was little room for student initiative in terms of writing. This setting held a very static instructional approach which valued a formulaic teaching method rather than having a malleable, adaptable and responsive one. I was pleased of Atwell’s narrative as she underwent drastic evolution throughout her years of teaching. It made me realize that this profession is not just about teaching but also about personal growth. Effectively, “students can’t be the only learners in the classroom. Teachers have to learn too.” (Atwell 1988, 9) This remark struck me as it epitomizes the need to realize and accept that as teachers, we cannot became dictators of content but rather shared learners in the process. In terms of writing, this ties into the importance of allowing a certain degree of freedom for student’s to choose topics that interest them and allowing them to discover these interests within the unit of study while applying appropriate linguistic conventions. As stated by Atwell “freedom of choice does not undercut structure” (1988, 15) as the latter is taught through shared responsibility and the “hand-over” of learning. The most interesting facet of moving from writing exercises to a writing workshop is writing alongside students as it peeks student interest by “sharing [teachers] own joys and challenges as they write” (Peterson 2008, 13). Modelling one’s behaviour and teaching strategy thus appears essential to a transformative teaching practice.