Friday 20 February 2015

Mentoring Student Writers

My first encounter with my student writer allowed me to touch base with him and discover where his writing is situated. He had three pieces of writing that were "completed" which I have since read.

About my student:
In order to break the ice, my student and I discussed our hobbies and interests. I discovered that he was an avid reader (400-500 pages a week) as well as a sports fan (baseball mainly). When asked about his weaknesses in writing he mentioned that he didn't quite know what to reply. This meant that I had to investigate and discover his strengths and weaknesses through his written work.

My observations:
I found the major strengths of my student were in his ideas and his research abilities. Once he had defined his topic of interest, he hashed out essential points which he then complimented with his research. I also liked that he included visual supports for his writing (graphs and or images). On the other hand I noticed that his organization (structure of ideas) and presentation (paragraph length) needed guidance and fine-tuning. Added to these concerns were his use of editing skills; following our discussion I understood that his editing consisted of proofreading rather than reorganizing ideas and reworking the whole piece.

In order to improve my student's written products, I developed various templates to assist him in the pre-writing and post-writing process. Given that we each have our own writing processes I sought to develop suggestions that could assist in both instances as to provide the student the ability to adopt the method which is most effective for him.



Pre-writing Essay Template
This is a malleable template which is to serve as a guideline rather than requiring strict adherence. The amount of main points, and sub points within each, is malleable and up to the student to determine.
Introduction
                Hook –
                Topic –
                Thesis –
                Ideas Outlined –
1.
2.
3.
Body
                Idea 1 –
                Supporting Arguments –
1a.
1b.
1c.
                Idea 2 –
                Supporting Arguments –
2a.
2b.
2c.
                Idea 3 –
                Supporting Arguments
3a.
3b.
3c.
                  Conclusion
Summary of ideas/arguments:
Thesis confirmed:
Opening:

Post-Writing Checklist

This checklist is intended as a guidepost and set of reminders for the student to use while editing his paper. The list is not exhaustive and can be changed according to the students needs and concerns. 
Ideas
         You can tell what my main idea is
         I spoke of what was important
         My ideas are clear and specific
         I support and expand the main idea with evidence, examples, facts, or explanations
Organization
         My lead gets you hooked
         My paper is easy to follow, like a good map
         I used transitions to lead the reader through my ideas
         I linked ideas with word bridges
         Each paragraph discusses a whole idea
         I ended my paper with some final thoughts
Voice
         This writing sounds like Me!
         I “talk” to the reader in my writing
         This is a paper you would enjoy sharing aloud
         I bring my readers “inside” the paper by asking – What do they already know? What would they like to know? What will they find interesting
Word Choice
         My words make sense and are used correctly
         My words go with my topic and audience
         I was careful not to use one word too many times and instead used synonyms
         I did not use big words just to show off
         I avoided vague words
Sentence Fluency
         I read this aloud and like how it sounds
         Many sentences begin in different ways
         Some sentences are long, some short
Conventions
         I have proofread my whole paper
         I have checked my
o   Spelling
o   Grammar
o   Punctuation
o   Paragraphing
o   Capitals
         My paper is neat and looks good on the page
         This paper is ready to publish    
Presentation
         My use of visual or graphics is well integrated
         My paragraphs are approximately of equal length             
 

Quotes and Thoughts

 “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” - Friedrich Nietzsche 

Upon first having encountered this quotation I realized that each of us in this world need to act and be who they are - remaining true to themselves. Often we suppress our behaviors for fear of how others will view and judge us. There is always a rationale for everyone's behavior and one should always dance to their music regardless of the stares or judgments of others. 

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” - Albert Camus

During my undergraduate degree I took a seminar on Marxism. This course opened my mind to the philosophical concept of communism and provided me with an intellectual foundation upon which to criticize capitalist society. I believe that modelling behavior that challenges the status quo is the best way to teach others to live freely. I used to abide fully by this saying, though with the challenges I have recently encountered I have found it difficult to uphold this in my day-to-day. As I continue through my recovery and rediscover my self, I constantly reiterate this saying in my mind as a reminder of the purpose of being on this earth and in this day and age.


“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”- Mahatma Gandhi

This iteration is another tenant of my philosophy. The best way to challenge the "system" in our world is to live in a different way than it demands. In terms of teaching, this quotation speaks to the modelling role played by teachers. In general terms, it means living against the grain; eating natural foods (not commercialized junk), developing a home grown vegetable garden to keep in touch with the earth and self-sustenance, being social and empathetic (not closed off, compartmentalized and individualized as consumer society dictates). The way commercial society is moving is unsustainable and unnatural; grassroots change is the only means of resistance and being a part of that change is essential for purposeful existence.