Against Writers' Welfare
Konrad Glogowski,
blog of proximal development,
Oct 12, 2005
In Grade 10 I had a teacher named Jamie Bell who, in English class, assigned as a writing project anything I want to write (or draw, or create, or design). I eventually submitted a journal filled with short shories, musings, drawings, crossword puzzles, city plans, and more. I have written in my own way, with my own voice, ever since. Makes me think. "By producing the kind of writing their teachers seem to want, students hope to gain a good mark. Over the years they lose the six-year-old's sense of having things to say of their own." The fostering of one's own voice, at a time these valuable skills are being learned, is so important. "The teacher who abandons the role of assessor to become an advisor, begins to change the picture... the writer's own intentions begin to operate, and the teacher-audience is now seen as a real listener." Never lose your six-year-old eyes.
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