Weaver Ch 4

I was torn about this chapter when I first started getting into it. I didn’t really like the fact that it was using young children’s work as examples until about halfway through. I knew that it was all just to show the development of writing and how we gradually learn to correct ourselves, but it was irritating to have to think of my students as grade-school children.

Once I got past this annoyance I began really understanding the purpose of the chapter. I enjoyed how the author talked about how the “errors” people make are really just them still learning. After having only worked in the classroom once so far, I noticed a lot of “common errors” in my students’ work. After reading this chapter, however, I see these errors as a way to help my students improve their skills. I tend to forget that there needs to be certain steps taken before any aspect is commonplace to a student and maybe my students haven’t been taught those steps yet.

Seeing the development of the children used as examples in this chapter also made me think about how much I can help my students develop in the time that they are in my class. Even though they’ll start out at a higher level than the young students in the book, the 14-18 year old students I have will have a lot of opportunity for development in my class.

I really like the idea that the author gives of “reconceptualizing” the writing process. By showing students that writing is an ongoing process we will allow a more open ally to them as far as how they respond to the feedback we provide. Along with this, the type of feedback we give is also addressed in Weaver’s previous paragraphs. If we supply critique or feedback with a negative tone, our students will not respond positively. We must frame the process and feedback in a way that allows for improvement, not impediment.