Former Marine, Current Student, Future Teacher, but always a Dad!

How do you teach a student to write something that expresses what they are feeling in meaningful way? How do you get them to take a subject, pick a side, and use powerful sentences in combination with facts to argue their point? Its hard enough at times to get them to say hello let alone communicate in this way in writing. This is what I set out to do when I created this blog. While reading extensive on the different methodologies of how to teach writing I noticed that most articles kept mentioning something that was right in front of my face…..literally. They kept mentioning blogs. Some teachers love this new tool, others fear blogs, while others hate the idea of the Internet taking over yet another part of there teaching.  That is why I have decided to really focus in on the effects thatblogs have on the ability to teach students how to write well.

In a recent Chicago Tribune article this debate was showcased:

“It’s the tip of the iceberg of something really, really tremendous that’s happening in education,” said Dave Sherman, principal of South Park Elementary School in Deerfield. “I really think this is cutting edge, where education is going in the next five to 10 years.”

A little farther down the article the opposite point of view was expressed:

Blogs offer a new level of convenience, but some educators fear the technology will open them up to criticism.

“There is great resistance,” said Cynthia Mee

Don’t let me mislead you this is not a hot button subject. At least for now. Most parents and quite a few teachers have no idea what a blog is. As blogs become more prevalent I am not sure whether there will be a huge surge of opinion against it. Safety for the students writing these blogs is an issue but there are security measures to take care of that. Some people will complain that this type of on-line writing breeds poor writing habits but I am sure that capable teachers will be able to create boundaries and guidelines for this. 

I believe that the more you write the better you become at writing. It can’t be different from anything else. The more you do something the better you get at it. I am not saying that every person who plays the piano is Mozart and i am not saying every person who skates allot is Dorothy Hamel but what I am saying is that the people who practice those things a lot are much closer to reaching their potential then those who don’t practice at all. So my question for this semester will be “Does blogging make the average student have more interest in writing then if they were going through the more traditional approaches?” In other words: Blogging vs. the 5 paragraph Compare and contrast essaythat Prof. Rozema likes to talk about.  

 Does blogging is having positive effects on the quality of writing in schools? Lets find out.    

Source:

Blogging clicks with educators | Chicago Tribune

By Lisa Black