This is the last and final chapter in Gallagher's book. This chapter is a sum up of all the previous chapters, and is more of a reflection on his 10 core beliefs about teaching writing. He starts by explaining the chapter title, and the reasons the Wizard of Oz would be a horrible teacher is because "he hides behind a curtain projecting a false sense of expertise" (pp 224). What Gallagher means by this is that we need to model for our students. Model, model, model. The point of a mini lesson is to teach for 10 minutes, then model the writing project so students can see the struggles you, the teacher and the expert, work through while writing. Once faced with a model, students become more comfortable with their own faults, which allow for a better flow of creative juices.
I will not go through all 10 of Gallagher's core values, but another one I really liked is the importance he plays on background knowledge. Not only does background knowledge help you to be a better reader, but it also helps in becoming a better writer. This plays on the whole researching section of his book. Relating this section back to Gee, Gallagher is saying that the more information we have about secondary Discourses, and possible filtered in primary Discourses, the better writers we are. Students can become more creative in their writing, using better adjectives rather than generalizations. In addition, the more they know, the more excited they will be to share that knowledge.
I also loved core belief 5, which is "There is no such thing as a five-paragraph essay" (pp 230). Gallagher says that in the real-world, the five paragraph essay doesn't exist. Now, I personally think that the five-paragraph essay can be a basis in which to introduce essay structure, but spending too much time on this is a waste. It is limiting. Gallagher's response to this is that it is much better to teach the structure of having a beginning, middle, and end, because students may be able to write an effective essay in only four paragraphs. What really made me laugh is when he says that for school districts that absolutely mandate a five-paragraph essay, spend 95% of your time teaching authentic writing, and only 1 week on the five-paragraph essay. (:
Lastly, I must post the importance of core belief 7, which is having students continue to write by hand. Yes, we're a technologically based society. Yes, kids are playing with phones and computers earlier than 18 months old. Does that mean that penmanship no longer has a place? Absolutely not! Writing free hand can often times be more creative and visually appealing to a growing mind as opposed to staring at a computer screen and writing in Times New Roman. Writing is an art, and there is so much more appreciation for the loops of u's, and w's, and the squiggles of s'. Handwriting causes students to think with a different part of their brain, and sometimes you will find that creativity is limited when restricted to a screen.
I really loved the title of the blog/chapter, and the point that is made by it! I can honestly say that I've heard more about modeling during the course of this class than I did while in my undergrad courses, which is a shame since it is obviously a powerful tool! I also think it's interesting that so much is written about the ineffectiveness of the five paragraph essay, yet the powers that be in many places still require it to be taught. In addition, the point about secondary Discourses improving students' writing is very interesting, and makes a lot of sense. I think kids feel more confident writing when they are comfortable with the content, much as we, as adults do.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I agree with all of the core beliefs you listed. Understanding that background knowledge is one of the most important aspects of gaining knowledge to any person. How else do we become critical and analyze a new concept or article of knowledge with a place to start.
ReplyDeleteHis point about writing with pen and paper is one that I continue to do today. Like many of us, we all have all or one of the many devices to take notes in class, but I prefer manually writing my notes. I thought maybe it was an "old school" approach when I see everyone using laptops, iPads, tablets to take notes.
Yes, modeling is so so so important. We learn more by doing than by watching, and doing together is a great way to combine teaching and learning so the students have an interactive experience.
ReplyDeleteI also take notes by hand because I find it easier to sift through later. Unfortunately I was in a class where a woman said that there was no point to teach penmanship anymore since all we're using now is technology. I just shook my head and hoped she never got a license. I think it is so important because it in itself is a creative form. The loops and lines are beautiful, and I hope we never stop teaching our kids the importance of free writing with a pencil/ pen. I was so inspired by this that I started writing my boyfriend letters and mailing them to him and he writes back. We see each other every day, but writing our thoughts down makes them so much more special than receiving them in a text.