Maximizing the Power of the Writer's Notebook
“It has been my experience that my students write better when I roll up my sleeves and write alongside them.”
Kelly Gallagher
Teaching Adolescent Writers
Kelly Gallagher’s words were the inspiration of the name chosen for this project: Write Next To Me. His brief sentence sums up what I have experienced over the eighteen years I’ve taught writing in my home. Students engage, work harder, care more, and in turn, produce better writing when an adult is doing the same thing alongside them.
It becomes an apprenticeship not a classroom.
The parent, like the journey tradesman understands the struggle in the craft, because he is creating himself. He sees where the understudy needs more instruction, because the teacher himself floundered at the same point. He is more gracious in evaluating, because his work is also being evaluated.
I shared about writing our family genealogy in Writing With Others. I remember learning about comma use during that writing project. I knew the rules for using commas prior, but we actually applied those rules in our writing. Our goal was to print copies of the final report for all the extended family members for Christmas; I didn’t want it full of mistakes. But boy! Did I ever struggle trying to figure out where each comma should go and the rule governing its use. Writing with my daughter opened my eyes to just how vulnerable it feels to put your thoughts down on paper.
Parents and teachers, keep your own writer’s notebook. If you ask your students to write five pages a week, you write five pages a week. Exchange notebooks. Give your student a pile of post-it-notes and ask them to comment on patterns, frequent mistakes, and insights they have when they read your writing.
You will become a better writer. You will become a better writing instructor.
