Children as Writers

I don’t have a very clear memory of when and how I began making scribbling marks or writing as a whole.  What I do know quite clearly is my affinity for the varying techniques used to write (i.e. calligraphy, learning and practicing about other fonts/styles, etc.).  I believe that for me growing up, writing wasn’t about expressing or communicating thoughts and feelings but it was aesthetically motivated – if I had to write, it had to look ‘pretty’, neat, and very legible.  I wasn’t focus too much on the content.  I believe this is influenced by interactions with my family.  My grandfather, who was an art teacher, had a 4-5 foot green chalk board in our dining room and every morning he would write out the date and the number of orders (they sold blocks of ice) they had for that day.  I loved his penmanship and there were times where I would closely observe him write with careful precision on the chalk board.  It was the same experience with my mom and how, when she wrote out letters or note cards, she would spend the time to make sure each letter was done right.  In my elementary school years, I think I flew below the radar when it came to assessing my writing and reading skills because my writing was legible enough.  I think that because of this, the content, spelling and grammar wasn’t overly focused on.  I remember getting a report card saying that I needed to work on my storytelling and a few grammar skills but my spelling and the legibility of my actual writing style was enough to grant me ‘satisfactory’ in my overall language arts skills.  From this I think about other possible experiences of the legibility or illegibility of one’s writing as influencing how that child is thought of as a whole.

I can recall a ‘forced’ reading/writing or literacy situation experienced by my childhood friend.  During “language arts” period we were often given notebooks in which half of each page had a space to draw images/pictures and the other half was lined to write out the story behind these drawings.  He always drew but the written part was always minimal and ‘messy’ (a term my grade 3 teacher actually used to describe my friend’s writing).  As a result, he would always be set aside by the teacher, and in turn, always asked him to “elaborate” the written part of his story and also work on improving his writing so that it could be easily read.  Not only did he feel embarrassed for being set aside, but he was also being forced to do something that he did not connect to.  Was he not a good storyteller because he couldn’t articulate with words written on a page?  Did the teacher see him as lacking (intellectually) because his writing was ‘messy’?  When we played outside of the school walls he had elaborate ideas and stories to attach to games which ranged from playing with toys and other materials or “driving” to varying places in his dad’s old truck.  Looking back on it now, he was more of a visual, verbal, physical learner and reading or writing just wasn’t his forte.

In reflecting on my experience and my observations of my friend’s experience, I relate this quite well with Barrat-Pugh’s (2007) assertion that “literacy practices are differently valued in different contexts…in educational contexts, certain forms of literacy become privileged” (p. 137).  In my situation and clearly in what I’ve seen in my friend’s situation, reading and writing was significantly valued more than other literacy practices.  Therefore, other practices were not as honoured and in turn held children back and limited their ability to express, explore and understand themselves in their world.

Logue, Robie, Brown, and Waite (2009) suggests that “[i]f all children are to become successful readers and writers, teachers must approach the teaching of literacy skills by using the skills and dispositions that children bring to the learning experiences” (p. 221).  Perhaps, my friend would have enjoyed writing better if our teacher closely observed what his literacy strengths were and incorporated that with the process of learning to write with “elaborated content” and legibility.  Barrat-Pugh (2007) states that “learning and teaching writing is complex and multifaceted” but more often than not, especially when reading and writing is the dominant discourse of literacy practices, educators and even parents approach literacy learning as though it were “a linear process in which children progress through a series of stages” which can be implemented and therefore mastered with drilled repetition and memorization or letters/symbols and words/phrases.  It can and does work, as articulated by Wong (2008) in her study with preschool children learning how to read and write in Hong Kong.  However, I can’t stop thinking about the children who have significant difficulties with mastering reading or writing or those who require more time (beyond the prescribed school year).  Will they be left behind if their stories aren’t interesting or creative enough or because their spelling or writing styles aren’t just up to par?

I end this entry by highlighting another suggestion of how we can possibly engage in a balanced approach to teaching children literacy skills.  Wong (2008) suggests to “create learning environments that are realistic and relevant to learners, and support learning through multiple roles” (p. 116) and multiple modalities.  In my workplace and in my community in general, I see children coming from varying cultural and social backgrounds and I believe that Wong’s (2008) - and even Logue et al., (2009) – suggestion[s] is/[are] very crucial to consider and allows our practice to be more ethical as a result.

References:

Barrat-Pugh, C.  (2007).  Multiple ways of making meaning: children as writers.  In L. Makin, C. Jones Diaz, & C. McLachlan (Eds.), Literacies in childhood: Changing views, challenging practice (2^nd ed. pp. 133-152).  Marrickville, NSW: Maclennan & Petty – Elsevier. 

Logue, M., Robie, M., Brown, M., & Waite, K.  (2009).  Read my dance: promoting early writing through dance.  Childhood Education, 216-222.

Wong, M.  (2008).  How preschool children learn in Hong Kong and Canada: a cross-cultural study.  Early Years, 28(2), 115-133).