Forced Writing Versus Voluntary Reading
I have always been a fairly avid reader on my own time. I have won awards for my writing and been published, but I do not choose to write in my spare time now. Writing for me is a task which I only really do when I have to. Reading however is something I do almost daily. I enjoy reading the occasional novel, but the majority of my reading that I do on a day to day basis is going through news websites or news magazines reading about current events of today.
As I said earlier, I was published in high school with a short story and with two poems that I had written, but these were not initially written voluntarily. Rather they were written as assignments for a creative writing class that I took when I was in my sophomore year of high school. Looking back on the things that I have written, I find it interesting that although I am a very good writer, I do not write for pleasure, I only do it when I have to for various reasons.
I wonder why? What kinds of things do you write for pleasure? Lists? Chatting with friends? It helps to think about why we don't engage in some kinds of literacy. Writing is hard and it takes a lot of time and brain power! How does this experience shape your teaching?
ReplyDeleteSome people simply condition themselves to view writing as a task, or a chore.
ReplyDeleteI tutor a teenager (who is on the low end of the autism spectrum) who is brilliant, but thinks writing is a chore worse than cleaning what the dog threw up.
It's a big thing for me, in my efforts to help him improve his writing, to get him to come to better term with doing it and possibly even enjoying it.
I won't knock you, though; as long as you read avidly.