Entry#2-Reflect on the writing instruction you have received. Which view of writing described in this chapter corresponds most closely to your experiences?

When I reflect on the writing instruction that I have received, it most closely corresponds to the Learning View in the traditional writing classroom. I can remember being taught how to form sentences, paragraphs, and even essays. I can remember learning about subjects and predicates and how those two parts make up a complete sentence. I recall learning how to write an eight sentence paragraph that opened with a topic sentence followed by three details and three supporting statements, and ended with a concluding sentence. Later, I was taught the five paragraph essay that followed the same format. The focus of writing instruction was always on producing a correct piece of writing. The correctness had to be in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and even structure. I remember my teachers always being my editors and making corrections to my writing. This was never done by peers or collaboratively. I don’t ever remember getting feedback on the quality or content of my writing, only on conventions. Because of this I always felt like I was a bad writer since my papers would always be marked up in red ink.  My teachers always had lists of possible topics for us to write about and we had to select and even sign up for one.  I don’t recall having much choice in what I wrote or having much time to do any sort of creative writing. Most of the writing we did in class was report writing. I remember writing reports on James Madison, The Anasazi  Indians, Manufacturing, and Chimpanzees. The only memory I have of writing anything creative in my elementary years was a poem once at Halloween time. We had weekly spelling tests with ten to twenty words to memorize and punctuation drills week after week.  I don’t recall enjoying writing in school, but I certainly had a passion for it at home. I wrote stories, poems, and songs on my own. It’s unfortunate to think that I totally separated the two forms of writing, almost as if they had nothing in common. In fact, I took a creative writing class in high school, and felt like for the first time I got to write what I wanted to write in school. Although I think this view of writing is not totally ineffective, I’m glad that there are other views now that encourage kids to have more choice and freedom to experiment and use creativity in their writing.