Janet Emig Reflection

July 13, 2010
NIWP

Non-Magical Thinking:
Presenting Writing Developmentally in Schools
by Janet Emig

While Janet Emig is another of those theorists I had not heard of before yesterday, I found her a bit easier to read and comprehend than Britton and Moffitt. I found her writing a bit sarcastic and funny, and she struck a chord with me in regards to her position on teaching and testing. "...the success of explicit teaching, in this era of accountability, is measured by indexes of explicit learning by children on standardized tests." Where do these people come from who equate all of this together? It's not that simple; the process of education is not simply a math formula nor does one style fit all. This is Magical Thinking with high stakes on the teacher, building, school district, and, oh yes, the students and the community.

In this article, Emig lists four findings for the presentation of writing in schools, but the one I would like to attest to personally is, "Children need frequent opportunities to practice writing, many of these playful." Since we've been writing in this SI, I feel my writing has improved in just a few days - simply from 'frequent opportunities to practice.' I have re-found my desire to play with writing, which makes me more enthusiastic about teaching my 6th graders from a more appreciative position. This is something that I want to share with them rather than checking it off a "have-to-do" list. Thanks SI facilitators for making this fun again!

Another thing that Emig points out is, "Writing is as often a pre-conscious or unconscious roaming as it is a planned and conscious rendering of information and events." I hadn't realized how often I do this, but I have to admit that I have started writing my Parent Letter for September in my head. I just need to stop and start writing it down on paper, or on the computer.

I consider myself a writer, but I've been more of a hit-and-miss kind of writer the last few years - I think of doing it but it often doesn't make my top 10 list of things to do, which means it doesn't get done. (I need to make this a personal priority, like an Artist's Date as Cameron says in her books, or a specific appointment and honor that time for me and my soul. I know this leaves me more "balanced and centered" and easier to live with, too, - why I drop it or postpone it, I'm not sure.) Anyway, Emig states, "Persons who don't themselves write cannot sensitively, even sensibly, help others learn to write." I don't know how seriously or literally to take this. Any suggestions? I'm in a book group outside of school, shouldn't I be in a writers group? Maybe I'll email Steve at the Monthly Magazine to put in an ad looking for writers who want to write as a reflective group...it's a thought.