Entry 8: "Bless, Address, or Press"

 

    

    This week I would like to highlight my classmate Maddison Moore's blog. In Madison's Blog 5, she was posing questions related to the writing process and the finished product in the publish phase. Maddie wrote that "sometimes I forget that writing is a process and a piece does not have to be completely perfect on the first try" (Maddison, Blog 5). I appreciate how sincere and open she was about this because I also find myself trying to make it perfect right from the beginning. Maddie then went on to pose a fantastic question that has left me pondering for awhile now. She wrote "is there such thing as a perfect writing piece? Isn't there always room to improve?" (Maddison, Blog 5). I think that students often become frustrated by writing due to this element of "perfection" and the process is not one piece and done like many students would like. I like that Maddison is focused on the process more than the product just like this class has taught us. I would answer Maddison's question about a piece ever being perfect with no. I personally think that writing can always be improved and revised or edited and there is always more to say about a topic. I would also like to say that Kucer (2014) would most likely agree with me because he states that "readers and writers act as scientists and construction workers as they build an ever evolving understanding of literacies. Becoming literate rather than being literate more accurately describes our ongoing relationship with written language" (p. 7).  

    "Personally, I think educators (myself included) should go beyond an aware winning 'stamp of approval' and think critically about the texts we choose as mentor texts" (Maddison, Blog 7). This line made me reconsider my selection choice of mentor texts for the future. I have always looked for the award winning stamp and picked the book off of the shelf. I know realize that I should be more critical of the book, the author, the message, and what I am teaching before selecting a mentor text. I appreciate Maddison for writing this line and allowing me to take a step back and consider my own mentor text selection process. I really appreciate Maddie for questioning if a text is an award winner does it mean it is still best for all students? I would like to consider this question myself and maybe I don't have all of the answers but I think it is an important question to consider. I would say that as an educator you should know your students, your content and use that information when selecting a mentor text. I would say that not every book that has an award winning stamp should be the perfect mentor text for you and your class. I think many books are great mentor texts if they are used in a way that supports students and pushes their knowledge of the content and society. 

Thank you Maddie for posing these questions and for having very detailed and elaborate blog posts. If anyone wants to look for more great information, here is her two blog posts that stood out the most to me: Blog 5 and Blog 7. 

Kucer, S. B.  (2014).  Dimensions of literacy:  A conceptual base for teaching reading and writing in

school settings (4^th ed.).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.