Writing Warrior
First things first, (rest in peace Uncle Phil.. for real) writing is an art form. Like any form of art, we express what it is in various ways as an outlet for self-expression. In literacy we have multiple writing genres which include poetry, fictional, professional, comical, etc.. which in turn are used to tap into public emotions. We often hear cliches about art putting us in "our feels", but it is definitely true. Writing can be overly-romanticized and/or overly standardized depending on the context. When we read about Vershawn Young, his rhetoric on the importance of sustaining and ultimately implementing "our" English is important in the development of an interscholastic and inter-sectional approach into our education. In essence, in validating where students come from, we uplift them through their literacy work. This is all obviously my opinion on art, but what do you think? Can writing/literacy be considered art? Traditional vs. Non-Traditional? Is it appropriate, considering how the majority (at least that is what I think) of people put art and writing into different realms?
We've had class discussions about the idea of "Standard English” Dialect/Code-Meshing/Code-Switching as an oratory skill and now we're switching gears into a literary approach. Kelly Gallagher argues that writing is one of the most important skills students need upon entering adulthood, a basic requirement for civic life. What do we think about this?
She makes an interesting point, addressing the idea of how job applications begin relying on people’s literacy skills in order to select candidates. We think about personal statements and resumes as a LITERAL representation of who we are, and our ability to evolve these skills will allow us to progress smoothly through jobs. However, the over reliance on standardized testing is slowly undermining the importance of developing our literary skills for the future. I agree with Kelly’s claim 100% as I come from an educational background that prides itself on keeping standardized test scores high for egotistical and financial emolument. CPS is infamous for having a system of education modeled after a business. I was a producer of test scores that ultimately were sent to be consumed by CPS officials who decided what they did or did not do with them. My last two years of high school were solely centered around my IB (International Baccalaureate) tests. I never considered myself to the level of my peers, (who were honestly vastly intelligent) but I challenged myself to take 6 different college level tests to get credit. In hindsight, I do not regret this, but I was definitely deprived of having a fun set of courses. “I just wanted to chill” my senior year, but instead was put on a pedestal. “Sink or swim.. you guys have the whole school on your shoulders”. No pressure right? HAHAHA!
History was definitely my outlet, which is why I want to be a history teacher. I vividly remember Mr. Herron, my history teacher for two years of IB, encouraging my critical thinking. As crazy as it might sound, he was the one who told me that having multiple perspectives about an event is powerful. HISTORY IS NOT SET IN STONE! There I was, going through a school curriculum that belittled critical thinking (ironically) feeding a machine of like minded individuals, and I had an escape. ART was set in stone, freaking art (I hated my art teacher, but that is a story for another day). I referenced this little anecdote to connect it with Gallagher’s rhetoric about the importance of teaching students why they should write versus how they should write. Do you guys think that this approach is valuable? Do you think that students would care (aka is work still work)? I developed my writing abilities with Mr. Herron because he made me relate my Historical Investigation to something that I was passionate about. He gave me a reason to write, and I was the one who challenged myself to write it. An interesting role-reversal. 
Gallagher's point at the end for teaching the why, however, came across as counter-intuitive for me. She made it seem so structured with the implementation of organizers and what not. Did you guys feel this way too? This is a biased opinion… I hate graphic organizers. This is something that I need SERIOUS help in understanding because I do not organize my ideas. In an ideal world, all my future students will be the same way but they more than likely won’t. I kinda tackle writing directly and see what works and what does not as I’m writing. Nonetheless, the WHY is important. Their is always a how, but as students and teachers we forget about the why. Our thoughts and ideas are important, and being able to put them on paper is a skill that is not talked about. Our over reliance on scaring students with 5-10 page papers is becoming a serious issue. I’m not saying that we should completely eliminate page requirements, but teachers should instead make it a mission to explain why the assignments are important and why the page number correlates with the content that they’ve learned. A student saying that the page number is too high is a clear indicator of knowledge that was lost or not learned at all.
All in all, writing is important. I love writing. I love poetry. I express myself better through words, not through perspective painting and cubism (this is me throwing shade at my art teacher #sorrynotsorry). Writing is liberating and if it feels like a burden, feel angry. Feel infuriated because someone taught you to hate it. Writing is a skill that we overlook. Often times, completely overshadowed by the standards that institutions place on it. Writing is love, writing is life.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk:)
Writing definitely is one of the most important skills a student can learn, as you mentioned with a resume. While a teacher is certainly the center for how we learn these skills, I also liked how the Agarwal-Rangnath, Dover & Henning reading also emphasized the need for students to get more involved and be heard during the learning process too. Teachers also need to be sure to know their students and their culture, as well as assure the students tat the classroom is a safe place to speak their voice as well as be listened to. A personal touch is needed in classrooms and not the strict structures that you mentioned throughout your post.
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