Teaching is an exercise in joyfulness. Inspiring students to learn and igniting their creative expression makes me love this profession even more. When teaching writing you need to inspire the students to want to write. Students need to know what they are doing and to know how and why they are writing a certain type of genre.
Writing is an art. Sparking the students' creative juices is very important. Teaching encompasses many parts to keep the students' attention. You need to inspire them to want to write, initiate the writing process, and then get out of the way and let them write. The way I inspire my students is by making them know and feel that their writing matters. We brainstorm ideas together about the topics they write about. I respond to their drafts one on one and in groups. I teach them how to edit and revise their work so they are able to peer edit and revise their writing. Watching the students' imagination take flight has been a highlight in my life. I love seeing their faces light up when they have created their final draft.
The thrill of teaching comes from inspiring others. My final joy is listening to my students read their writing to the class and taking pride in what they have written. Nothing is more frustrating to a writer, than to feel that their writing doesn’t matter. Showing my students that I along with the other students value their work and providing meaningful feedback helps them become better writers. I have taught many subjects to my 6th grade students over the past 23 years. While writing is not an easy subject to teach, it gives me insight to what my students really care about and helps me get to know them better.
Teaching is meant to create lifelong learners. My hope is that my students will continue to write throughout their lives and who knows maybe someday become an author.
