Original article: LINK
By Anne Haas Dyson
In her research paper, Anne Hass Dyson discusses a young boy named Ta’Von, who loves writing about blues guitarists. He spent a long time working on a piece in his personal writing book, which was much longer and more passionate than his earlier, shorter school writing. Ta’Von’s personal writing was full of pride and connected to his family’s love for music, showing his deep interest in blues musicians. Despite his enthusiasm, Ta’Von felt this writing wasn’t ‘real’ because it didn’t have an audience to respond to it.
In school, Ta’Von felt writing was just an activity that was administered to keep children busy during lessons. The school’s writing tasks were based on strict curriculum guidelines and tied to standardised tests. The teacher, though caring, had to follow these guidelines, focusing on the lessons supplied by the scheme.
Writing in school meant writing just to please official requirements and was evaluated by the teacher alone. Children weren’t to write about their own interests and intentions [LINK]. Dyson’s research asks how school writing can become more meaningful and be driven by students’ genuine interests, like Ta’Von’s love for music, rather than just fulfilling curriculum mandates [LINK].
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It’s important for students to feel a sense of agency and intentionality in their writing to make it ‘real’ and meaningful. Here’s a breakdown:
- Agency and intentionality: Agency means the power and ability to act on one’s intentions and interests. It’s crucial for pupils to feel that they have control over their writing intentions throughout their lives [LINK].
- Composing and symbol making: Children’s ability to compose stories, whether through playing with toys, drawing and writing, grows from a foundation of intentional writerly experiences [LINK]. Children quickly learn that their emergent writing can do many things: entertain, question, persuade, and more [LINK].
- Structured activities in schools: Traditionally, schools provide class writing projects where children can freely explore writing and share their compositions with peers, teachers and others. These projects are like a ‘writerly playground’ for their social and intentional selves to develop and express ideas [LINK].
- Current educational rigidness: Some writing schemes have become too rigid, making it harder for young children to engage in this kind of intention-filled, meaningful writing.
Overall, there is a need to make school writing more aligned with children’s natural, intention-driven activities to foster genuine engagement with writing and being writers [LINK].
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Strict writing schemes affect children’s ability to write creatively and meaningfully. Here’s a breakdown:
- Embedded agency: While none of us have complete freedom, our identities are shaped by the institutions we are part of. Strict writing schemes impact children’s writing [LINK, LINK and LINK].
- Presentational-skill oriented writing schemes: Writing mainly to practice skills isn’t the meaningful, intention-driven writing that helps children make sense of the world. Children need to practice writing in a way that’s purposeful and meaningful, similar to how professionals practice their skills [LINK & LINK].
There is a need for a more inclusive approach to teaching writing that values children’s interests and intentions, allowing their creativity and knowledge to be recognised and nurtured within the school environment [LINK].
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How can we make writing more meaningful and real for children? Here’s a breakdown:
What is real writing?
- Real writing involves communicating ideas and sharing meaning(s) with the world. It’s driven by a child’s need and desire to express something meaningful [LINK].
- You can support children to find their intentions but intention must come from within the writer [LINK].
- Real writing isn’t just about practising skills – it’s about children using those skills to communicate something that they feel is worth communicating [LINK & LINK].
Challenges in teaching real writing
- Narrow writing schemes can make it hard to promote real writing because they often focus on rigid skill practice alone.
- However, teachers still have some control over how they respond to students and organise class writing projects [LINK].
Public sharing
- Having a time for children to share their writing with others helps connect their personal interests with the school’s curriculum [LINK].
- This public forum lets teachers understand their students better and helps students anticipate an audience for their compostions [LINK].
Flexible class writing projects
- Class writing projects should be flexible and allow children to participate in various ways using different writing ideas [LINK].
In summary, Dyson advocates for a more flexible and writer-centered approach to writing in schools, where children’s own interests and intentions drive their writing, and they have opportunities to share their compositions with others. This approach helps make writing more meaningful and engaging for students.