"It is the English teacher's job to teach students to transit from an informal to a formal voice register."
-Amy Benjamin
When students are writing a paper, a variety of competencies are at work. Students are asked to formulate a question, review literature, then focus on the components of an issue; it can seem overwhelming. Currently, almost everyone involved with a child's educational process is held accountable for his or her academic process.
Benjamin's statement would be the case over six years ago regarding the transition from informal to formal writing voice. In the past, it was primarily the role of the English, ESL, and maybe even the speech teacher to assist students with processing language or text, then developing an opinion. As academic accountability grows more intense, the ideal of a village raising a child takes more of a literal connotation.
How can a student's voice go through any transitional period if they simply can't find their voice? One of my biggest pedagogical errors was assuming that certain habits of mind and skill sets were already instilled in our children prior to high school. Earlier in her book, Benjamin offered effective solutions to help our children avoid "padding" or redundancies that may frustrate readers. In order to address the challenges of preparing our students for college writing, Benjamin mentioned that a persistent attempt is necessary from educators across all disciplines (Benjamin, 2005). On the other hand, she raised the notion that it is the primary role of the English teacher to help students find their voice.
According to the current Common Core Standards, literacy skills are developed beyond ELA, across several subject areas. Educators in a variety of disciplines would have to make pedagogical alterations to lesson plans and practices. This shift in education is an adjustment for me because students often gently remind me that Digital Art isn't an English course. I remind my pupils that every subject comes with a specific terminology; which can be used in other subject areas. A previous chapter figuratively mentioned that words have two hats.
See the link for the Common Core Standards video clip (Shift 2: Building Knowledge in the Disciplines)
Terrell, I understand what you are going through when it comes to assessing the skills of high school students. Though I do not teach high school, I knew a few that did and one of the many challenges they would face is getting the students ready for college when they lack basic skills, especially when it comes to writing.
ReplyDeleteIt is a village effort raise a child. Parents, administrators, teachers, and supporting personnel all have to work together to ensure the success of our children. Though changes can be made at every grade level to help students acquire skills they need, the real change must be made at the base where early elementary educators lie. We must enstill strong writing techniques there, reinforce, and teach new skills as they continue on with schooling. This way students are equipped to take on the world and challenges that secondary teachers face may be allieviated overtime so they can focus on their level content.