Personal Writing

The chapter on personal writing was very interesting. Right in the beginning, the authors asked the question, "Should teachers provide topics for reading log entries?" (page 177). This is something that I have always wondered. My answer is sometimes. I think it is important for students to be able to respond and write about something that interests them. They need room for creativity. They need a some freedom. If they are not reading about something important to them, they might not have much to say, but there might be something that one student can connect to and not others. I want my students to be able to write about something that they can relate to or something that they find interesting. At the same time, topics should be provided frequently. At some point, if a student does not immediately think of something to write about, they need some guidance. Have specific topics to write about can guide students to write something, instead of having nothing to say. It can also keep them a little more focused and on topic than if they can always write anything. Questions should not be too specific, but something to guide students and help them develop and idea or opinion. I think it is important to have a balance between the two. Sometimes students should be allowed to respond to whatever they want, and other times they should have guiding questions.