What a Writer Needs
What a Writer Needs by Ralph Fletcher is an instruction manual for teachers and writers in the process, craft, and art of writing. To teach writing, one must write, is his assertion. For this book review done during my course on Writing Assessment and Instruction, I had to reflect upon the importance of teachers being writers themselves. In doing so, I crafted a philosophy of balance; intending to find a middle ground between creativity and guidelines in my future classrom.
Excerpts from What a Writer Needs Book Review
"He claims that teachers have to be writers themselves in order to teach writing successfully. They have to do in order to teach."
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"A mentor is also charged with recognizing the potential in a young writer’s work; they must find value in the originality and distinctness of the writing (Fletcher, 2013, p. 16). Finally, they must be gentle and compassionate. As Fletcher notes: 'We must speak to our students with an honesty tempered by compassion: Our words will literally define the ways they perceive themselves as writers' (2013, p. 20)."
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"As a future teacher, I would want to inhabit the crucial role of mentor for the students in my classroom. Or at the very least, surround them with wonderful texts and authors with whom they can find inspiration and evidence of high standards. I aspire to be the sort of teacher whose feedback would not only ask my students to do better, but allow them to be different, find their voice, and above all, encourage them."
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"Pushing the boundaries and trying new things is how we grow, and children should be encouraged to do the same. Restricting them with stringent formulas and uninspired prompts can easily douse whatever passionate spark exists in their minds. Fletcher claims that risk-taking 'allows children to outgrow themselves'; if they are forced into the 'right/wrong schema,' they 'will never allow [themselves] the fluency and playfulness, the time and perseverance [needed] over the long haul to become a skillful writer' (2013, p. 17). I realized that this encouragement of taking risks is crucial for not just writing, but for teaching writing, too."
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"How else are they to grow and develop into the artists, poets, and creators of tomorrow? Finding a balance between the guidance from my school on writing instruction, and the beauty of risk-taking and boundary pushing, will result in a more positive writing classroom. Though I believe it will be challenging, I also believe it will be necessary. For both writing and teaching writing—and even life—taking risks ensures we never remain surrounded merely by the familiar. We must grow and expand out of our comfort zones."
"It not only left me with a renewed inspiration to put pen to paper, it also left me wanting to share my love and passion with others. I know now that however I choose to teach writing will be an intricate balance of the specific and the abstract. Most importantly, it will rest heavily upon my specific classroom. The practices I select will be molded to the creativity and idiosyncrasies of my students, not the other way around. In similar fashion, I won’t cram my writing style or voice into the neat, little boxes of writing advice that I think I should be following. In writing and teaching writing, it’s not about finding the best practices—it’s about finding what the right method is for you."