Blog Post #8: Kittle Chapters 12 & 13- Assessment

Kittle makes it quite clear in these chapters that she has been "burned" before as a writer being inappropriately assessed and critiqued.  She speaks of the shame she feels when her work is "corrected" and how she, as an adult, loses the motivation and desire to revise and improve her work.  "Writers should be heard before they are corrected," should be posted on the workroom walls in schools.  As teachers we are required to give feedback, make comments, give grades, and, in many cases, post grades on portals online.  There is a tremendous expectation of product in a "timely" manner, and this can sometimes force us to lose our ear for the students' voices and move to correct their work and end the writing process by giving them a grade.

It is helpful the way Kittle makes the distinction between content and craft.  I sometimes think of it as content versus form.  As an ELL teacher (I feel like I've written this like 100 times this semester and you all know that I am by now and I'm sorry for the repetition), it is crucial for me to recognize and help students find their fluent voice in writing English.  The craft, or form, is usually a mess.  The reality is that academic English is full of rules that don't make sense, exceptions to rules that don't make sense, random ways to spell words, homonyms, and about 100 other things that make English difficult.  As English teachers, we could mark up an entire page with corrections on form alone- without ever recognizing a student's voice or message. 

I try and pick a focus of form to assess with certain writing assignments.  I try to refer (in feedback) to rules and topics we have studied in grammar and punctuation previously so that students can master concepts they have already been taught.  The purpose is to make the students' voices be heard through the thick curtain of the English language.  Kittle is correct in her assertion that "The mechanics of writing are currency in the world."  Not everyone will read through certain repeated errors (He walk his dog.  / We studyed English) the way an ELL teacher can.  We have to provide the students with this structure, but not be punitive about it. 

I love, love, love, love that Kittle doesn't like rubrics.  Rubrics are very popular in my school. Some colleagues spend hours and hours crafting these tiny rules into these tiny boxes that no student will ever willingly read.  Rather than modeling tasks, building background, or teaching vocabulary, some of my colleagues are creating artificial assessment tools before students have even begun their process.  I hate rubrics too.  I just don't understand them. 

I hope that one day I can have a curriculum as full and thorough as Kittle describes having in her writing classes.  The self-assessment of one's portfolio is incredibly valuable and reflective for students.  I hope that one day my students can write with as much depth and volume as the students whose work that Kittle has allowed us to read.  Her classes truly seem to be like a family, and it is amazing what students will produce when they feel comfortable, safe, and willing to take risks. 

This book as a whole has contributed greatly to my knowledge of what it truly means to teach writing.  I just looked back at all the Post-It notes I stuck into the book as I read.  There are many things that I plan to do or have tried with my students including quick writes, place narratives, using mentor texts, heart maps of songs, decorating one's writer's notebook, blending genres, and ranking of favorite activities. I hope to be able to adapt these techniques for my students and expand their writing toolboxes, and my teaching toolbox as well.