Back and Forth with Williams

I actually enjoyed reading this chapter, because I felt I could use more of these ideas as a future teacher. Plus, this chapter was slightly easier to read and far more interesting to me. I believe teachers should really act as a coach, and I think this chapter starts to explain how to go about that process.
One section that I found crucial was the part about how to make writing meaningful for students. To me writing is fun, but it can sometimes be a drudge. I do not want to be a teacher who is the only one in the class who is excited about a paper when the students are the people who have to write the paper. I want the students to be thrilled, but that is not an easy task. I was stunned at how much Rita’s writing improved by simply being engaged in her writing. I would never have guessed that the person who wrote about censorship was the same person who wrote the pen pal letter. Williams states, “When teachers make writing meaningful, the majority of students still may not be able to see themselves as historians, musicians, accountants, or whatever, but they at least may stop seeing themselves merely as students and start seeing themselves as writers who can get things done with written discourse” (121). I believe it is very important to give students confidence and make them look at themselves differently. When Williams refers to the students as writers, I think that makes them feel more at ease in a writing class. I just started pre-student teaching, so this portion of the chapter really spoke to me. I have to have the students write a research paper on the Persian Empire, and I’m really struggling with how to make this fun for the students. Plus, I want to some how make it meaningful and relevant to their lives. To me, connecting to what I’m writing is the key, otherwise I write garbage. I never realized how difficult it was to make writing assignments that are going to be meaningful. It is definitely a challenge.
In addition to making writing meaningful, I found it interesting that Williams explained pausing while writing as helpful, when Elbow frowned upon it. I’m happy, because I know that there is no right or wrong way when it comes to writing. However, I think when writing is more research based like Williams writing you have to have pauses. Peter Elbow’s writing is more personal, so he can write without pausing. I see both perspectives, but I still prefer Peter Elbow’s style.
I understand what Williams is saying about pausing while writing, but I did not understand how technology makes a difference in student writing. Williams had graphs that indicated students who used a computer to write drafts frequently, were better than students who did not. I would really like to know more about this research, because I think this sounds completely absurd! I really do not think that it matters if you write on a piece of paper or on a computer. Some of the greatest writers of all time wrote before computers even existed. Maybe I misunderstood something, but I had a huge issue with these findings.