Jump Off a Cliff, and Develop Your Wings on the Way Down

http://writingthroughthefog.com/2010/08/31/cliff-jumping-on-ibizas-cala-tarida/

One of the goals we have set for our school is to have students improve their writing.  Writing is such an essential life skill, a skill that cuts across every subject. Whether the students in our school grow up to be police officers or accountants, real-estate brokers or hedge fund managers, advertisers or astronauts, they will all have to write.

So when it comes to school, why do we only have one subject for writing?  I know what you are going to say, writing takes place across the curriculum, not just in an English class.  While that may be true, another question still remains.  Who assesses that writing?  Would the Math teacher and the English teacher ever come to a consensus on what 'good writing' is?

Wouldn't it be so much better for the students if their teachers spoke the same language when it came to writing?  Wouldn't it be so much better if they valued the same aspects of writing? Wouldn't it be better if they had time to assess student writing together?

I know for Math and Science teachers, they feel unprepared to assess students writing in a subject like English.  They are scared they will make a mistake, or look foolish in front of teachers.  We have to remove that fear for our teachers by taking the time to teach them how to assess writing.  Will it still be scary, even if they are taught?  Yes, they are stepping out of their comfort zone, and they will be a little scared, but it is OK to be scared.  I am reminded by one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, "We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down."  Sometimes we have to try things because we know it is what is best for students, and figure out how to do it along the way.

With that said, we cannot simply ask teachers to take on this new task without support.  We need to provide teachers with a few periods a week to assess student writing together in school together.  We need to instruct teachers on what to value and how teach them how to assess student writing in a way they don't feel threatened.  If teachers are given these opportunities, they can begin to develop a common language.  The science and english teachers would use the same terminology as they explain the importance of siting informational text.  They would look at student writing through the same lens and develop a clear sense of what was important and what was simply window dressing.

In our school the teachers are working together to make this happen, and so far I have been blown away but what the teachers are doing.   In many middle schools and high schools that I have visited the teachers have no interest in learning taking place in each-other's classrooms.  This is not the case at our school.  Every grade level is getting together a few periods a week to assess student writing together.  They are having discussions about what is important in a piece of writing, smiling at mistakes they remember making, marveling at the abilities they never knew existed in some students, and even arguing about what score a piece of writing deserves.  These discussions are so valuable.  In many of the sessions we have the teachers are the ones dominating the conversation and not me.   They are taking control and explaining to others what is of value. 

I am grateful to have teachers who are taking this jump with me, as we work together to develop our wings along the way.