I'm SO glad to finally be getting into stuff that I can really see the importance of. Not that the other stuff wasn't important, but reading about things I can picture myself doing in the next few years is fun!
I thought the section on New Rhetoric was interesting because it seems so simple! Focusing on the process through revision and individualized instruction seems like the best way to create writers, hands-down (at least compared to what I've read about so far) ... so why isn't it used more often? Williams seems to understand that the whole point of this method is allowing students to take the process at their own pace and make it into whatever is most helpful and productive for them. He makes it so clear to his readers in this chapter! Why, then, do most teachers misuse this method? Obviously (at least to Williams and I), the reason this method works is because of its flexibility and individuality -- so why do teachers insist on "fossiliz[ing] the [writing] stages as composing universals"? The 'universal steps' are meant to be more of a guide than law, right? If I'm just a lowly college student and I get that, why can't experienced teachers? Or is it harder than that? Perhaps Williams doesn't address the difficulties of this method fully. He touches on them, saying this method is "incongruent with the assembly-line organization of public education", that "collaborative work groups can be very difficult", and that "individual conferences can be a daunting challenge". My main issue with Williams stems from this passage. In this text, he often brings up issues/problems/holes in logic, but rarely addresses them. In this case, he simply said it was worth it to overcome these challenges ... well, HOW?! There are a lot of improvements to be made to the school system if 'just suck it up' is considered an acceptable answer to teachers problems. So, if these issues are overcome-able, how do teachers overcome them? Explaining how to implement this process is how to get teachers to use it correctly. Providing answers to questions and solutions to problems is how to make this system as effective as it was designed to be!
The "best practices" section was extremely applicable to my future career. Thank you, Williams! He spoke about the process approach again in this system, further mourning the improper implementation of it. My comments above still stand. I really appreciated his three-factor approach: asking students to write often in meaningful contexts, providing frequent feedback on work in progress, and requiring lots of revisions. In this case, I loved how Williams told teachers exactly how to accomplish those three goals: through writing workshops. However, do the obstacles mentioned regarding the process approach (individual conferences and group work proving to be a challenge in the classroom)? I would assume so. How, then are those obstacles overcome? I really appreciated the examples Williams gave about each stage of the composing process (invention, discussion, freewriting, outlining, etc.). How should teachers choose which activities to use in their classes? Should the teacher make all of them available and have the children choose from among them, or make a limited amount available, or have each student try each method once, or have Mondays be designated for one activity and Tuesdays for another, or ... the possibilities are endless! What is most effective? I understand that allowing the students choose is the best way to go, but how do teachers facilitate that? I'm sure the students should be exposed to a variety of options before they are allowed to choose one. How does one go about that? Also, the "pausing" section (p.117-118) REALLY confused me. What is the point of pausing?! I think the "phase model" example really summed up this section well -- the stages are in flux depending on each student's process; they reoccur and are interchangeable depending on the students. Love it!
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I agree with your response on "Why do teachers insist on fossilizing the writing stages?" Everyone has their own style of learning. I believe teachers insist on one particular method because it is the best one that works for them, therefore they think it will work for everybody. I don't think so. It is frustrating however when Williams does not give a solution after talking about problems, does he even know the answer or the right way to pursue something? I guess it takes experimenting with your classrooms, actually be wiling to try new methods. Don't be selfish, you know. However like you said, Erin, not all that Williams says is bad, he does provide a lot of feedback and great strategies. Going with the second part of your blog I found myself writing down some of the methods mentioned. I feel that learning as many as you can and then testing them out will give you and your class a great opportunity to find the best processes for them and yourself. It is hard to really say exactly how to choose an activity. That is why we experiment. I think having students some how try each method once would be a great opportunity for them to find their favorite method. However they should not be presented to the students all at once. Maybe try a different method for each paper. But who really knows, I guess we will find out better in the future when we step into a classroom.
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