learning from experience
The personal path is nonetheless a political path (to reposition a feminist phrase), and I am now coming to a growing understanding of how my approach to teaching writing will meet conflict in the public domain. The Dominant Paradigm dictates the norms and forms of just what is acceptable ‘Education’ and ‘Writing’ in Australia. Within educational institutions we seek new ways to enable students to express themselves, yet all the while pressing against strictures naturally shaped by our culture. If we now define ‘valid’ forms of expression using ideas and terminologies that were current 15 or 50 years ago, this means that we automatically invalidate the writings produced by our contemporary culture. Overlay this with the emotionally vested interests of parents in a society where manipulating the mind to make the biggest buck is paramount, and a ‘new plan for writing’ becomes a minefield! ‘Road rage’ incidents are increasing, and in a society where global culture is frequently wielded as a bludgeon, and the hefty weight of the silent majority threatens to bash our bonnets, I imagine it is so much easier to stay safe- observe the speed limits, drive on the ‘Right’ side of the road, and you won’t be booked.
I prefer to think of myself as an all-terrain vehicle- on my road bike, of course- and experiencing all the steeped nuances of the scenery al la Zen and the Art of Motorbike Maintenance. This is the responsibility of knowing- to be aware of the repercussions of every action we take, and to act to produce the best possible outcomes. For us… and for our students.
The map is not the terrain. This saying, which I discovered in the 1980’s, has now sadly been appropriated by a whole lot of GPS boffins – I cannot find the author who created the term (but I know that he was a deconstructionalist / post modern author). The point being that you cannot take writing merely at its face value and in isolation. We must appreciate the environment within which the writing takes place- and that is a cultural/spatial/multi dimensional space. Our own meanings and understandings must be negotiated with students every step of the way, and for us to appreciate their writing fully we must be an active part of that process, (not just some on-looker commenting on the scenery from the air-conditioned comfort of a CRV).
I think it is this, the partaker/ collaborator paradigm, that makes teaching writing the most exciting thing of all. For the child to investigate their inner world and give concrete meaning to their thoughts, is like placing an ‘x’ on the map to say ‘I am here’. It is not the total picture, but by beginning the writing we can create signifiers that show the ways towards worlds to be explored. We teachers (together!) chart the landscapes and explain the signposts, but ultimately it is our students who the ones that conceive and expand the networks- creating unlimited expanses of the mind and futures to be written.
Bibliography:
AATE, ALEA, DE&T (Vic) & EdDept WA. (2002) STELLA, The Accomplished Teacher in the English/ Literacy Classroom (Handout from EDF 5436 workshop)
Doecke, B., & Parr, G. (eds) (2005) Writing = learning. South Australia: The Australian Association for the Teaching of English/ Wakefield Press.
EDF 5437 Lecture 20 September 2005
Swain, M. (Guest Lecturer from University of Toronto). “Collaborative Dialogue and Second Language Learning”. Lecture, Monash University, 23 September 2005.
Websites:
Curriculum Standards Framework II
 http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/prep10/csf/
Accessed 18/09/05
Great Books Online
http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html
Accessed 27/09/05
The Age
www.theage.com.au
Accessed 28/09/05
University of Toronto Library
http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem198.html
Accessed 27/09/05
(Victorian) Essential Learning Standards
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au
Accessed 15/09/05
Sam Boucher
Pre-Service student 2005
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