Teaching Writing in the Era of Accountability

Since embarking on my path towards becoming an English teacher, I've both read and heard an unsettling amount of talk around the daunting standards, testing mandates, and overall bureaucracy now involved with teaching. I've seen the disillusionment and jadedness it's created, especially with more seasoned teachers. It's even been suggested by some teachers not to pursue the profession because of how much it's changed. To address this issue, the writer in "To High School English Teachers (and All Teachers)" stressed that "our planning and practice must start with our students’ literacy being sacred—seeking ways to foster eager readers and writers who still must often demonstrate literacy proficiency in the worst possible settings. This is not a call to be negligent, but to be dedicated to the power of literacy first and bureaucracy second." That statement serves as a good reminder to call ourselves back to the reason why we're teaching the subject we love. I know this is going to be a hard balance to strike, though; we'll be new teachers looking to impress our superiors while yearning to inspire our students.  

Interestingly enough, I've found common threads with these assigned readings and the reading I've completed in my Composition & Rhetoric course. One commonality worth highlighting, I think, is the importance of validating students' language and lives. Christiansen asserts in her introduction, "putting students' lives at the center also tells them they matter--their lives, their ancestors' lives are important." On the Conference on College Composition & Communication's website, their statement on a Students' Right to Their Own Language echoes Christiansen’s sentiment by firmly stating: "teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect diversity and uphold the right of students to their own language." I think this extends to the point that was mentioned in our first class: teaching is a political and social act. As teachers, we must not only acknowledge, but also celebrate and engage in the diversity of our students. We must be advocates for our students and find the points of connection between their world and the world of literature.

I found that Gallagher's book was the outlier among the readings. While "To High School English Teachers (and All Teachers)" and Christiansen concentrated on more of the humane, cause-related aspects involved with the profession, Gallagher got down to the brass tax of teaching English. I do enjoy this juxtaposition, though and think it’s important we look at all texts as we learn to become effective educators. It was especially startling to read about the "Literacy Stampede." While I think I've typically viewed living in the Information Age as positive thing, I haven't considered the implications it could have on the larger population. Thanks to being an avid reader and having access to a variety of media, I haven't struggled with the influx of information that can now be acquired. But for those who struggle to comprehend the constant flow of information, the ever-increasing volume of available literature does seem overwhelming.