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Successful Teaching Strategies
Journaling is one of the most effective methods of teaching writing. Journaling offers a dozen or more benefits to students. The Dutch humanist, Desiderius Erasmus once wrote, “The desire to write grows with writing.” Erasmus was correct. As students progress, writing becomes a habit and a natural reaction. How many academics react in outrage to a disagreeable event with the statement, “I am going to write a letter!” That is a learned behavior and students deserve to be shown that writing is a powerful tool. The desire to write comes with writing. Journaling provides a routine for developing a thirst for writing. Journaling is one avenue to guide students into writing without ecumbering them with a whole lot of pressure because there isn’t a right or wrong answer. Journaling also offers a chance for students to experience the joy of writing. Since journaling is not graded but simply completed, all students, no matter what level, can write and express themselves. For me, writing is about communication. Within the first three days of school, I was pleased to see that all my students have a very active desire to communicate. Journaling gives students an active venue for sharing their thoughts and ideas, in other words, to communicate. My students write almost everyday and they are becoming better writers. Practice makes perfect, and even during the first three weeks of school, I saw remarkable improvement in their writing. If students were only exposed to writing for term papers, essays, and other limited assignments, they would not be able to develop their own voice. Or worse, if students were only taught grammatical concepts, they would never learn that writing is, above all, fun! When the students are sinking down into their chairs, really relaxing with the rhythm of their thoughts and pencils, I know the process is at work. I cannot imagine teaching writing without having journaling on the curriculum.This teaching strategy fits nicely into my teaching philosophy. Students are able to participate in a dialogue on responses to readings and current events. Students actively talk to themselves (through writing) and share their written ideas with other students. By providing thought-provoking journal topics students are very engaged with journaling. By reading through their journals I find this a great way to learn about my students and continue my mission of forming meaningful personal relationships with my students.
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