OKAY YES that title is a little teeny-tiny bit dramatic, but it's really just a dramatic way of saying what I think.
When helping young writers this semester, I felt incredibly bad that I couldn't be there to support them more in what they were making, and that I don't get enough time to get to know them. As everyone is in school, they're really trying, and whether that shows through the lack of an assignment turned in at all or through a piece of work that is genuinely impressive, students are really trying. I felt incredibly limited in trying to help, but what I did see I was happy to help with, if only a little bit. And, to be honest, I didn't want to tear into the works of a child that I only knew liked Roblox.
I think what writers need most is someone who believes in them a lot. Going beyond that, I think writers, and students in general, need a teacher who they have a good relationship with. It's not the most important thing, but it's something a value a lot. While working my job at the UWM Children's Learning Center, I've found the most important thing I've done is connect and bond with the kids, because they are so much more likely to listen to me when I'm their trusted caregiver. They know if they listen that I'll have fun with them and make them laugh, but I won't tolerate when they misbehave. I'm putting this into the simplest terms possible, because I think it's something you can only pick up on the job, you can't just really have an idea of how to do that going in. It's hard, it's very difficult, but it's the most rewarding thing in the world when I walk in and they're all yelling my name over each other. THAT is what I'm looking for in teaching, and THAT is what I think was the biggest missing piece from my time working as a writing coach this semester.
I think it's hard to even go into all the things that writers need from teachers and from coaches, because it's very individual and only can be done by getting to know that student. The best feedback can be given when what needs to be worked on the most consistently is learned. Say a kid has really really great ideas and a really solid grasps on concepts, but grammar mistakes are what they get tripped up on. Am I going to consistently focus on their usage of metaphors? No, I'm going to tell them how good of a job they did on those aspects, but I'm going to try and figure out where the disconnect with the understanding of grammar comes from. Even beyond that, sometimes kids will just come into the class and not have an interest in writing whatosever, and that's perfectly fine, because they may go to their next period class and be incredibly interested in math because that's their favorite subject. When it comes to writing, it's important to point out where they went right but also help where they went wrong. It's hard to maintain that balance, but I think a really good way to do so is just through a lens of empathy and compassion. In maintaining that balance, Capt. Rebecca Segal has a really good point about maintaining that compassion, saying, "No editing should be a slaughterfest. Be empathetic; editing is an agreement of trust and vulnerability, and your job is to help the author. If your author leaves disillusioned with the process, you have lost them and you have failed as an editor," (Segal, p. 4). The relationship between the writer and the editor (whether that be peer, coach, or teacher) is so easily severed by just being a little too harsh a critic, so please just exercise that caution when it comes to editing, no matter who you are to that person. Also, please stop using a compliment sandwich...
I could go on and on and on about how difficult it is to simply be a writing coach for me, because I want to find out and learn everything about my students so I can best help them instead of checking in every once in a while, so overall I think this writing coach aspect just did not work for me, unfortunately. I felt very disconnected and felt like it was hard to give good feedback, because I know how to give good feedback, I just wanted to give them good feedback. I sound a lot less jaded and lot more tired in this post because frankly, I am, and I think that's also a good point to bring up. I am not in the best position to help guide these writers because I can't even guide my own writing, this post is a lot more academic than usual because frankly, it's hard to summarize my thoughts into all this. I think it's a learn on the job thing, and I, frankly, can't wait to learn.
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