Reflection on Kittle's 'This I Believe'

I completely adored this reading. Having read the prompt of 'skim the first chapter, carefully read the second', and thinking to myself "better just read the first one really fast so I can get this work done",  I proceeded to gobble up every word. Kittle writing is first and foremost, beautifully phrased and incredibly engaging, which proves her main point perfectly: "you really can't teach writing well unless you write yourself." She explains that through trial and error she found that the whole idea of doing a model in your class isn't actually a verb but a noun: the teacher has to BE a model for their students to really get them to understand the process.

 I also love that she mentions the not so sexy issue of organization, which as teachers we know is absolutely irreplaceable. She talks about the scaffolding that is tiresome but necessary and that organization can help "lead struggling writers to competence." Not only do students simply need to be consistent in their practice and diligent work but teachers need to make that time in writing classes to ensure the expectations and objectives are set that help them get there.

I definitely get hung up on the issue she talks about on page 9 that she compares herself to the fantastic renowned writers of the dozens of timeless novels in her classroom- why should I show them products of my own mind when these people had forged the way to introduce them to literature I could never even dream of competing with? She explains clearly that "those authors of books were great models of product not process."

Knowing that next year I will be teaching writing, not just English anymore, I was really excited by Kittle's passion about teaching this craft and hope that I too will be able to experience the joy she gets from teaching writing.