Week 1, Entry 2: Writing Instruction

The writing instruction I received as a young student consisted of elements that better describe the learning view or traditional writing classroom. There was certainly an emphasis on the final product of writing rather than the process.  I don't even remember hearing the word "edit" or "revise" until college.
Starting in about 4th grade, the steps to create a five paragraph essay became a central and universal theme that I would hear repeatedly for the next 8 years! When my teachers were not teaching about organization of the five paragraphs, the focus was on sentence structure, grammar, parts of speech, diagraming sentences, and spelling. I distinctly recall Language Arts workbooks with skill and drill exercises for all these concepts. Interestingly, I was very good at skill and drill and could practically diagram a sentence with my eyes closed. Language Arts was definitely my forte however I never really saw myself as a writer. Even though most of my written essays were free of spelling and grammatical error, they often lacked good content, smooth transitions and solid reasoning or explanation.
As a writer now, I can still see the strong influences of my grade school teachers, however I am learning to use writing opportunities to venture out of my comfort zone and take time to appreciate the recursiveness of the writing process. I value my writer's notebook above all since I know I can freely write and express my ideas without being overly concerned with how it looks. I can always revise and edit later!