Expository vs. Narration: Clash of the writing titans

Upon reading Williams chapter 9, I found a confusing contraction within his argument. On one hand Williams suggests that "writing assignments in the high school rarely call for the kind of writing students are expected to produce in college" (280). On the other, one of his sample writing assignments #6 suggests "describe an even in which you did something that made you feel ashamed" (291). Can't there be a happy medium of both in high school? I personally feel that we as high school educators aren't simply preparing students for college, but for life in general regardless of whether or not our students go on to college. It seems to me that both expository writing and personal narrative are both important for students to express themselves in writing about topics both inside and outside of themselves. Essentially, I see value in both and feel they both serve important purposes for student writing, critical thinking, analysis, and self-expression.

Here is a neat site to English lesson plan ideas. Enjoy!

http://english.unitechnology.ac.nz/

Williams Response

Please read the following quotes from Chapters 3 and 4 from Williams "Preparing to Teach Writing" and see if you don't agree that Candance Doerr was modeling/showcasing these ideas throughout our first class last week. The text suggests that...

-"the goal is to use the small work groups to get students talking, thinking, and writing" (104)
-"the teacher might direct students to brainstorm in their groups for a period of 10 minutes; at the end of this period, each group would report its results, thereby producing a whole class discussion" (105)
-"Teacher as coach" philosophy (105)
-using writing prompts to facilitate Freewriting activities and class Discussion
-regarding classroom as Workshop, in which the students "write and receive meaningful feedback on work in progress" and "having each writer read his or her draft to the group" (140-1).

All of the following were more or less modeled by Candance. It's refreshing to see a professor practice what she or he preaches. Often in this program, we've seen professors explain the importance of student-centered approaches and engagement, while lecturing to the class, using powerpoint, while we sit in traditional rows. For the sake of not being a suck up to the teacher, I just got the impression that Candance Doerr was actually practicing the material she expected us to learn. Is anyone else feeling that? Check out the link below and Holla Back!

Available on JSTOR
* Principles and Practices of Secondary School Teaching by Herbert J. Klausmeier

Review author[s]: Charles B. Mendenhall
The School Review, Vol. 62, No. 3 (Mar., 1954), pp. 184-185