You are under the influence

Were you teaching in 2002?

Is so, what I'm about to share may resonate and bring back memories.

If not, this is important background information, so take a minute to get informed!

In the 1980's and 1990's, there was a lot of writing going on in my school and schools across the country. 

There was interest and excitement about the “writing process” and how to teach writing to young kids.  My school had two trainings focused solely on teaching writing. We were being encouraged to teach writing. 

In my state, there was even a 4th grade test for writing that took most of a school day and was graded by real people. 

If this seems frivolous and far too much time spent on the subject of writing, I'd like to suggest that maybe you are under the influence of what happened in 2002. So read on and decide for yourself if the big event of 2002 colored your view of the importance of writing!

2002 was the year that No Child Left Behind arrived. The intention was good - to increase the academic success of children in certain subgroups such as English language learners, special education students, children in low income families, and Black, Hispanic, and Native children. It raised awareness, but for the most part it didn't succeed in closing the gaps because of its punitive approach.

2002 was when the term AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) became an acronym we heard a lot. Schools that did not meet AYP were subject to punitive measures, and the expectations were unreasonably high. Testing became a much bigger deal. Testing became “high stakes”. Test scores were producing anxiety because the scores were attached to negative consequences, even including some schools being taken over by the state and teachers losing their jobs. So what did schools and educators do? They went into survival mode. That's what we all do under high stress. We do what we need to do to survive.

In this case, survival was “teaching to the test”.

So where am I going with all this and the influence on your thinking about writing?

For schools to comply with NCLB there were only two subjects that had to be tested: reading and math. Since educators were in high anxiety mode, more time and energy was now devoted to these two subjects. (And more time didn't mean those subjects were being taught more effectively).

My theory is that when a subject isn't tested, people begin to believe it isn't important. I wonder if that is what has happened to writing. I wonder if you have been under the influence of this belief.

If you are making time in the day to teach writing, I applaud your efforts. You are probably struggling to find the time to teach writing amidst the time that is mandated for other subjects. You know that being on grade level for writing by third grade matters as much as reading. You know that learning to write doesn't magically happen by telling kids to write in a science or reading lesson.

It is really hard these days to teach something that isn't tested or mandated. You have to believe in the importance of what you're doing because you won't get the support you need. You may get in trouble for tweaking your schedule and cutting something else short to make time for writing instruction. But just know that you are giving your students a skill they will need to succeed all through their school years, and keep up the good work!

If you have a moment please comment:

How does your school or district support/not support writing instruction?

What makes it hard to fit writing instruction into your day?

Do you think writing instruction (as it's own subject area) is important?

Does your school or district provide training in how to teach writing in K-2?