Writing Reflection

My writing journey has been a long and bumpy road.  It has had its ups and downs and I now have a love/hate relationship with the skill.  I desire a passion for writing but rarely find it when writing.

My journey began in elementary school.  I spent my elementary years at three  different schools.  I do not have much recollection of writing in school at this age.  Though, I do remember my father using writing as a punishment .  I have essays that he has collected over the years on topics such as:  How To Say You Are Sorry, Ways to Be Kind and Why You Shouldn’t Talk Back to Your Parents.  Now, I can look back and laugh at the titles though I wonder what they did to my psyche. My father also had me write repeated sentences as a punishment.  For example, I will not talk back to my step mother had to be written 500 times. 

In fifth grade, I wrote a murder story that was several pages long.  It was pretty horrific and had I shown my teacher, it probably would have gotten me sent to the school psychologist.  Overall, I remained unscathed as an early writer.  Though, I do not remember much about the instruction, I do remember writing.  middle school I aspired to be a Journalist.  For electives, I took Yearbook and Journalism.  Journalism class put me on the school newspaper and took me on a field trip to the local newspaper.  I do not remember receiving any accolades for my work and can only assume that I was neither a failure nor an overwhelming success. 

The last three years of high school I spent on the honor roll with nearly straight A’s every term.  My assumption was that I was an above average writer, though I do not have recollection of writing anything worth saving or worth an award.  I gave up my aspirations as a Journalist and moved on to dreams of making money, which is why I now teach half day Kindergarten .

My father continued to help me grow in my writing by assigning me newer and more exciting topics like, Why You Shouldn’t Sneak Out of the House and Why You Shouldn’t Throw A Party When Your Parents Are Gone.  I also had to update my prior essay on Why You Shouldn’t Talk Back To Your Parents, which apparently still had relevance at the age of sixteen. 

I attended college at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in California.  I was thankful that I had passed the freshman entrance writing exam and made it straight into college level freshman writing.  I remember the course being extremely challenging.  I scored B’s and C’s on most papers, a disappointment from my high school grades.  From there, writing became subject oriented.  I found and still find comfort in nonfiction writing. 

As an adult and teacher, I find writing necessary but rarely enjoyable.  I tend to be coy and insecure about sharing what I have written and yet I would love to be a better writer.  I can empathize with my students in their writing insecurities and struggles to get it right. I look for new, innovative ways to help my students and myself to be better at writing! 

The way I acquired my writing was through a learning view.  I was often given tasks to write then I was given a grade based on what I had written.