Tag: meaningful

Fostering a Love for Writing

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Over at Education Week, there’s a great interview with Laurie Halse Anderson about teaching writing in school. One point Anderson makes:

“There are a number of corporations that have turned a tidy profit by convincing school districts to invest in their “writing system.” Three tricks, five steps, six traits, eight levels, ten tested-techniques; that wheel gets reinvented over and over again. I can understand why a teacher would look for this kind of guidance; writing well is a foundation stone of education and teaching writing – especially to students who are struggling – is hard.

But I think these programs make the matter more difficult than it has to be.

Imagine this; structuring a writing curriculum around three concepts. Number One: the writer learns how to understand what she wants to communicate. Number Two: she writes what she wants to communicate and tests it out on a reader. Number Three: the reader gives immediate, constructive, written feedback so the writer can see if she achieved her goals. If started as a young enough age, this could be turned into a game, so that the writer is rewarded when she has effectively communicated with text. Not just a good grade; something that has meaning.”

I think the idea of writing in schools being both “a game” and “something that has meaning” is essential, especially for younger students. Learning about grammar and spelling is important, but I think students want to take ownership of their writing. Letting them explore communication and creativity can give students a sense of pride in their writing and be more inclined to write and read more. I’m sure teaching reading and writing can be very difficult for a teacher–it’s a subject without a lot of clear answers, and there are a variety of obstacles students can face. But I would say the more personally invested students feel in their writing, the more they’d be willing to work and continue to work throughout their school experience.

Make sure to check out the whole interview. Some great thoughts from an excellent writer!

High School’s Never Over

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Dyana Herron’s essay, “Why I Read Young Adult Literature,” is a fantastic look at what YA means for teen and adult readers alike. One of my favorite points:

“…when I began to read contemporary books written for young adults, I found a wealth of well-written, sensitive, imaginative, bold stories about individuals who are navigating a crucial, difficult time in their lives.

A time in which they are awakening to the fact that the world is not as safe as it may have seemed during childhood, in which they are developing identities outside their family units, in which they are having sexual awakenings, making best friends, losing best friends, falling in love, and — almost invariably — wondering if they are going to survive to experience something better.”

I think YA Lit could easily be called Coming of Age Lit or (if you want to get really literary/pretentious) Bildungsroman Lit. It’s about encountering the world and yourself for the first time. As with adult literature, the tone can vary from funny to serious, breezy to intense, and more. And most YA (not just the best) is about a character confronting something new and exciting/upsetting. How is that not engaging?

Herron goes on to talk about why she still reads YA even though her middle/high school days are over:

“The need for these kinds of stories isn’t something that goes away when we graduate with our advanced degrees, or start paying our own rent, or when there’s no one around to care how late our friends call. “

I’m certainly touched by characters in YA stories, and I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon. I think a lot of adult readers assume that all YA is Sweet Valley High or Gossip Girl. But that’s like assuming that everything in the general fiction section is by Dan Brown or James Patterson. There’s a wealth of material and emotion on the YA shelves, and I hope more people start opening themselves up to the genre.

Making It Mean Something

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On his blog, author Matt de la Peña has a great post about why trying to write something “meaningful” isn’t the goal a writer should have. Books can be meaningful, but it’s the readers who create that meaning:

“A few months ago there was a lot of chatter about how “YA Saves” (a response toa strange article in WSJ claiming contemporary YA novels have become too dark). Many authors were outraged (including me) and some began claiming that their books save lives (aka land planes) — which I’m sure many of their books have. But it’s a bad idea for an author to “set out” to write a life-saving book in the same way that it’s a bad idea to set out to write a an anti-abortion book. Agenda usually leads to bad fiction. And I think it’s the reader who makes a book a life-saver. Not the author. Right time, right place, inventive interpretation. And usually it’s a savvy librarian or teacher who reads a situation and pairs a book with a reader.”

So true. I’m sure secretly, all writers want to create something that “matters” and will connect with readers. But that drive can come at the expense of an organic narrative and rich characters. And, as Matt points out, you never know what will connect with a particular reader. When my grandfather died, I was twelve and didn’t know how to handle this loss. I locked myself in my room and tore through copies of Lois Lowry’s Anastasia Krupnik books. They weren’t about death or grief or grandparents. They weren’t even very serious. But I remember how those books helped me through a difficult moment.

Mostly, I think writers should focus on the story they want to tell. Someone will pick up on the meaning there, or find a new one for themselves.