Learning how to write was a black and white
experience. In my infant years, I was taught through tracing letters, using
beans, lentils, matchsticks, sand, glue and other convenient objects. My older
relatives would hold my hands and shape my letters with me. I remember using
double lined exercise books, I remember being told that I must always cross my
t’s, dot my I’s and make sure that my letters ‘sat’ on the line. I remember being
told to write from left to right after the margin. I was warned not to skip
pages in my exercise book and not to start a sentence with ‘But’ or ‘And’.
Momentarily I graduated from the double lined
exercise books to single lined ones. My handwriting was pretty large but neat.
I remember writing short sentences to learn the concepts of subjects and
predicates, nouns and verbs. I remember my teacher constantly saying ‘write
properly’. I didn’t realize it until now that I had a strong reading and
writing connection. I would read anything that came into my hands whether it
was a playboy magazine or an encyclopedia. I wanted to find out what ‘writing
properly’ was all about.
In the process, I graduated from using a led pencil
(which was what it pencils were referred to as) to black or blue ball tip pens.
I was taught how to write in cursive in my first term of primary school. I
struggled with writing this way. I wished it was a gradual process on my end. I
never felt comfortable with the words I felt robbed of the experience and
rushed. I was forced to write my notes in cursive for practice.
I was taught to cross out my work if I wanted to say
something else with one clear line across the information (like this) in
order to remember my original thoughts. Teachers say that “even though someone
has said something you would have liked to say, don’t say someone said it
already: you can say the same thing in your own words.” So from that point, I
was taught to be original in my expressions.
Continuing into secondary education, I became more
acquainted with the narrative, expository and argumentative pieces of writing. It
was more black and white. I seldom questioned why we wrote with so many
boundaries and constrictions. Why we could not write a narrative piece with the
intention of persuading could not be justified. I seldom questioned because I
was good at writing so I just followed the template that I was taught with.
Reading and comprehension exercises were done religiously for most of the time.
Whatever genre of writing I did I was told to write so that people could
understand. I always bared that in mind. I still do. I still wonder how well do
you need to know the rules before you break them? When does the black and white
end and the Technicolor begin?
How
I taught writing
Teaching writing was the most difficult thing I had
to do professionally. As if being a novice teacher was not enough, I was
assigned a class that was already demotivated in English and the weakest of
their kind. I tried to condone their inability to spell words correctly and try
to meet them half way with the limited skills they possessed. They were given
opportunities to write freely with guidelines. For example and essay entitled 'Books' or 'Colour'. They had difficulty in writing about abstract topics. They
were used to writing with a formula. In my reflection I don't think I did a good job with teaching English.
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My current English Course has brightened my
perspective of writing. I have a greater appreciation for writing. The process
of writing and teaching person to write more complex than I thought it was. What
will always remain with me is that I cannot teach what I don’t know and I can’t
take the students where I have never been.
