Survey Time: Editing your child's school work

uskoolfish
Sat, 13 Jun 2015 17:48:16 +0000

@epiphany Actually I think the question about discussing books with children is appropriate to the question posed.

The biggest problem I see with essays written by students is that although someone may write a lot-- and it may even sound good-- in reality, they might not have really said much. To me, the hardest part of writing is knowing the point you are trying to make and coming up with a clear thesis statement. The writing is secondary to knowing what you are writing about. The first step to writing is brainstorming and planning what it is that you are trying to communicate.

So the idea of discussing books, or themes, or ideas before actually writing the paper out is part of the writing process. When I see my students or my own children looking lost when they are writing --or procrastinating–the first thing I do is ask what it is that they are trying to say. I am not telling them what to write, but by discussing the subject of the paper, they are forced to formulate their own ideas and organize them.

Book discussions or discussions about what a paper is going to be about are helpful to students and as a teacher I would encourage a parent to have those kind of discussions if possible. I do not believe in a totally hands off approach to learning and the idea that learning is the student’s and teacher’s responsibility alone. I communicate all the time with parents who want to assist their children and I try to guide them in terms of what is helpful and what is not.