Mine are already “grown and flown” but I’m glad they had a couple of truly inspirational and understanding teachers along the way. It’s not all about how much material can be crammed into the semester…
http://grownandflown.com/stop-talking-start-listening-to-students/
I am reminded of some of my HS experiences back in the pre AP classes days. Our HS honors English class (the only one for the class year of 270 students) had the same group of students all four years. Our junior year teacher would read to us from fiction books every week- we were of course all good readers. We all could bring a treat/snack (otherwise forbidden) but he could choose to take a student’s- I remember bringing two cupcakes so I would get mine! He also worried about how our class would treat next year’s teacher- a middle aged lady, we did fine and behaved ourselves. I agree that people make the difference.
I also won’t forget son’s “artsy” HS freshman honors class for the same subject (blocking on the current nomenclature) in a different city. He had to suffer through multiple art projects for her. Gee whiz- a picture may say a thousand words but the idea of a lit class is to learn how to use words to express oneself. Finding magazine photos to cover a paper bag and other junk.
@wis75 - the beauty of the author’s approach was that she was able to intuit when her students needed a break. This approach is meaningful only if used appropriately. A treat is one thing; a steady diet of “treats” makes for a poor learning experience indeed!
Yes, some sharing and treats are excellent, but the kids also need some structure and teaching. Our S had a teacher in 4th grade that always expected the kids to critique each other’s work and inventive spelling was fine. They were never taught what a sentence was or much of anything–they were also not taught conventional spelling OR punctuation OR grammar or math. 
@HImom, that’s a fine approach for K,1st and even 2nd grade. Not so fine for 4th IMO.
Yes, especially if you don’t teach the essentials first. I had a LOT of issues with the teacher and school–our kids transferred after that year.
My D had that “whatevr you Rite iz fin n howevr u spel it is fin two.” approach. She loved writing but you couldn’t figure out what she had written.
Then she hit a HS teacher (yes HS) who was the biggest stickler for grammar and spelling that ever existed. Essay after essay and draft after draft to get things perfect. And D loved her to pieces. That teacher was her hero. D’s writing is some of the most polished I’ve seen (although I may be biased) in large part to that one teacher.
Wow!
That’s a great contrast to my elementary school experience at a Catholic elementary school with relaxed disciplinary standards compared with many others at the time.
Spelling errors were corrected on the spot by the teacher along with student peer pressure(Poor spelling was equated with stupidity and no one wanted to be label as such) from first grade onwards to the point that few of us had issues in that area by 4th grade.
However, I didn’t meet sticklers for grammar until I first encountered a 7th grade English teacher in a public junior high and later on, my 9th grade English teacher who ripped apart all our essays and was much more strict about it than any college Prof I’ve had*.
S had a tough time overcoming the bad background he had with terrible teachers. He still is very terse and concise in his writing, though he does convey his thoughts well. He had a creative writing teacher in HS who would grade him down consistently because she didn’t think his creative writing skills and interest match his 800 verbal SAT score. It was a tough semester. Fortunately, EE (his field) is fine with his writing style and abilities.
From the article: “…there were elements of childlike wonder and joy in my students’ demeanors.”
Fan-freaking-tastic.
My dd learned a lot of grammar when she took French in high school. I know she was taught basic grammar before but it never stuck until then. She is a wonderful writer now.