Bravo to Bill! Teachers not only need more precise training that is directly related to what the writing process IS, but we also need on-going mentoring in the art of teaching the process. In addition, any system worth its salt would develop the program dynamically - from K to 12 (or perhaps from 3 to 12?) - providing support all through the program. When you say that we (certified K-12 teachers, in particular, like myself) are given one-shot workshops followed by NOTHING, you are hitting the nail so squarely on the head that it sinks into the wood on the first blow! Thanks, Paul D. -----Original Message----- From: William J. McCleary >Then there's the question of whether "process-driven composition" really >exists today in any substantial amount. Just because everybody's talking >about the process approach doesn't mean that everybody is doing it. I've >observed a lot of certified teachers and supervised a lot of student >teachers who were teaching a curriculum assigned to them. There was >virtually no process-driven composition being done. A few THOUGHT they were >doing the process approach because they had students write a rough draft >one day and "revise" the draft the next day and hand it in. Revision nearly >always mean correcting the errors. Two drafts does not make a process >approach. > >The process approach is like most educational reforms. (1) The term means >different things to different teachers. This allows all of us to say we are >doing it while at the same time doing something very different. (2) Seldom >do you find anyone who has worked out how to use the process approach >successfully having the chance to teach the method to other teachers. (3) >Typically, the administration brings in an "expert" for a one-shot >workshop, leaving the teachers to implement the method on their own (or >not). (4) No one bothers to define what is meant by "better writing" or to >prove that this or that method leads to better writing. > >Finally, the process approach is only a METHOD of teaching. The CONTENT of >the curriculum, rhetorical theory, is usually taken for granted. That is, >few of us are taught what the features of the various kinds of essay should >be. That may be the biggest mistake of all. > >Bill McCleary >