Block

Sometimes when I have a double period with my students, I have them write for 15 minutes in their journals. Back in 2010, I worked with the teacher at Orkeeswa who created the idea of ‘free writing’ journals for our students. Of course, it’s not a novel idea, but for regimented, rote learners, like those who enter Orkeeswa, the concept of writing ‘whatever you want’ is unique, crazy, perhaps even a bit strange. Some students took to it more easily than others. They actually used the empty page space to write about their feelings.

Now that the idea has been around for a couple of years, there are students who use journal writing time to challenge the norms; the writing itself is nothing groundbreaking, but they may use a pink-colored pen or write diagonally across horizontal lines. Even that, though, is a success; to give them any amount of freedom is a gift.

I remember, back in 2010, being furious one day when I found two students writing memorized class notes in their ‘free writing’ journals. In hindsight, there was no reason to be furious; the students just didn’t see value in writing about anything else.

I know better now. When it’s journal writing time, I give them two or three topics to write about or questions to answer. On Monday, when Form Ones got to write in their journals, I wrote on the whiteboard these topics:

- Graduation
- ISM Track Meet
- Who do you respect the most in your life? Why?
- Anything you want

There’s been a lot going on at the school recently and I figured our students were brimming over with thoughts and news. I wanted to give them an opportunity to let it all out. But within five minutes, I had some students say they were done. I saw one student writing about all three topics; another student wrote a generic paragraph about Orkeeswa, which she’s probably written several times. There were, of course, some students who wrote quietly the whole time.

I’ll have to collect the journals this week and see what’s going on in their heads, or rather, see how what’s going on in their heads gets translated into written English.

Recently, I find myself in the same shoes as my students regarding journal writing. I should follow the advice I give to students whose pens stop after only a short time – “Just keep writing.”