Learning Inside Out- Bravewriter

I got this in an email from Julie Bogart at Bravewriter. This is journey stuff to me. This email shows how Bravewriter works--- and it shows me why I have always been attracted to the Bravewriter way of learning to write. Really I am finding it applies to all aspects of learning around here. The inside out way... following what comes naturally and supporting it as it comes, then adding the final touches later, when they are ready.

I need to go spend more time at www.bravewriter.com I had used it quite extensively for years, but my guys are so into writing now that I probably won't go back until we really start fine tuning what they are doing. But like this email says.. they are writing what they care about. I see essays, fiction, persuasive arguements happening all naturally. This is so much more effective than the stilted curriculum exercises were. Anyway here is Julie's email.

(Gotta be careful about that craving of affirmation. I know what she is saying. How to find some affiirmation from better sources. Humm... I know Kempis talked about that in his sections on friendship. Another post... )

I hate to admit it, but I crave validation. And I got it today from an
unexpected source.

This morning over Cheerios a slate gray spiral bound book
caught my attention: Xavier University: Guide to the Writing Program. My
husband, Jon, is a composition professor at Xavier and this handy little guide
arrived in our formidable pile of mail while we were out of town. I love to
read his materials to get an idea of what the university expects of its
students. I know that how I teach writing is far more effective than the usual
educational model served up in everyday public schools. Universities, though,
are usually ahead of the curve in teaching writing, and I want to be on that
curve.

So I flipped open the booklet as I slurped up the milk in my bowl to
take a look at the most current composition practices.
Oh joy! It was like reading The Writer's Jungle in microcosm. The aims of English Composition 101 match those of Brave Writer. The guide's suggested writing process follows the
same sequence found in my materials. Let's look at five of their principles
together. I'll comment on each one.

Teach fluency first and throughout the
semester.In college, professors are encouraged to help students become
comfortable expressing their thoughts in written form. They make use of
freewriting and journaling and other non-graded forms of writing (low stakes
writing) to help students breakthrough the intimidation of academic writing. For
some in-coming freshmen, this experience is entirely new. Think of how far ahead
your writers will be since they will be used to practicing these "low stakes"
writing styles throughout their childhoods. Freewriting is not something we use
until we can write academically but rather a practice that supports all sorts of
writing for the rest of our lives.

Do what you can to make sure that what
students are writing about is important to them.Isn't that the first rule of
Brave Writing? To write well, it's important to write about what you know, what
interests you, what matters to you. So many homeschooling mothers worry that
their children will be forced to write about boring subjects or will be assigned
topics they don't care about and yet still have to write. Yet here a college
manual about writing is urging professors to teach their students how to create
topics that they care about in any field. This is the trick all professional
writers know. Make any topic for writing your own by finding some aspect of it
that matters to you.

When reading drafts (or freewrites - particularly
writing not intended to be polished) pay more attention to "higher order
concerns."A "higher order concern" would be focusing on content before attending
to the minutia of mechanics and punctuation. Give feedback to the writer that
engages the content, that comments on the meaning and ideas, rather than picks
apart the spelling mistakes or missing punctuation.
After higher order concerns are addressed, in subsequent drafts shift to, among other things,
"lower order" concerns: mechanics, grammar, syntax, punctuation etc.Once the
revision work is completed (where the student reworks the piece for greater
clarity, focus and meaning), then an edit for basic mechanics is helpful and
necessary. This is how we do it in Brave Writer and it's how writing is taught
in college. No one expects perfection in a draft.

Finally, teach revision. And
here is where my smile grew two sizes too big. The booklet continues:
"Inexperienced writers don't revise, and revision is arguably the most important
component of good writing." Amen. This is why The Writer's Jungle and each of my
online courses spend so much energy explaining revision practices and allow for
multiple drafts before calling a piece of writing a finished product. It's why I
recommend one polished writing piece per month rather than cranking out a weekly
essay. Revision is the most important aspect of the writing process.
It felt great to discover that what we're doing in Brave Writer is exactly what your
kids can expect when they get to university. You can rest assured that they will
be well-acquainted with the writing process, will know the importance of their
own voice in writing, will be able to select meaningful topics about which to
write, and above all, will know not only the importance of revision but how to
do it so that their writing grows and expands beyond mere cosmetic corrections.

Julie Bogart