10-second review: Why should English teachers write? “…that our own teaching will be richer, that our interest in, and knowledge about, writing may rub off on our students.”
Title: “The English Teacher as Writer.” FF Suderman. College composition and Communication (December 1977), 356-358. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary/Quote: “English teachers should write. They should write even when they have papers to correct, lesson plans to make, reading to do, committee meetings to attend, Anacin to buy for their headaches, TV programs to watch, spouses to love, meals to eat, a face to prepare to meet the faces they must meet. Yes, English teachers must write even if there is little time to write. Because writing is important, they must find time to write.” p. 357.
Teachers who write recognize the problems involved in writing.
Never assign a paper we have not attempted.
“The teacher [or student RayS. ]who has tried to write a sonnet can more easily appreciate Shakespeare’s mastery of the form.”
Comment: Empathy with our students is one good reason for English teachers to write. Writing for professional journals will take the teacher even further—empathy with rejection. RayS.
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