As I read Chapter 2 of Kelly Gallagher's "Write Like This", I found that there was an interesting connection with his idea of reflection and the Jesuit's teachings. As someone who has been in Jesuit schools from high school until graduate school, I immediately thought of how the Jesuits stressed reflection in their own lives and in the way they taught. I can specifically remember writing about community service projects that were required of us every year at Fairfield Prep. It was always interesting to look back at an experience that took you out of your comfort zone, such as working in a soup kitchen or tutoring kids in an inner city atmosphere. I always found myself feeling anxious before community service and feeling amazing afterwards. Through reflection I realized the importance of doing things that make you feel anxious or scared. I found that 90% of the life was simply showing up.
This is why I agree with Gallagher's assertion that there is not enough expressive or reflective writing in schools. There is so much learning and growing that can occur by reflecting on certain moments in our lives. To put it quite simply, using more reflective/expressive writing can help students become more thoughtful human beings. I'm not sure how or if that fits with our state standards in CT, but somehow it needs to fit. The Jesuits would agree.
Do know you, too, presented in the same space as Kelly Gallagher. He was in room 12 and I wish you were with us. I did not make the Jesuit connection, but you are correct. The mission was what drew me to Fairfield because the mission statement resonates in what I believe in (and I'm a man with very little religious background). To be honest, you have a publishable piece to write here. I think there's an outlet for developing this connection. Cinthia Gannet in English is an expert on the Jesuits and writing traditions.
ReplyDeleteKeith,
ReplyDeleteI had just typed you this great response and it got deleted (second time today). I am frustrated.
But I wanted to say that I really enjoyed this post. Reflection is so incredibly important in students' educational careers. First of all, reflection on their work and their learning allows them to become better learners and more well-rounded and successful students. Second, without honing that ability to reflect and learn, students don't necessarily become the well-prepared adults they could be.
Gallagher is absolutely right. Students do not have enough exposure to expressive/reflective writing in school. The Jesuits believe reflection is essential to learning, and to creating a more informed, healthier future community. If we do not expose students to this genre, and cultivate this skill within them, how can they become the adults that thrive in and support this type of future community?
It is interesting that you made the connections between Gallagher (in this chapter in particular) and the Jesuits. But hey, I believe there's a sizable chunk of Jesuit educational philosophy that is just plain common sense.
The bottom line is simple - we need to expose students to more expressive/reflective writing in school. How do we implement this?
Perhaps we add a reflective element to our curriculum. Do we have students reflect on their own progress as writers, or do we have them reflect on their progress as students? Or on the class? Or on how they responded to a book? Is the floor open to interpretation? Where do we start? How do we make it creative?
My question is this: to us, reflection seems an absolute (we MUST reflect to learn and be informed, self-aware adults). For students, perhaps reflection (including self-reflection) seems boring, or irrelevant, even unnecessary. How do we turn that around? How do we make it relevant for them, so that they tune in to the program and reflect for meaning, not just to put words on a page because the teacher asked for a reflection? I am pondering this.
With a hot cocoa mug in one hand, I bid you goodnight,
Ariane