Grimly, the recent Ofsted subject report for English mentions ‘writing’ 141 times with no reference whatsoever to promoting it for the pleasure of the craft. To say it’s a missed opportunity is stating the obvious.
What can be done in English lessons to foster enthusiasm for the process, not the product? Semi-structured, freewriting exercises can be useful in giving students time and space away from the stresses of writing solely for assessment, while still building practise with core skills. Designing prompts that allow students to showcase their strengths while also encouraging the sort of ‘relaxed attention’ that leads to new ideas or connections is key. When teaching a novel such as Animal Farm, for example, putting time into discussions on the nature of disruption and protest, and getting students to consider the build up from emotion to action via personal response:
Have you ever felt the desire to rebel? If not, what might it take for you to have this feeling?
When is it our responsibility to rebel?
Protest and rebellion - what are the differences? Is there any overlap between the two?
This then would lead into an activity where students produce a response about an act of rebellion. The task is open enough to be approached in a variety of ways, allowing students to utilise their strengths and interests, but foregrounded in the ideas of the text. The intent then is to get students to approach the activity from their ‘angle of expertise’ and develop confidence in a personal response.
Another example could be to pose an open-ended question with a follow-up, choose-your-own-approach activity:
Who do you feel needs to be empowered in today's world and why? When you have your response, choose one of the following tasks:
Write a short poem or speech on the theme of empowerment
Write a letter to [author name of choice] about the need for empowerment in today’s world.
We have had success with student blogs (Google Sites is simple and intuitive enough to get cracking with quickly) to showcase best written pieces - or even just sections - with redrafts and feedback recorded to emphasise the process of proofreading and improved outcomes. None of the examples above are groundbreaking, but pitching these activities in terms of the idea generation and thought involved is where care needs to be taken… Otherwise it’s another timed writing task.
Why is all this important in the long term? Students develop tolerance for ambiguity and adaptability - massively useful in an increasingly uncertain future. A chance to take risks and accept failure if ideas don’t work out as intended. In fact, there are increasing arguments that creativity be valued as a central disposition in 21st century education systems, especially as a means of developing links between schools and communities. Embedding student-made art within communities to highlight social issues, or to collaborate with local organisations to produce work to a set brief with an end user in mind (Design Thinking in action).
This extensive report also details how creativity can positively affect social mobility, improve problem solving and is integral to preparing students for the challenges both of their own lives and to grapple with technologies that have not been invented yet.
As Lopez states, “creativity is a muscle that responds to practice and discipline”. Making space to allow students to see the value in the craft, rather than the end point, is definitely worth investing time in.
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