Week 3 reflection

I am currently writing this reflection with a fever of over 100 degrees, on what is supposed to be a week off from teaching, so you will have to pardon if this reflection is either slightly incoherent, or just a bit hazy. My body is pumped full of some good stuff at the moment. This course has got me thinking a lot about restructuring my high school classroom for next year, which I have talked about in both of my reflections already. What I realized the last week after reading chapters 3 and 4 of the Bean text is just how wide open composition really is. It is not just about writing essay after essay, it is teaching writing in a variety of genres. Instinctively I know that there are different genres of writing, and I teach a wide selection of writing, but I have always made the essay the most impactful piece of writing, and I am seeing now that is actually problematic. Instead of looking at other genres of writing as the pre-writing, or the "filler" writing, it is time to make those types of writing as important. It has opened up a whole new world of curriculum to me for next year. Though I got into high school teaching to teach literature, the reality of high school is that the focus is shifting away from literature analysis, and to types of writing applicable to students who are going to college or to a job. It is exciting and exhausting to think about.