Writing is an expression and form of art, so while critiquing someone on their writing you must remember many people are sensitive about their works of art!!!
Receiving feedback for many people is hard in general. Putting something you create out there for others to give you their opinion on is not easy and receiving feedback takes practice and work.
Participating as a writing coach in this way has been new and a little confusing. Traditionally if I am helping students edit their writings and assisting them along their writing journey, I like to have dialogue with them to get an understanding of why they are writing the way they are and what is the overall message they are trying to convey. I have former students who are in college who reach out to me to give them assistance on writing scholarship essays or class essays and the biggest thing in my opinion is talking to them about their process, as well as telling me what exactly what it is they need my assistance with. In the class reading by Capt. Rebecca Segal, U.S. Army, A Writers Guide to Giving and Receiving Feedback, she states, "If you have specific things that you want the editor to focus on, provide those instructions when you reach out to request edits." Verbalizing what it is you are in need of will prevent the editor from ripping your writing apart in ways you did not ask for.
While its been interesting reading the works of the middle school students during this writing coach process, it has been a little difficult since there is no communication with the writers, and I'm blindly leaving comments/suggestions on their pieces.
Teachers and writing coaches play differing roles which may intersect along the students writing journey. While the teacher assigns the work and sets the parameters/rubric the writing coach assists in the student achieving their overall goal or properly projecting their intended message to the appropriate audience. Peer reviewing comes in as another method for input on the writing with the insight from a fellow peer and possibly bouncing ideas off each other.
Writing can be a stressful process with lots of ups and downs, the need for healthy honest feedback and dialogue can come with rewards and roadblocks, but in the end helping create a stronger more confident writer.
Hi Cheresse! I agree that it has been an odd coaching experience to give feedback without ever interacting with the students. When I worked as an in-person M3 Writing Coach I mostly talked students through their writing process and interacted with them on a daily basis. Much of the success I had working with students came from the trust we built from working together and my understanding of their writing needs from our discussions, so it's odd to have that interaction component removed from the process. I also think you brought up a great reminder about how hard it is for students (or anyone) to receive feedback. It's stressful to put your writing out there, so it's important we properly support our young writers to build their confidence while improving their writing!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheresse! Super late comment (see my blog post 8 lol) but I'd like to say I loved what you had to say! I do agree with you that it kinda feels like I'm stumbling through giving them advice because it more feels like I'm putting words on paper and that's all, but I think going forward I'm going to take a little bit more of your approach! Thinking of it like taking different roles is so key to me, like it makes so much more sense that I am someone who is more a stop on their writing journey, and I may be a gas station or I may be just a speed limit sign.
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