Writers make culture and show us how to experience transformation. Our artistic practice helps us navigate confusion on our way to understanding. It helps us build resilience. This is why creative writing is so important. I want us to be nurturing healthy relationships with our writing craft and the magic of story. And our relationship to creativity might need extra care and attention right now.
I primed the pump by telling my students about something I struggled with—feeling left behind in staff meetings as my colleagues clicked their way through various computer applications.
I confided that PowerPoint and Google Slides—tools one might assume that any teacher worth a paperweight has mastered—still eluded me. By admitting my deficiency to my students, asking for their help, and choosing to see the opportunity to remedy it every day in the classroom, I aimed to level the playing field with them. They may have been reading three or four grade levels behind, but they could slap a PowerPoint presentation together in their sleep.
For students, sharing their own stories of bravery, resilience, and determination brings these qualities to the forefront of their minds and helps solidify the belief that underlies a growth mindset: I can improve and grow. We know from research in neuroplasticity that when students take baby steps to achieve a goal and take pride in their accomplishments, they change their brains, growing new neural networks and fortifying existing ones. Neurons in the brain release the feel-good chemical dopamine, which plays a major role in motivating behavior toward rewards.
After writing about a few different personal topics, students choose one they want to publish on the bulletin boards at the back of the classroom. They learn to include the juicy details of their stories who, what, when, where, why, and how , and they get help from their peers, who ask follow-up questions to prompt them to include more information.
In my experience, students are motivated to do this assignment because it helps them feel that their personal stories and emotions truly matter, despite how their other academics are going. One student named Alejandro chose to reflect on basketball and the persistence and time it took him to learn:. Being good takes time. One time my sister took me to a park and I saw people playing basketball. I noticed how good they were and decided I wanted to be like them.
My dad bought me a backboard and hoop to play with. Every time I got home from school, I would go straight to the backyard to play. So, encourage your children to write, to be creative, to use their imagination, and then praise them when they do.
Build their confidence to clearly communicate their point of view, their thoughts, and their feelings. Then think about publishing those precious stories to read over and over again at a kid-friendly site such as Scribblitt. About the Author Andrea Bergstein is the founder of Scribblitt. I think that creative writing is a good outlet; you can write about anything you want and style it to fit how you feel.
I like […]. Expressive writing can bring a range of mental, emotional, and physical health benefits. Of course, creative writing exercises can also expand your vocabulary and provide a better understanding of the mechanics of the written word. With practise, your writing will flow better for the reader. According to clinical psychologist Karen A. Baikie and psychiatrist Kay Wilhelm, writing creatively about traumatic, stressful or emotional events has been found to improve both physical and psychological health.
0コメント