Rekha Dhondiyal
Children are designed to create something new on their own. It’s inherent in them. If we recognize this, half our battle is won. The problem is how to trigger this thought process? The trick is to jump into writing without much thought. Too much analysis causes paralysis. If it is turned into a fun activity where they are free to pen down their free flowing ideas their way, quick and encouraging results show. Let them be, is a credo to go by. A few do’s are ok but don’ts are taboo. Sitting in judgement over their write-ups is a big no-no. To appreciate them publicly, for every attempt made ,is a must. Starting with topics from their immediate world is a great idea because that is what they know best. Lots of fun and rib-tickling moments await the teacher as she watches them bloom and flower into budding writers.
Points that could help teachers achieve some success are given below:
1. Make an announcement in class that it’s Funday and not Monday. See them sit up! Tell them it’s only Creative writing that gives them a chance to write what they please. They are free to begin with the end or end with the beginning. In short unleash their imagination without fear.
2. Children learn best by example, so excite them with a short story with a dramatic beginning, an interesting middle and a surprise ending. Impromptu drama and humour put up by the teacher always help to kindle their interest.
3. I would do a story in the past tense because they find it easier.
My story: There was little a boy. He was very naughty. He could not sit still, he was like jelly. Also a big foodie. His lunch box was full of junk food. So he had a big belly too. He was named Jelly Belly.
One day Jelly pulled away a chair while a student was about to sit. The poor boy fell with a thud and the whole class burst out laughing. But the culprit was not to be seen anywhere. The boy who was standing next to the chair was caught and punished. Later, Jelly Belly was found in the washroom laughing hysterically, admiring himself in the mirror.A week later, while going home with his friend, he saw a truck coming from the opposite direction. Suddenly he ran towards the road telling his friend he would test the breaks of the speeding truck! And presto! Promptly lay down. The next moment a screeching sound was heard! Jelly Belly showed a thumbs-up sign to his shocked mate while the furious driver of the truck held him by the collar!
4. This tale would trigger more ideas in them, that any incident, event, accident, happening could be turned into a story. Association of ideas would happen and they would be driven to write.
5. Tell them to mix reality with fiction and create very simple stories. Once they overcome the fear of writing, plots would get better automatically.
6. Always go from easy to difficult, less to more, small to big, simple to complex.
7. Get talkative kids to begin a story on an interesting note. They give confidence to the introverts. One by one each kid can add a sentence and the story would go forward. Anyone who breaks the sequence should be told to do it again. Thus this informal collaborative way of doing a story could help all.
Nobody can escape, everybody has to chip in. The teacher could nod in appreciation while kids don their thinking caps.
8. Generate ideas by giving a few yourselves. Children are copy cats, give them an idea and they start thinking on the same lines. So introduce diverse genres, encourage different ways of thinking. Do prose one week and verse the next week.
9. Tell them to write simply in active voice in the right sequence.
10. Lastly tell them not to be word and avoid repetition.
11. Draft writing is essential though time consuming but, then nothing tried is nothing gained. The first draft can be just jottings of free, random thoughts that come first. The second draft could be edited by the child himself. He/she could correct their spelling, punctuation and capital letters along with common careless errors. The third draft should be the final draft where anything that is extra should be cut ruthlessly to make the writing crisp and tight.
12. There are as many methods of honing their creative spark as there are teachers. Whatever works should be kept and what doesn’t work should be dropped.
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A very insightful article indeed Rekha aunty!
I agree with you when you say that too much analysis kills the instinct to write, but hand holding is required too. Allowing them to write freely without analysis is fine when they are very young, but as they grow we need to expose them to varied styles and techniques of writing. Children need to be made aware of how to bring in fluency and avoid monotony in their writing pieces. Some concrete methods need to be elaborated. We need to have strategies to help the average writers improve their style.
You have a point Shalini di. Handholding is a must, needed all the time. Techniques come automatically when kids read on their own, draw their own conclusions and have the liberty to hold discussions with peer groups and teachers no-holds-barred. Style and strategy come with intensive and extensive reading. When they write freely in the initial stages, they are given a framework within which to work. They learn best by example. Later when they can handle the language, everything falls into place. Infact it’s very important that we don’t give them too many dos, may be a few don’ts would suffice. If they grow up to be non- conformists writing in styles or genres typically home grown, with their own special stamp, we would do a great service to them. I feel they must be allowed to flower differently in different directions. It is the duty of the teacher to provide them with fodder for thought. There is no one correct way i guess. There are as many methods as there are teachers. If one is too hung up on methods a lot of spontaenity gets butchered.Most great writers learn on the job while they scribble. They learn the intricacies while they are at it, enjoying the magic of words and how they can play with them. And it takes decades of reading and writing before they can feel that perhaps they can express themselves. It’s a long drawn process that comes with a lot of sweat and blood. All’s going to go well if we just battle on with lots of stress on reading for pleasure.
The article tells us that we have to be less structured in order to ‘kindle’the interest then we can move towards more advanced methods of writing.
I feel if we do not leave the children free to think, they will not find the exercise exciting.
The challenge is to create interest. The children will take it further once they find their interest.
Leaving children free to think is one thing and then to write is another. I know of children who are students of std. 12 who speak very well but they say that they are unable to write well as they write exactly the way they speak, which does not make very good reading. I made a few students of 12 write a piece each and went through them. I realised they were all lacking in structure. They had gone off the topic or taken time to address it. When they did reach the topic, almost all of them had started in the same manner. Fluency was missing.
I agree with you Rekha aunty when you say that reading would help cultivate good writing styles. While teaching literature, we need to teach creative writing side by side. We need to help students consciously analyse what makes Leo Tolstoy, Isaac Asimov or Maupassant great writers. Writings of different great writers should be studied. Let the children pick up what they want to… one does not have to tell them what to pick up.
I feel that letting the child float for sometime is fine… when they are young, but not forever.
Ah! Shalini di this topic is getting richer by the day with so many different views. This is the objective of the forum. Dissent is growth. It has triggered varied perspectives. And that is delightful. This is how we progress. Flexibility is important and rigidity death. Studyhall has always encouraged views and reviews. We are on the right track. I Would love it if teachers came to my class and gave a random topic to the kids. They wouldn’t fail them provided they are given an interesting topic after a little talk.
I agree with colleagues that writing should be fun and self expression results from spontaneity. However, in addition I would like to say (possibly stated earlier) that just as a gardener weeds out wild growth and prunes the plant with care and subtlety, similarly, as children reach the senior classes their thoughts need effective channelization. A very good and proven methodology is throwing up an issue, open discussion forums, pick on 4 to 5 relevant leads and then harness them so that the main focus remains always paramount. Understanding of literary techniques as well as exercises in vocab. building must be an on-going process to equip the young learner who dabbles in creative writing. I always believe creativity is in the idea, in the thought process, and if the person wishes to express that in written form then we as teachers of English must equip him with sufficient tools to enable him to express with clarity. Yes creative expression must never be stifled, instead, it must be nurtured appropriately.
So true! Writing is the most difficult exercise. We have to battle on with as many methods as we can think of. What works should be retained and what doesn’t should be dropped. Whatever we do should excite the kids so that they are pushed to enjoy the activity and later hope that it becomes part of their DNA. We should have a happy mix of prose, poetry, grammar, limericks, paragraph writing, picture writing, poetic devices, precis writing, grammar exercises, the entire works.
I wish I could be a part of such an innovative class.
Correctly said let the children be creative in their thinking and then as ‘moderators’ we have to channelise their thoughts.
Not too sure sometimes I feel too many do’s and dont’s spoil the thinking. At least that happens with me. I want to start without any structure and then develop a structure which is challenging and long lasting.
Free play of imagination is possible when children pen down their thoughts spontaneously. Teachers correct grammatical errors to allow good expression. Beyond this intervention, too many don’t cause confusion in the child’s mind restricting creativity. First and second drafts give best results-avoid structures.
First and second drafts are a must. It is at thess points when intervention is required and some do’s and dont’s are discussed.
Rekha aunty, your lucid expression on creative writing and counter opinions has got me thinking. I begin to wonder, what is the best possible way to make our students proficient and what is the fool proof method to give them general competence in written and spoken English.
For sure children must think independently and freely express themselves. They have the ‘dewy’ freshness and if allowed to express learning and teaching process becomes fun.
But how to strengthen their written skills? Motivating them to read does help them to acquire a passive vocabulary and expression.
Language skills are acquired gradually through constant exposure. The written word gains prominence as one slowly proceeds to identify and use the signifiers of the language through reading and writing.
The study of these signifiers guide us to communicate in a clearer and a more effective manner. To achieve the articulate level of proficiency and capability a well balanced exposure to concepts and rules of grammar is of utmost importance. With interesting activity based learning of grammar rules, the learner is able to achieve greater accuracy. For example, reported speech one has to adhere to some rules.
But I agree bordering on ‘grammar mania’ is drab and must be avoided. ‘Language is better caught than taught’ .
To sum it up, grammar teaching “in the conventional sense” can at best be a ‘walker’ helping the beginner to take a few steps. If used for long it would become a ‘crutch’ – crippling the language user for life. Therefore a happy blend of the conventional and the innate contributes to effective writing.
Anjana,your last paragraph has hit the nail on the head!
I agree100% with you Shalini di. The teacher has to intervene at some point. She has to see the final draft and guide the kids when they go wrong. That’s her job.
Anjana aunty, I think you have well summarised the views of all on the forum.
Thanks to Rekha aunty whose thought provoking article got our brains ticking.
Shalin di, very kind of you to say what you have said. Thanks a ton. Yes, we learn so much from one another.
I ditto your statement Rekha aunty that there are as many ways of triggering the creative spark as there are teachers and that we must keep what works and weed out what doesn’t…I just want to add that the teachers too have different competence and not all are as blessed as you…creation of the right environment for writing, unleashing the creative spark, no holds barred cannot be successfully achieved by many, even in our own fraternity….English teachers in India start off with the disadvantage of being in an environment of non native speakers of English which makes their task all the more challenging…words flow freely to add meaning and express innermost thoughts and feelings to anyone exposed to an intellectually rich ,stimulating environment but the same can be a struggle for many students even elders who shy away from the written word due to their fear and inhibitions. Any piece of creative writing exhibits and brings forth the writers imagination, experience, repository of words, style and expression. I feel a teacher should introduce the budding writers to distinctive literary styles,genres, special usage of words as in idioms and phrases, form and structure, lexicon, syntax and all regularly over the years only then they will be able to use contextually appropriate words in a lucid manner ,contantly sifting the relevant from the irrelevant and would equip them to modify their drafts . We can broaden their horizon with little help and positive intervention. In doing so a lot of caution is needed so as not to take away the joy of writing…also it has to be a fine blend of freedom of expression with facilitation and guidance bringing forth the best from the writer. Experience and appreciation on the part of the teacher and patience and perseverence for the student are prerequisites to good creative writing.
Great thoughts, extremely well expressed. You have added another dimension to the topic.
Shalini di has rightly pointed out about the inability of senior students to express themselves in writing. I have felt that a large number of them lack basic grammatical and analytic skills.Grammatical skills are best honed at the primary level.It is difficult to teach the basics to young adults.Essentially,we must cater to the average student who has very little support system at home. A fair amount of guidance and intervention is needed to keep them on the right track so that they can acquire the confidence to express their ideas clearly and effectively.