Colloquium on English - Research Institute for Waldorf Education

Discussion: Teaching Writing
As English teachers, most of us have the urge to write and love doing it. We have to begin by
understanding that our students have not yet been schooled in writing and that we must teach it as a craft,
as art teachers teach the craft of drawing, or music teachers the craft of singing. Some of us remember
unpleasant experiences learning another art or even avoid attempting to learn another art. It is useful for us
to remember such experiences to gain sympathy with how our students might feel when faced with learning
the art of writing. However, all humans, unless impaired in some way, use language, so there must be a
latent desire and ability in everyone. We are speaking beings, but how does that translate to being writers.
We must never forget that at the heart of language is a mystery and for some of our students waking up to
language is a difficult thing
Teaching the craft of writing encompasses several genres in high school. The first major division is
between creative writing and exposition. Creative writing itself divides into poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction,
and drama. Exposition includes letters, instructions, and essays.
We all have students write in a variety of genres, primarily essays, research papers, fiction, drama,
and poetry. All these activities enhance observation, thinking, and writing. The more we work with all
genres, the better the skills become. Each genre has a specific history, and we all agree that one of the things
that Waldorf schools are able to do consistently over four grades is to give the students an idea of this
history. By the end of high school, they should know something of the history of poetry, novels and short
stories, playwriting and screenwriting, essays, biographies, and scientific and technical writing. Some teachers
are also able to include something of the history of communication.
We are fortunate in Waldorf schools that many of our students write all the time in many of their
classes. They learn to write more effectively by practicing, sharing, and revising.
Generally speaking, ninth graders are happy to do whatever they are asked to do. Being active in
their will, they learn by doing. English teachers need to provide plenty of opportunity for them to write.
In Grade 9, we should establish the ground rules for the process of writing that will carry them
through all of high school:
• Every work is a work in process.
• Everybody will read what he or she has written.
• Listeners must be specific about what they like or do not like and why.
• The writer must listen to the response and decide if she or he wants to incorporate the
changes.
In-class writing is critical. Writing ceases to be a large imponderable mystery and becomes instead an
exercise. Group writing alleviates fear.
Rather than asking students to “write a poem”, give them exercises in the crafting of poetry. Many
exercises can be found in Paul Matthews’ Sing Me The Creation. Here is an off-shoot of one used with great
success at Green Meadow:
The teacher intones two lines composed entirely of nonsense words:
“Thungth gwallig ummi go
schnuba blab blab frigglig”
The words are then translated by the meaning of the sound:
“Thump colleague you me go
Snooze but plop plop frilly”
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