Well, I believe it has happened… I have (begun) to question the strength of my attachment to the 5- paragraph essay. Reading about the process of writing, and the process of teaching (the process of) writing has begun to take its grip on my beliefs and turn them into questions of my beliefs. I feel like I have crossed over into the “dark side,” only to realize it is the beginning of enlightenment.
I want my (future) students to be able to love writing. I want them to realize that regardless of their style or their methods that what matters is the end product, yet realize that their style and methods are part of the process of writing. I really like reading Tobin’s struggle to find the happy median between completely structured writing and completely unstructured writing. I am idealistic that I can give students the world in an English class, yet realistic enough to realize that this giving must conform to, and meet, several strict criteria set by those not necessarily in tune to my desires or needs as a teacher. Tobin’s median seems a way to be able to merge both my desires as well as most administrative demands. I must also add, that I am in complete agree with him when he states that teaching the 5 –paragraph essay is still a necessity, if only as a means to complete essay exams (cough cough ---PSSA’s).
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