Writing affects the brain in a way that speaking alone does not... Here's a GRAPHIC organizer

Here’s why WRITING is important.

http://www.grammarcheck.net/copywriting-101/

Just speaking does NOT capture the full sentence.  When we WRITE we can ANALYZE what we have produced.  Speaking does not produce a DOCUMENT that can be analyzed.

“I didn’t say that” is the slippery way that the ego uses to try to escape an uncomfortable situation.

If we want to grow, we will write...

A student goes to Northwest France (1)

Here are excerpts from the first two entries of Davi's journal.  I hope he returns to writing and sharing his perspective.

First Day

My plane started to approach Paris-Orly airport.I could see the eiffel tower and i remember seeing a picture of it in a textbook when i was in school. It was truly remarkable that i could see it when i was flying in. I met this sweet French lady on the plane ,and i asked her if she could speak English. She didn’t speak English but we still could communicate. Repetitively talking and hand signs were helpful. Irina was her name and she gave me directions on how to get to the train station ,so that i could reach my destination.

I stepped out of Orly Airport into the cold  chilled environment. A man called Joana, who had a Honda 1800cc Motorbike taxi, asked me if i would like a ride. He managed to strap all my luggage on the back of the bike. We weaved in and out of traffic and it seemed to me that their was no traffic laws. I was intrigued with the ancient architecture that still stands today, I was in total amazement. We finally made it to the train station. I went in and purchased my train ticket to St.Malo, indeed the whole process was easier than i expected . It felt as if I had done it before. I walked out of the station and into the busy city and crossed the street to the Hotel De Paris. Rest at last!

Second Day

I woke up in my hotel room in complete shock, thinking i missed the train to St.Malo. I jumped out of bed and quickly threw on as many layers of clothes to stay warm. I rushed out of my room and ran down the stairs dragging my luggage with me. Not to mention i was staying on the fourth floor. I stormed into the lobby and asked the man who was working what time it was and he pointed to the digital clock. It was 6:00am, my train departure was at 7:36. I was an hour and thirty six minutes early which was a sigh of relief. I walked across the street into Mont Parnasse station. Their was this colorful pavilion that caught my attention. The place called Zuma which attracted me with their colorful signs and huge exquisite display of fresh fruits. I ordered the Tahiti spice, which had mango,passion fruit, banana,orange,and ginger . Before i could even taste this fabulous drink that was made for me , the vendor couldn’t take Dollar bills and i didn’t have any Euro. This english woman behind me in line pointed me in the direction of an ATM. I reached the machine and nothing happened. I kept on trying and nothing! This beautiful girl walked up her name was Sophie and i asked her i she speaks English and she did. I asked,”Can you help me, I need to take out money out of here." She started to laugh, she said “no this is to buy a train ticket, come with me”. Around the corner there was an ATM and she helped me with my transaction. I said Thank you! God Bless you. I was determined to get this fruit drink and i did! In return it was the sweetest spiciest fruit juice I’ve ever tasted,I quickly downed it. I got into the train and found my seat. The train ride took about  two and a half hours. The train ride was unreal, vast green farm lands everywhere. It was beautiful. I arrived to St.Malo walk out of the station, and met William Sutherland.

COMMENTS From the teacher...

So, what has happened since then?   I bet it is hard to recall everything because the days run together.

I have found it best to write at the same time each day, either in the morning (and get up before other people) or before I go to bed.  OR when my energy is going well...

A movie about St. Malo. Request to visitors: Please video the surroundings, using a stable hand. 30 second shots to capture the local sounds

Go ahead, leave a comment

Here is a video that Davi found about St. Malo.  Perhaps this video can be turned into a series of videos that shows the nature of the place and give people that sense of "being there."  Millions of people could experience St. Malo without having to travel there.

http://vimeo.com/85737749


Why not click and LIKE the maker of this movie?

It's a struggle to write even twice a week

I don't like writing.  I like "having written."

I am encouraging my students to write something each day or at least three times a week.  If we write only once a week about what happened in the past week, many incidents will be stripped away and forgotten.

Here's my first attempt.

==========

I am a high school teacher.  I see the value of putting thoughts to paper.   I teach math, but I  am also a graduate of high school.   I should be able to show young people that I survived High School and that I can:

- write words in another language

- explain different types of bonds in chemistry

- give at least two explanations for the start of World War 1

- describe how the borders of France is different from the borders of Turkey and describe the nature of the countries that are neighbors to these two different countries.

In other words, it is worth my time to invest in an essay a day to encourage my students to write something about their thinking.  The process of writing is really a process of RE-writing after we capture the initial ideas.  The act of putting ideas on paper or in an email message is a process of CAPTURING the initial ideas and then ORGANIZING how those ideas will be presented.

Yes, this could be done through a phone call, but I believe the process of talking does not use the full brain the way writing does.  People who are illiterate or people who do not practice writing everyday are generally less organized in their presentations.   The process of writing is a way of preparing for a meeting:  

a)  here are three things I want to discuss

b)  I’m going to use a story or an illustration or a photo or a play with words to make sure the listener knows about the main idea

c) I’m going to present the information in order, either "most important” goes first or I save the "most important" for the last item.

What words will I make bold or make italic?

How do I spell Catherine?  Katherine?  or does she use a nickname?

I am going to start posting my email messages to my GED student in the hope that he will decide to invest himself and set aside the same time every day or create small “times for writing” throughout the day.  He has a mobile phone so he can take notes and send himself short messages and then assemble his "Thoughts for that day.”

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/spirit_201311/#/88

Today’s topic is about the process of learning to follow through.  I was hit very hard when I read the story “Everyday Hero” 

Before I read the story, I used to ignore the fact that many of my students promised to do something and then “forgot” or ignored their promises.  After reading the story

I told my students that I wanted to support them in achieving what they said that they wanted to do.  Either they can restate or adjust their objectives or I’m giving them time during class to follow through on their commitments.  But I decided after reading the “HERO” story that I should not ignore or overlook the promises that my students make to me.   I should not be “nice” or “understanding.”  I should reflect to them the expectations that were created in me when they said, “I will do that work.”

I highly recommend this article, particularly the paragraphs that I’m going to quote now.

“He didn’t not show up. He didn’t not pay his bills.” Sheen spent a full hour trying to recall a single promise that his father had failed to keep. Coming up empty, he thought, If you can’t think of a single thing, that’s the lesson your dad was trying to teach you.
That night, Sheen went online. With a few clicks, a bit of typing, and a photo of himself and his father, he launched Because I Said I Would as an open Facebook group. The original post asked friends and family, who’d been offering condolences, to do something in memory of his dad: “Take a little promise in your life and keep it.”

I know of people who are very good readers, who read a lot, but who have not figured out how to share something from their reading.  I consider this to be like “getting pregnant.”  I take in information from books and articles and then, after about five days, I have to “give birth” to something, I have to share it.  Perhaps it is as simple as writing a letter to a friend (or an email message), which turns into a blog post or a post on Facebook.  But I want to leave an impression.  That’s why I like the blog post or a book review as a way to describe what is happening in my brain.

The process of writing is useful for capturing thoughts.   Then those thoughts can be analyzed.  I can laugh at my fears, self-doubts and the thoughts that come from those doubts.  

My theme today is “I am the author of my life.”  

We tend to move toward whatever we dwell upon.  So let’s dwell well.

Jeraldine Saunders