Up Gross and Personal: Dealing with Dicey Topics in Writing Workshops
Brenda Power
Teachers have a high tolerance for the disgusting. We scrub down the mysterious puddle on the rug after a literature discussion, we endure the dead mouse passed around during recess, we accept the constant gnawing on shoelaces, hoping that, somehow, expending that restless energy will help the child concentrate on the lesson and develop a few new reading comprehension skills.
But even those of us who aren't prone to squeamishness can dread the bloody, violent, and nasty writing topics that come out like clockwork as soon as the first Halloween decorations appear in storefronts. Childhood has never been squeaky clean - it's often filled with humor dealing with bodily functions and fascinations with gory violence. And naturally, much of that messiness finds its way into children's writing. I remember years ago, when a first-grade teacher asked consultant Mary Ellen Giacobbe, "My students are all writing stories about farts. What can I do?" Mary Ellen replied, "Tell them to stop." Sometimes in our quest to allow students freedom as writers, we forget Mary Ellen's advice. We do have the right (and the responsibility) to tell students to stop.
Yet the issues aren't always simple. Tom Newkirk, in his groundbreaking book Misreading Masculinity, notes how children (especially boys) deal with and catalogue violence in the media much differently than adults. Cartoon-style violence is understood and treated differently by boys than realistic violence (for example, the deaths in war movies like Saving Private Ryan). By lumping all violence together as "bad," we lose a window into students' developing awareness as writers, and close off an area of fascination for them.
So what do we do? As teachers, it's our duty to set standards in our classrooms that reflect the standards of our communities and our own tolerance levels. Here are some strategies for moving your students beyond tasteless writing topics, yet at the same time finding ways to respect their interests and needs as young learners to explore areas of fascination:
Strategy #1 Don't Make Students Feel Bad about Their Interests
We need to realize that many kids are fascinated with the grotesque. Anything that's shocking is going to grab their attention, and there are certain times of the year (like Halloween season) when that interest will be heightened. It's a natural part of their development to want to test out controversial themes in their writing, long before they understand the meaning of these themes.
I remember sitting not long ago in a third-grade classroom during writing time. A small group of girls and boys was collectively writing a futuristic fantasy story in which the girls were all models and the boys were all sports stars living in mansions. They were having a grand time, giggling and passing the story around, adding details. "And now I'm going to say Rachel was raped by Tim," the boy holding the paper announced. I froze, perplexed over the best way to respond. But the teacher, sitting with a group of students at the next table, didn't miss a beat.
"Gary, I don't think you know exactly what the word rape means and how much it can hurt someone, do you?" she asked calmly.
"No," replied the writer.
"Well, then it's best to leave it out. I know you wouldn't want to hurt someone in your writing. So keep writing, but no mention of a rape, please," said the teacher, turning back to her conference with other students.
I admired the way that teacher delicately controlled the situation. She didn't make Gary feel bad about testing out an adult concept, yet she was firm in letting him know it was not appropriate to include in his writing. Gary erased his words and the group continued writing with little concern that one small element of their piece was vetoed by the teacher.
Strategy #2: Change the Rules When Needed
"Enough is enough," said a fourth-grade teacher during a mid-October writing workshop. I watched as she explained her words: "I took your writing folders home this weekend, and all I'm reading about is murder, mayhem, vampires, and ax wielders. It's boring for me to read, a lot of it isn't good writing, and it's my job to help you become better writers." I sat and listened to her, wondering what she would say next.
"We have two new rules for writers' workshop, effective immediately," she said. "For the next two weeks, I want you only to write about something that has happened to you. This means you can only write about someone dying or the loss of body parts if you really experienced it. After two weeks, we'll see about bringing fiction back into the workshop."
Some of the students did manage to dredge up a personal experience involving death over the next couple weeks, and there were a couple of true stories involving scabs that became infected and pus-filled. But even those true-life stories represented far more stimulating, thoughtful writing than what was appearing earlier in the workshop. The moral of the story: Take charge. Don't be afraid to put more parameters around what students write, especially if they are getting caught in unhealthy writing ruts.
Strategy #3: Let Parents Decide
If you have any questions about a theme or topic a student is exploring, consult with the child's parents to learn their standards. If a story is particularly violent, a sixth-grade teaching team I've worked with requires the student to take the piece home and get a signature before he or she continues to work on it. This allows the teachers to share the responsibility of setting standards with parents.
It's only natural for students to test the limits of what's appropriate. As teachers, one of our most challenging jobs is allowing them to explore those limits and setting firm boundaries at the same time. In the end, students will be better writers and we will be better mediators between their lives and media influences because of it.
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