Comments on: Stumbling block #8 – Parental criticism http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/ From the Desk of WriteShop Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:35:04 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kim http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1209 Kim Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:22:52 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1209 Wow, Tammy! Thanks for taking the time to share that. You made my day! Wow, Tammy! Thanks for taking the time to share that. You made my day!

]]> By: Tammy http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1206 Tammy Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:30:58 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1206 I don't have any words of wisdom or questions. I want to thank you for making the grading part of Writeshop easy. Your checklists and evaluation form are wonderful. Thank you so much. I don’t have any words of wisdom or questions. I want to thank you for making the grading part of Writeshop easy. Your checklists and evaluation form are wonderful. Thank you so much.

]]> By: Kim http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1141 Kim Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:52:41 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1141 Good suggestions, Diane! Homeschooling does give the advantage of one-on-one time to discuss a composition together. And asking questions is one of the best tools a parent can use to draw fresh ideas from your kiddos. :) Good suggestions, Diane! Homeschooling does give the advantage of one-on-one time to discuss a composition together. And asking questions is one of the best tools a parent can use to draw fresh ideas from your kiddos. :)

]]> By: Diane Allen http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1137 Diane Allen Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:51:38 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1137 I look at my job as one of support. I have found it difficult to act in that role without picking out all the faults and flaws, though. The toughest part is not to correct the wording so much when I feel it is awkward. Once I get started making suggestions, the next thing I know I've written the sentence and most of the paragraph. A good check list is a must to keep me in line as the parent/editor. I stop myself on style issues by underlining a sentence and asking my student for suggestions about how to improve it. I also sometimes ask a friend to grade our papers -- it is just easier if she offers the suggestions! I look at my job as one of support. I have found it difficult to act in that role without picking out all the faults and flaws, though. The toughest part is not to correct the wording so much when I feel it is awkward. Once I get started making suggestions, the next thing I know I’ve written the sentence and most of the paragraph. A good check list is a must to keep me in line as the parent/editor. I stop myself on style issues by underlining a sentence and asking my student for suggestions about how to improve it.

I also sometimes ask a friend to grade our papers — it is just easier if she offers the suggestions!

]]> By: Kim http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1111 Kim Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:05:59 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1111 Good thoughts, Isabelle. Writing includes three main elements: content, style, and mechanics. The content, of course, is the heart of the composition---the story, main message, or thesis. Style is the way the writer communicates the content through word choice, sentence variation, etc. Mechanics includes all those tricky little rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling that govern how the words actually appear on paper. Just as we correctly---or incorrectly---judge a person's character based on outward appearance, it's easy to judge a piece of writing by the mechanical errors we see. We don't mean for them to interfere with our enjoyment of the content, but typically, they do. So the whole editing thing is like walking a tightrope, isn't it? We don't want to discourage our children from spilling their ideas onto paper, for the freedom of doing so sparks in them a love for writing. But for fear of dousing that fire, some of us sway too far to the left and never utter a word about grammar or spelling. And tipping too far to the right are the parents who are so caught up in the glare of dangling participles and grave misspellings that we run amok with our red pens---and completely miss the heart of the child's writing. The trick to finding the balance is remaining as objective as possible and cushioning our suggestions with praise. We really can address content, style, <em>and </em>mechanics without throwing our tenderhearted kiddos to the lions! Good thoughts, Isabelle. Writing includes three main elements: content, style, and mechanics. The content, of course, is the heart of the composition—the story, main message, or thesis. Style is the way the writer communicates the content through word choice, sentence variation, etc. Mechanics includes all those tricky little rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling that govern how the words actually appear on paper.

Just as we correctly—or incorrectly—judge a person’s character based on outward appearance, it’s easy to judge a piece of writing by the mechanical errors we see. We don’t mean for them to interfere with our enjoyment of the content, but typically, they do.

So the whole editing thing is like walking a tightrope, isn’t it? We don’t want to discourage our children from spilling their ideas onto paper, for the freedom of doing so sparks in them a love for writing. But for fear of dousing that fire, some of us sway too far to the left and never utter a word about grammar or spelling.

And tipping too far to the right are the parents who are so caught up in the glare of dangling participles and grave misspellings that we run amok with our red pens—and completely miss the heart of the child’s writing.

The trick to finding the balance is remaining as objective as possible and cushioning our suggestions with praise. We really can address content, style, and mechanics without throwing our tenderhearted kiddos to the lions!

]]> By: Isabelle aka Canadianladybug http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1110 Isabelle aka Canadianladybug Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:54:46 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1110 It's easy to go directly to the spelling and other errors. We definitely need to uplift the child before pointing the errors. Recently someone told me that when the kids write something at school, the teacher do not look for spelling errors anymore. I have mix feeling about it because I also discovered that colleges in Quebec have to put the young adults through some writing courses to teach them the grammar that they should have learned in primary school. Young adults these days don't know how to write properly unfortunately... Which makes me want even more to teach my kids how to spell and write. You never know what job they will have in the future and this skill might come in handy. It’s easy to go directly to the spelling and other errors. We definitely need to uplift the child before pointing the errors. Recently someone told me that when the kids write something at school, the teacher do not look for spelling errors anymore. I have mix feeling about it because I also discovered that colleges in Quebec have to put the young adults through some writing courses to teach them the grammar that they should have learned in primary school. Young adults these days don’t know how to write properly unfortunately… Which makes me want even more to teach my kids how to spell and write. You never know what job they will have in the future and this skill might come in handy.

]]> By: Kim http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1101 Kim Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:08:33 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1101 Jimmie, I love what you're saying. We don't want to miss the forest because we're looking at trees. We mustn't overlook the heart of the composition, and that's easy to do when a bunch of mechanical errors are clamoring for our attention. So "praise for the prose" is terribly important. However, I also feel strongly that spelling and grammatical errors need to be identified and addressed, as that's part of the polishing process. We parents just have to be mindful of how we do so! <a href="http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2008/03/20/speak-the-truth-in-love/" rel="nofollow">Speak the Truth in Love</a>. Jimmie, I love what you’re saying. We don’t want to miss the forest because we’re looking at trees. We mustn’t overlook the heart of the composition, and that’s easy to do when a bunch of mechanical errors are clamoring for our attention. So “praise for the prose” is terribly important.

However, I also feel strongly that spelling and grammatical errors need to be identified and addressed, as that’s part of the polishing process. We parents just have to be mindful of how we do so! Speak the Truth in Love.

]]> By: Jimmie http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/12/21/stumbling-block-8-parent-criticism/comment-page-1/#comment-1099 Jimmie Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:12:49 +0000 http://www.writeshop.com/blog/?p=859#comment-1099 Absolutely! When I read my daughter's draft, I try really hard not to mention spelling or punctuation errors (any grammar or mechanics, really). I focus on her ideas, word choices, and organization. And I PRAISE her for those elements that shine. This step is vital! She has just worked hard on pumping out that prose. How can I nit pick on spelling errors (however obvious they may be) and miss the entire point of what she's trying to SAY? How rude it would be to do so. Absolutely! When I read my daughter’s draft, I try really hard not to mention spelling or punctuation errors (any grammar or mechanics, really). I focus on her ideas, word choices, and organization. And I PRAISE her for those elements that shine. This step is vital! She has just worked hard on pumping out that prose. How can I nit pick on spelling errors (however obvious they may be) and miss the entire point of what she’s trying to SAY? How rude it would be to do so.

]]>