“When I confer with you about your writing, you are more important than the writing.” – Don Graves
I believe that the focal point of conferencing with students lies in the quote above. In all we do as teachers, we need to focus on the student rather than the subject. That is where the legacy lies. That is where the emotional ties are made or broken. That is where learning has the ability to take place.
If you’re like me, you might think of conferencing as a bit scary in terms of classroom management. The younger the students, the scarier it becomes for me. It takes a lot of effort and work to fine-tune the procedures and expectations for writers during the conference time. Sometimes that takes more patience or time than I allocate for it. Conferences don’t have to be one-on-one sessions with the students, however. In fact, whole-class shares have a big impact on all the writers. When a teacher can publically hold the conference in a way that is positive and constructive for the student, the entire class can benefit.
One note from this chapter was about writing on students papers- how important it is to ask permission first and only write if it is something that is important for the student. Sometimes teachers are so quick to just mark all over student writing that the student loses the feeling of ownership for the piece. Teachers need to be very careful about when and how to mark on student writing.
Another key lesson for me was that it can be disrespectful to the student to restate what they have said in their discussions with the class. When we have whole class shares, if we restate what students have said, than we take away their voice, and we allow our students to not have to listen to the student because they know we will restate it. I’d never really thought of that before. I just thought it was helpful to rephrase and model “teacher voice” for my students.
Overall, conferences about writing need to stay positive and constructive. They can be whole-class, small group, one-on-one, or roving. Students need to take ownership for their writing and be expected to be ready for the conference when it is time. Frontloading students always pays off in the long run. Above everything, focus on the writer, not the writing!
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What do conferences look like in my classroom? How are they organized?
• What phrases do I use during conferences that build the esteem of the writer?
• Do I mark on students’ papers without permission? What parameters should be set for the future?
• Do I do things for my students that they could do themselves, robbing them of the independence that is the goal for them?
• Do I focus more on the writing or on the writer?
