"Writing is a function of what you read"

"Writing is a function of what you read"

This quote, said by Steve Elliot during a session on Journalism Writing, really resonated with my alter-ego. That is, not the high school journalism adviser, but instead the Doctoral  Candidate in Literacy at Rutgers University in New Jersey. It also lends itself to my philosophy of education as an English teacher where we (us English teachers that is) encourage our students to read everything and anything in an effort to improve their writing through modeling. However, his words gave me a new perspective on this idea; this is the perspective of the journalism teacher grappling with student reporters and writers of multiple ability levels.

It seems so simple, doesn't it? Write a news story the way you have read good news stories written. Write a feature the way you have read a good feature written. The challenge here is to now make students understand that you really mean it. That it isn't a "trick" to get them to "cheat," allowing you to "catch them."

Modeling may be a solution. If I take the time to read a story with them and then write my own story (modeled on the example story) on an event we may have attended together, they will be able to see that I really do want for them to emulate good writing, not reinvent the wheel. Writing, in general, is a challenge in the world of education, not just in English classes. This is even more true in light of the new Common Core. Ultimately, writing is a function of what you read, whatever that may be.