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Using Journals with Reluctant Writers

A review

My students tell me - repeatedly - that I have no life. They shake their heads when I say I spent Saturday afternoon browsing bookstore shelves. But when I hold up a bag from Borders and tell them I've found something I know they'll love, it's like the night before Christmas. They all want to sneak a peek.

One of these latest finds is Scott Abrams' Using Journals with Reluctant Writers (c. 2000, Corwin Press, Inc. Thousand Oaks, California). There's a lot that's very good about this book, but I also want to share a couple notes of caution when using this or any book to generate journal writing.

About the author and his book

Scott Abrams' experience is varied: it includes a stint with the Peace Corps, 14 years teaching exceptional secondary students, and three in special education. Most recently, he's been teaching at Marshall Alternative High School in Bend, Oregon.

The introduction to his book is terrific, especially if you're new to using journals. Abrams outlines some effective strategies for opening that all-important rapport and makes a solid argument for how journals can be used as a foundation for better writing. What I really like about this section are the student samples. These would be terrific for my own students to practice their revision and editing. There's nothing they like more than to slash someone else's work with red ink.

The book itself is arranged to parallel an average school year: 45 weekly topics beginning with simpler, less personal prompts then moving toward more complex and abstract themes by the end. Each chapter begins with a quote followed by an essay prompt and extension activity. Video suggestions and related readings are included in each. Abrams is even nice enough to provide a short synopsis of these works, saving the busy teacher a lot of prep time.

What's really good

The quotes. I'm sorry, I just love quotes. I use them all the time; even have a quote board in class on which I record the gems that come from my own students. So I love how Abram's starts each of the sections by making you think.

"Why do you have to be a non-conformist like everybody else?"
-James Thurber

"Believe that life is worth living and your belief will create the fact."
-William James

"I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught."
-Winston Churchill

These alone could be journal topics.

And beneath each quote, Abrams fires dozens of questions - warm ups for the essay prompt itself. These could be copied on note cards and passed around like "hot potatoes" in class. Call time, ask a student to read his or her card and have a group discussion for five minutes. Start the cards moving around the room again and repeat the process.

Therein lies the problem

Missing from his book are the strategies to use this great stuff. The suggestions about revising the student examples and playing the "hot potato" game are mine. If you can come up with fun and engaging activities, then this book is perfect: the quotes are great, the journal prompts relevant and lots of the related works are terrific. But you're on your own for how to implement the whole shebang.

My only other sticking point with this book is the dreaded "time factor". Abrams suggests using these prompts with the goal of an essay a week. I'm all for writing and have my kids do it in some form every day. But an essay a week? A mutiny would happen in my class if I assigned that.

The bottom line: know your students

Here's where Abrams and I agree again. He suggests that these topics be used as potential springboards, encouraging teachers to "develop and use (them) in a manner that best fits their students and classroom environment." Amen, brother. We know our kids; we know what's happening in their lives. Treat his ideas like an all-you-can-eat buffet at Ponderosa: pick and choose with abandon, nibbling and tasting as you go.

Oh, and one more thing

Never call them journals. The term itself brings about the same eye-rolling that the words "take out a number 2 pencil" does. When I decided to start using "journals" again with my freshmen, to do just what Abrams' argues for: making them more proficient writers by weekly practice, I knew I had to approach it differently. I bought a dozen 70 page spirals, brought them in and presented them to my students. "I want us to practice our writing this year," I said, fanning out the brightly colored notebooks. "Here are the ground rules: any topic, your pick, one full page, due every Tuesday." The groans and eyeball rolling began. One of the kids said, "I hate journals." I shook my head. "These aren't journals. They're gifts I bought just for you. Call them, Love Spirals."

Guess what? They're writing.

Alternative Network Journal January 2002 Page 25-26

All speeches and articles are copyrighted by, and are the property of, Laurie Thurston, and may not be reprinted without permission of the author.