Julian Writing (An Unschooling Story)
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First, some background. When Julian (now 12) left school after the third
grade, he hated to write. Not too surprising, given his only experience was
stupid sentences from his vocabulary words. He just didn't do any at all for
a long time.
After he'd been out of school for a while, I surprised him by inviting him to
go to a nearby cafe with me to eat goodies and write poetry. (if this sounds
manipulative, it's more my explanation than what happened. It was clear he
could say no to writing and yes to goodies.) He was so startled he said yes,
and we went off. I told him about haiku, and he wrote several poems that he
really liked. (This was his first experience writing something he liked.)
After that, he occasionally wrote poetry on his own, but mostly didn't write
much else.
Julian's next big Writing Event came when my sister noticed an essay contest
about vegetarianism. He was about 10. Like other resources, I mentioned it,
but expected him to say no. He didn't...he enthusiastically said yes. He
ended up writing this brilliant essay about Vegetarianism as a Spiritual
Practice that not only went to the contest, but that he read as a sermon at
our church.
Recently Julian decided to start writing more. He's been often going off to
the computer spontaneously and working on what I knew was a science fiction
story. He invited me to read it, saying he didn't know if I'd like it. It
turned out to be a very space ship/technological piece with little
characterization or plot. When asked what I though, I said, "This is very
different from the stories you usually like to read, or to tell."
He said he knew that, and I asked him to tell me more about the story and his
writing it. He talked about how writing this made him less scared about
writing, and that he liked the process of doing it. He liked writing often,
but still feels insecure about it.
I asked him if it was like practicing chords on the guitar -- very different
for him than playing a song you intend to share, but more about getting used
to the process, in preparation for a future time when he might want to write
something he wants to share with the world. He said, "That's exactly it," and
smiled.
What's interesting to me, now, is talking about writing with another writer,
my son, and seeing that his process and his fears are much from mine.
However, he ends up supporting me in my writing at LEAST as much as I do him
in his. How cool is that?
Kathryn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
grade, he hated to write. Not too surprising, given his only experience was
stupid sentences from his vocabulary words. He just didn't do any at all for
a long time.
After he'd been out of school for a while, I surprised him by inviting him to
go to a nearby cafe with me to eat goodies and write poetry. (if this sounds
manipulative, it's more my explanation than what happened. It was clear he
could say no to writing and yes to goodies.) He was so startled he said yes,
and we went off. I told him about haiku, and he wrote several poems that he
really liked. (This was his first experience writing something he liked.)
After that, he occasionally wrote poetry on his own, but mostly didn't write
much else.
Julian's next big Writing Event came when my sister noticed an essay contest
about vegetarianism. He was about 10. Like other resources, I mentioned it,
but expected him to say no. He didn't...he enthusiastically said yes. He
ended up writing this brilliant essay about Vegetarianism as a Spiritual
Practice that not only went to the contest, but that he read as a sermon at
our church.
Recently Julian decided to start writing more. He's been often going off to
the computer spontaneously and working on what I knew was a science fiction
story. He invited me to read it, saying he didn't know if I'd like it. It
turned out to be a very space ship/technological piece with little
characterization or plot. When asked what I though, I said, "This is very
different from the stories you usually like to read, or to tell."
He said he knew that, and I asked him to tell me more about the story and his
writing it. He talked about how writing this made him less scared about
writing, and that he liked the process of doing it. He liked writing often,
but still feels insecure about it.
I asked him if it was like practicing chords on the guitar -- very different
for him than playing a song you intend to share, but more about getting used
to the process, in preparation for a future time when he might want to write
something he wants to share with the world. He said, "That's exactly it," and
smiled.
What's interesting to me, now, is talking about writing with another writer,
my son, and seeing that his process and his fears are much from mine.
However, he ends up supporting me in my writing at LEAST as much as I do him
in his. How cool is that?
Kathryn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]