"How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading"

Holt adresses various different teaching methods that most English teachers use, that don't necessarly work with every child. He feels as though some teachers treat reading as a chore, and if the student doesn't understand it there will be consequences. He explains that some teachers also try to make sure that the student knows everything in the story, or that the student looks up every word that he/she doesn't know. Holt feels as though these methods may discourage students from reading.

When I was younger my mom and dad always read to me and as I got older I read a lot on my own. However the story-telling at home differed from the story-tellying at school a lot. It wasn't interesting at all, and my mom never gave me surprise vocabulary quizzes between chapters. Spelling was never an issues, and defining a word was as simple as using context clues. However, the test and quizzes and various times I practiced the same exact words for a week straight, took the fun out of reading for me. When I got into high school I was in Honors English for four years straight, and I had the priveledge of meeting one of the most sarcastic, but interesting teachers ever. He challenged me without tests. He challenged my thinking without stress or pressure. With him I found great comfort in reading every novel ad play and writing about it afterwards. I was excited after every lesson was complete. One of my favorites was when we read "The Alchemist." In short I believe that some teachers scare students with various homework assignments and strict ways of editing. Dfferent people learn in different ways, but I believe that English as well as many other subjects would be way more exciting.http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7060385565251648863

"Shitty First Drafts"

Lamott isn't literally referring to "voices" that float around in her head. She is referring to her conscience and how it interferes with her writing. I don't personally hear voices when I write, but I do subconsciously proof read my work as I go. In my opinion, writing is a process. Depending on the author it could be a long process, as with Lamott, or a short one. It usually takes me a number of hours and about two drafts to have a complete product. I agree with Lamott, whole heartedly. The greatest writer has some sort of process and ususally it starts with a "shitty first draft."