Affective Dimensions of Writing

So I don't mean to go in order, but the prompts I want to do just happen to be. I'll switch it up next time.  Promise.

My experience as a writer is limited. And I don't consider myself much of one. Most of my writing is for myself. I have kept a journal off and on since I was in second grade. I keep a notepad near my bed so that I can write what comes to me right before I sleep since I feel that is when I get the most random moments of clarity (and if I don't write them down, my brain will refuse to go to sleep). I actually have written a book that has been left unfinished for years. It stands at 300 pages right now and I'd like to get it bound one day. I have also kept this blog and another (I'm more consistant on the other). Most of my emails are business related, but since I have friend's across the world right now, I do send them snail mail every once in a while. When I write Facebook status updates, I try to put thought into them, not just, "I'm eating a sandwich."

I like to express my ideas and emotions numerous ways. It depends on my mood. For some subjects, I will write about it (those seem to be the complex yet concrete things I can apply logic to). Harder topics that I'm not quite sure how to express my thoughts on, will be dealt with some major doodles. The more emotional ideas will be express through music. I'll arrange or write a diddy or two here and there, but mostly I'll find a piece or song that fits what I'm going through and will play or sing it until I feel satisfied.

Whenever I can think of a writing assignment I actually enjoyed, it was always about a subject that I enjoyed. The subject material was usually picked by me. I talked about this particular experience in class, but I'll use it again because I really enjoyed it.

In an English class we had to do book reports for books that we were reading on our own. The book I read was Bram Stoker's Dracula. My teacher gave us a list of different ways we could do our book report and I chose to write the front page of the paper that could be printed during the plot of the book. I was able to write about an abandoned ship found out in the sea, an attack on a local girl, and all the crazy things that happen in Dracula. It was a perfect book for this project. It was fun to act as reporter and editor for a fictitious newspaper. This project allowed us to be creative and I like how we got to decide how to present the knowledge we gained while reading.

When I think of writing assignments that I hated (and that is to put it mildly) it actually comes from the same class. We had to put together a poetry anthology. We had to write 10 poems and analyze 10. It doesn't sound too bad, but my teacher assigned it during the busiest time of the school musical on purpose because she hated how much attention it got when the debate team was practically ignored (I'm not making assumptions, she right out told us that is why she picked the date). Most of my poems I wrote spoke about how much I didn't appreciate what she did to us and how terrible of a teacher that made her (that could have bit me in the butt, but luckily I still got an A).

When I assign writing assignments, I would like to leave a lot up to the students to decide. It helps them write about something they care about or in a way that they might enjoy it. I also plan on not following the example of my teacher and being vindictive when choosing due dates. And this goes beyond writing. I would like to make as much as I can personalized towards the students. I want them to have the opportunity to perform, compose, analyze, etc. what interests them. This is something I've planned to have in my curriculum since the get-go.

Connection to Home Experiences

I have been involved with my content area (Music) for a very long time. My mother is a piano teacher and, to my knowledge, has been since before I was born. Either way, I know that one way or another, the moment I developed ears and gained the ability to hear, I was exposed to music.

I started piano lessons when I was five. My sister tutored me on the violin when I was six. My other sister taught me the basics of the flute when I turned eight. I snuck into my brother's room and would noodle on his guitar when he wasn't home. When I was in fourth grade I landed the lead role in the school musical: Scrooge. In fifth grade I joined the Salt Lake Children's choir. Then, in sixth grade, I picked up the cello and joined orchestra. In eighth grade I joined my junior high's choir. That same year I began to teach piano lessons.

I wasn't just involved with lessons and ensembles, though. I loved to write my own music. I entered a few competitions and won! (There weren't many competitors, though...) I have been in almost a dozen musicals and seen countless others, including a handful of operas. And let's not forget the numerous Disney movies I watched over and over again and would sing along to (still do, by the way).

These experiences definitely guided me to choose my major. I loved learning! Every time I could grab hold of a new instrument, a new experience, I would. The experiences that stand out above the rest are my experiences with musicals. I feel such a connection to the characters and text of each musical. I am a pretty empathetic person and the emotion that composers write into their music and characters impacts me. I think it was those waves of emotion that drew me to music. I learned from those characters, their experiences. Nothing was more powerful to me then when a character broke out into a sililoquial (Yes... I made that word up) song as they had reached a turning point in their lives. (Ex. Elphaba when she sings Defying Gravity. Millie when she sings Gimme, Gimme. Percy when he sings Prayer and later She was There.)

This is one major reason I chose to emphasize with choir. So I could be involved with the musical. I wanted to show students what these connections can do for them in their lives. I want them to feel what I've felt. That is what drew me to music.

Now that I've grown a bit, I've realized that it's not just musicals that can do this. It's different for each student, but it falls to me to find what it is for my students that draws them to music. They could love opera or jazz choir. I need to find it for them. I need to expose them to it. So they can find their "jam."