Ana Fabrega is on a mission to remake the school system. She hated writing while growing up. Now a published author who's hell-bent on reshaping childhood education. Here's what I learned from her about how we can teach writing better: 1. Give kids a love for the craft. How many kids graduate with a hatred for writing that keeps them away from the keyboard as adults? 2. Almost none of the writing we do in school is driven by what students are actually interested in, which leads to indifference. 3. The solution? Let kids choose the topic. Kids have to write about what teachers tell them to. A lack of choice leads to a lack of interest, and a lack of interest leads to half-baked attempts at writing. 4. Personal Story: I was obsessed with airplanes as a kid. In 6th grade, I got to work on an essay about the Boeing 787 airplane. It was the first time in my life when I was encouraged to write about my innate interests, and in retrospect, it was the project that first kindled my love for writing. 5. But will kids work hard if you give them freedom? Ana says yes. Look at video games. They're proof that kids are willing to work hard on things that matter to them. 6. Focus on ideas, not rules: The obsessive focus on grammar and punctuation takes away from the joy of falling in love with an idea and trying to communicate it. 7. Show how writing leads to expertise: You don't need to be an expert to write about something. In fact, writing about a topic helps you become an expert. 8. Show the usefulness of writing: Writing is more than five-paragraph essays and the analysis of novels. Show kids how writing moves the world. It can set a vision, give feedback, make observations, and reflect on what you've done. 9. Writing is the best way to refine ideas which makes it the bedrock of clear communication. The world doesn't reward people with the best ideas, it rewards the people who are best at communicating ideas. 10. Promote simple language: There's a time and place for big words and beautiful poetry, but 4th grade isn't it. Too many kids think that good writing means writing like a novelist instead of being clear and simple. 11. Give kids a love for reading by encouraging them to follow their interests. As Naval Ravikant said: "Read what you love until you love to read."
David, I always look forward to female writers on the podcast. Thank you for this episode and the many more. It’s all about perspective. Can we have an African writer please?
This was so good...never seen you being so moved David...am happy that you found such a meaningful and fulfilling moment like this...beats all the metrics driven accolades which am sure you already have...
Omg, can this woman develop a curriculum for my daughter please? I also went to many (7) schools in by 9th grade (though all in the same town). The ones i thrived in were the Montessori programs and the "alternative"/open schools. I hated traditional school. It took all the fun out of learning. One of my favorite high school classes? One called Earthworks. A 2 hour a day class on an open campus where each student decided what type of credit we were going for (language arts, science, math, history, art, etc) and then developed our own projects in small groups to fulfill that requirement. I hated language arts and did not want to take the traditional American lit or Brittish lit classes, so that's what I went for. Other kids in my group were going for other credits, but we all had the same core to start from. What did we decide to do? Do research on the people burried in the "Warlock's Grave" and each do our own spin on the project. This was a 200 year old overgrown grave marker in the middle of a woods on the edge of town. You could barely make out the writing on the stone, but by making charcoal rubbings, we could decipher all 4 sides (4 graves) and were able to research the people in the town records (pre-internet). I wrote a story aboutthe family based on the reearch and the time period. I don't remember what I wrote at this point, but was very impressed by the openess of the class and intreagued by the research and how we figured out who these people were (a mother, father and 2 young kids).
Ana Fabrega is on a mission to remake the school system.
She hated writing while growing up. Now a published author who's hell-bent on reshaping childhood education.
Here's what I learned from her about how we can teach writing better:
1. Give kids a love for the craft. How many kids graduate with a hatred for writing that keeps them away from the keyboard as adults?
2. Almost none of the writing we do in school is driven by what students are actually interested in, which leads to indifference.
3. The solution? Let kids choose the topic. Kids have to write about what teachers tell them to. A lack of choice leads to a lack of interest, and a lack of interest leads to half-baked attempts at writing.
4. Personal Story: I was obsessed with airplanes as a kid. In 6th grade, I got to work on an essay about the Boeing 787 airplane. It was the first time in my life when I was encouraged to write about my innate interests, and in retrospect, it was the project that first kindled my love for writing.
5. But will kids work hard if you give them freedom? Ana says yes. Look at video games. They're proof that kids are willing to work hard on things that matter to them.
6. Focus on ideas, not rules: The obsessive focus on grammar and punctuation takes away from the joy of falling in love with an idea and trying to communicate it.
7. Show how writing leads to expertise: You don't need to be an expert to write about something. In fact, writing about a topic helps you become an expert.
8. Show the usefulness of writing: Writing is more than five-paragraph essays and the analysis of novels. Show kids how writing moves the world. It can set a vision, give feedback, make observations, and reflect on what you've done.
9. Writing is the best way to refine ideas which makes it the bedrock of clear communication. The world doesn't reward people with the best ideas, it rewards the people who are best at communicating ideas.
10. Promote simple language: There's a time and place for big words and beautiful poetry, but 4th grade isn't it. Too many kids think that good writing means writing like a novelist instead of being clear and simple.
11. Give kids a love for reading by encouraging them to follow their interests. As Naval Ravikant said: "Read what you love until you love to read."
David, I always look forward to female writers on the podcast. Thank you for this episode and the many more. It’s all about perspective.
Can we have an African writer please?
Awesome
This was so good...never seen you being so moved David...am happy that you found such a meaningful and fulfilling moment like this...beats all the metrics driven accolades which am sure you already have...
Writing education definitely needs to be improved!
I was infuated with this session. Loving it ❤
I follow both of you on twitter, very excited to listen to this!
sama's episode?
Probably will be the season finale
Omg, can this woman develop a curriculum for my daughter please? I also went to many (7) schools in by 9th grade (though all in the same town). The ones i thrived in were the Montessori programs and the "alternative"/open schools. I hated traditional school. It took all the fun out of learning. One of my favorite high school classes? One called Earthworks. A 2 hour a day class on an open campus where each student decided what type of credit we were going for (language arts, science, math, history, art, etc) and then developed our own projects in small groups to fulfill that requirement. I hated language arts and did not want to take the traditional American lit or Brittish lit classes, so that's what I went for. Other kids in my group were going for other credits, but we all had the same core to start from. What did we decide to do? Do research on the people burried in the "Warlock's Grave" and each do our own spin on the project. This was a 200 year old overgrown grave marker in the middle of a woods on the edge of town. You could barely make out the writing on the stone, but by making charcoal rubbings, we could decipher all 4 sides (4 graves) and were able to research the people in the town records (pre-internet). I wrote a story aboutthe family based on the reearch and the time period. I don't remember what I wrote at this point, but was very impressed by the openess of the class and intreagued by the research and how we figured out who these people were (a mother, father and 2 young kids).
First