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So @aschoenborn has alerted me to some student testimonies about writing and reading in school and I hope every teacher at every level will take some time to read them. They speak to the harm that our systems of schooling are doing. (Thread.)
This student contrasts the experience of writing in high school with what came previously. It's sort of heartbreaking. Compare and contrast these two excerpts. mphs15520.edublogs.org/2019/09/03/my-… 
Here's a student who was a voracious reader as a child, but by high school is focused only on fulfilling the requirements for proficiency. actualenigma.edublogs.org/2019/08/29/rea…
This same student has been taught to "fear the red ink" after once having seen themselves as a writer. Terrible consequences of the system. actualenigma.edublogs.org/2019/08/29/rea…
"Reading has become something not only I, but a lot of my peers have learned to despise and I do think curriculum plays a large part in why people don’t read as much for pleasure or at all past middle school. " briannamataa.edublogs.org/2019/09/03/my-…
"The way we read in high school feels like a punishment rather than a reward, not something we can enjoy, certain pages to be read by certain days with the reward of a test." briannamataa.edublogs.org/2019/09/03/my-…
Some thoughts. These students are the survivors of the system. They still have some love reading and writing intact, but that love has been sorely tested. Consider the students that did not enter schooling with such love. What are the chances of engaging them now?
All of these students write well, but this is DESPITE what they experienced (primarily in high school) and the focus on testing and proficiency. They're forced to draw on previous experiences to rebuild themselves after years of seeing their curiosity be devalued.
This is not a difficult fix. Look at the testimony of these students about what was meaningful to them, a variety of writing tasks, being allowed to explore their own interests, respect for the important parts of writing (not the red ink). It's not a mysterious.
Sure, a plug for The Writer's Practice. I pledge that you can drop this book into your classroom (or for parents, at home) and students will emerge not only better writers, but much more passionate and enthusiastic about reading and writing. penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566892/t…
These are the testimonies of three Chicago Public School rising 9th grader who used The Writer's Practice in a student success course for one week. We can bring students out of the despair very quickly.
Now, how do I get @FrankBruni to write about this as part of his education focus?
