Mark's Sample (Week 1): Do I like to write?

Yes and no. No and yes.

Until a few years ago when I started to study about how to teach writing in a more authentic way, I thought writing was something you do because you have to. You write because your teacher tells you. Or your boss. Or because you have no choice if you want to get something you want (like university entrance).

Write for fun? Personal development? Enjoyment? Creativity? Publishing something I want to communicate to others? These were all alien ideas to me.

Somehow that spark of "desire to write" had never been ignited in me through my education and life. How about you?

I started blogging in 2006 at age 33. That was the first time I ever wrote for myself. And it was hard. It was almost like I had been conditioned by my education to NOT write unless I was given an assignment. When you think about it, that is pretty scary: an educational system that chokes desire for self-expression. When you look back on your own education of how to write, or what to write, do you feel your self-expression was nurtured? If you can say Yes, I think you might be part of a very fortunate minority. Perhaps the reality is that our educational system is an artifact of the industrial revolution (See Ken Robinson's TED video on this)  and the system is designed to churn out people who will do what they are told faithfully rather than question the logic of the leaders or express alternative ideas based on creative and critical thinking. Am I being too skeptical when I say that?

Anyway, my discovery of a desire to write started with my blogging, which started due to my realization that, since I am a university instructor and expected to publish research reports and books and so on, I should begin to start writing. I had to force myself to overcome an indifference toward writing and chose blogging as a way to start that.

For those interested:
Here's my current Learning Blog on Blogger.
Here's an older one on Livedoor, which I decided to use mainly for blogging in Japanese on family/personal things separate from the Edublog.
And an even older one on Edublogs (link), which apparently is going to shut down soon...and which I abandoned because of a lack of spam comment filters.

So...I have discovered a love of writing. And this has helped me a lot with my professional writing when I write research papers for sharing ideas with other college English teachers.

Blogging has gotten much easier as I got used to it. In a sense, it took time to find my blog "VOICE" in English and Japanese.

Research writing is still very difficult, and I am still finding my voice and passions--but writing together with colleagues and other researchers has been VERY helpful for developing my ability and confidence.

Creative writing or other types of publishing other than research writing is....basically something I have NEVER tried. This course will be a first step toward that for me, just like you.