Thoughts...

So for my second blog I wanted to expand and voice my opinions and observations on the free write we did in class. In the free write in class I mentioned two reasons why I thought so many secondary students struggle with writing. One reason I think is because students just do not care about writing.  I found in my observations last semester that so many students could care less about writing. Most of their writing done in class was half-assed or sounded exactly like each other's because they would just copy each other. I think that students at the secondary level are very much in a "me" stage.  Unless what they are writing about pertains to them personally on some level, they just do not care. I believe there would be more success in writing if sometimes the free writes or assignments allowed the students to express themselves more.
 Another reason I mentioned in my free write was because students do not do enough writing. I found in my observations last semester that students are rarely asked to write in class. Unless it is a specific assigned piece, the students are not writing. In my observations I can honestly say that I only saw one free write. These students are never assigned free writes or journals or any writing where they can express themselves or voice their opinions. Especially with this age group, it makes me think, if they cannot express themselves at all then why would they care?