Entry # 3 Journal Writing

As Tompkins states there are a variety of purposes that students write in journals for. In my journal writing experiences I mainly wrote to record experiences, explore ideas, and ask questions. I never really thought about journal writing in the other aspects which Tompkins states that consist of activating prior knowledge, engaging the imagination, assuming the role of another person, or to solve a problem. I do however see the benefits is talking and modeling all of the varieties mentioned above. I find journal writing to be very fascinating. It seems as though when writing in one’s journal there could be limitless possibilities as well as no boundaries.

 I first began writing in journals around the age of eight. I also had a diary with a lock on it and thought that would be the perfect place to keep all of my top secrets. Little did I know they were very easy to break into, especially when left for an older brother! I wanted a diary to escape from the thoughts of my parents’ divorce. I believed that if I was able to write my thoughts down they would somehow vanish from my mind. I realized this really didn’t happen but it was a “safe” place for such ideas to be written.

 As I got older I found that I didn’t write in my journal as often. Did I not have enough to say? Was it not important enough to keep track of? Was I afraid of someone seeing what I had written? Ultimately the last question was what always made me fearful of continuing to write in my journal. In my earlier years of journal writing I was always so forth coming and willing to write so freely, but as I got older I found myself “blocking” out what I really wanted to write down in fear of who might one day read what I had been feeling at this particular time in my life.

I was happy when this genre was a topic in class. It brought me back to remember that journal writing is for a variety of purposes and that it doesn’t have to be a fearful topic. This topic made me excited to look back on some of my journals that I haven’t revisited in many years. As I reread my writing from previous years I was reminded that I wasn't taught about journal writing in school, it was just something I found interest in initially as an escape. I am reminded just how essential it is to talk to all of our students about the many different genres of writing. If these different types of writing aren't modeled for them I'm not sure they will have the benefits of exploring all that writing has to offer.