Because of the success in using affirmations in the Loves Herself Regardless class, I have asked the students to bring them to the Learning Strategies class. I believe that affirmations are an essential element for setting goals and embarking on the path towards achieving them. They give students extra “brainpower [which shows them that they] have a choice of how [they] want to think and be (Blyth, 2002).”
Of the many skills I take for granted, writing is close to the top of my list. Yes, I sometimes procrastinate, feel frustrated, or get writer’s block when I am required to write papers, but after a few moans, groans, and solitaire games, my writer’s block usually crumbles and I am ready to write. Unfortunately, for the adult literacy learners in my class, writer’s block is often relentless and unyielding. As a writing teacher, I realize that writing stirs much anxiety in the classroom. I have made it a priority of finding new ways to “unblock” my students and make writing less scary for them.
One of the most effective means of demolishing the barriers to writing has been collage. In Deborah Barndt’s article, “Naming, Making, and Connecting – Reclaiming Lost Arts: The Pedagogical Possibilities of Photo-Story Production,” she reminds us that “a visual environment…is part of the ideological landscape that surrounds us and forms us, and within which we work (Barndt, 2001).”
Since it is such a familiar environment (for those who are capable of seeing), photographs and drawings are less “threatening.” I have observed my students to not feel as intimidated and anxious while making collages as compared to writing an essay.