Reading Student Writing: Confessions, Meditations, and Rants

by Lad Tobin

Lad Tobin has a decidedly psychological take on life and a characteristically witty point of view on most subjects-especially his own writing and teaching. He also has a great deal of personal insight and story telling skill that make his books, articles, and presentations notable. In Reading Student Writing , he gets to the heart of teaching writing through a blend of humor, memoir, reflection, classroom examples, and student writing. While funny and irreverent, he tackles the serious and complex issues of how to read-really read-student writing and how to read ourselves as teachers. He organizes his book around three main But this broad outline barely scratches the surface of what Tobin achieves in his execution. He fills his chapters with stories that read like the best creative nonfiction. And he doesn't hesitate to take on controversial topics, what he calls facing "the elephant in the classroom," the issues we usually avoid-specifically reading and writing personal narratives, our love-hate relationship with emotion, our misplaced anxieties about confessional writing, and our struggles to be fair and unbiased readers. In the end, Tobin opens up the world of writing, both student writing and teacher scholarship. He invites us into a place that thrives on dialogue, diversity, and hybridity, that is more flexible, nuanced, and realistic. He sets an example for reading our classrooms, for writing-or rewriting-ourselves.

Genres: Writing

152 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2004

Reviews

[Tarn Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is essential reading for any teacher who responds to creative non-fiction. Important, honest, engaging. Helpful tips for teaching coaches, as well.

[Lenore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tobin is the son of an analyst, and his book advocates for reading students' writing through a psychoanalytic lens (accounting for issues of transference and counter-transference in the writing classroom.) While the book was entertaining, as you might anticipate, it was also really neurotic and focused on Tobin's own idiosyncratic responses to specific types of students.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lad Tobin gives some sensitive insight into the dilemmas faced when reading student text, and shows his own vulnerability in a way that helped me understand the ethical and moral demands in reading and responding well.