Planner? I hardly know her!

Reading "A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing" by Flower and Hayes was a bizarre time. In it, the duo talks about the process it takes to write papers. Not gonna lie, I never really thought about a process. Usually I just start writing and let my brain go wild on the paper. Not like Strong Bad wild, but I could never find the importance of prior planning when it comes to writing.

In 10th grade, my teacher noticed how poorly my charisma translated when doing discussions to actual speeches. She said I became a lot more robotic, rigid, and monotone. The more I thought about it, the more she was right. By creating a detailed outline I feel like I am trapped into doing those lines and those lines only, even if they only sound good on the page. Ever since then I have felt like I betray myself when I don't live in the moment.

Honestly, I tried so dang hard to follow the steps of the paper, and I just couldn't do it. I kept having difficulty articulating what I wanted to say, deciding what to say, and deciding what is not as smart. When I did say something, it felt awkward. I tried for about an hour and got pretty much nothing done other than a paragraph. Now I'm just back to my old, ranty, self and I feel great about writing this.

Of course there are drawbacks to this. I reread this for the sake Flower and Hayes, and I asked myself:  "Does my hyperlink of a Strong Bad email help or hinder my argument?" When I ask how it relates, I can't really justify having it in there. I mean yes, it does show how some people can go gung-ho and write, but I feel like it doesn't add much to my argument. There are probably much better examples I could use. I could easily have added one of those "TOP TEN IMPROVISED FILM MOMENTS" to justify how a person can do their own thing and create a powerful moment without pre-planning. But honestly I cringe at those kind of videos. To add something different would be lying about who I am.


But obviously, not everyone is like me. Some people prefer the order, the stability, and the calm that comes with proper planning, and as an educator I gotta make sure that I can show them how to do it that way. It'd be super awkward if I told a student to follow your heart when they aren't as headstrong as  I am. I need to look out for all those children because something don' t work out for everyone. Some people can get lost, and that's why I really like the idea of having a goal orientated system for learning. If a person is lost, and can't figure out where to go next, they can go back and reread their goal. To some, Climbing a mountain is a lot less intimidating when you're just focusing on the next 10 steps.

This why America did so poorly in the Vietnam war 

To argue that either way, planning fully ahead, or writing in the moment is bad is completely wrong. Both of the processes are very good, but both have a time and place for everything. Would someone want me to be fun, excited, and lively at a funeral? I'd say no. That is not the time. In fact, at my Grandmother's funeral I wrote out I want to say because to make jokes or puns would be in terrible taste. I know I said that I hate doing writing ahead, but to refuse to acknowledge the cons of my methods would have been disastrous. 

It's important to find a style that fits us, but as educators we need to find a lot of processes that work for all. We can only do this by expanding our knowledge through syncretism. Eventually you can find enough different ways to think about things, and you can pick and choose what works best.