I have been keeping journals since I was in college. Some are simple. The one I carry with me each day often consists of just quick, short hand notes about what happened that day and reminders. It may not look like much, but if my wife wants to know what day we put the car in the shop, I can look back through that journal and tell her. Another journal consists of long stream of consciousness rambles that run into many pages. That is the journal where I record my feelings and work through things that are going on in my life. One journal, kept in the bookcase, contains, simply, an entry for each book that I finish; title, author, date I finished it, and that's all. It also happens to be my favorite journal. I will sometimes just sit and read through it, smiling as I remember the truly great books that I read and when I read them. I never go back and read the journal were I pour out my soul on page after page. Once that is down on paper, I never go back to it. Sometimes I will keep a journal when I am going through some long stage of my life that has a beginning and usually an end. Like when I was dealing with kidney cancer. That journal was more in the nature of a diary, and it was for that specific time in my life. When that chapter in my life closed, that journal closed.
Journals have been an invaluable asset in my life. And, occasionally, an excellent tool.
A teacher should encourage their students to keep a journal for the duration of the class. I think that a journal would be a useful tool for students to record what they learned that day and their impressions of what they learned that day. It could also help them realize that they have questions that need to be answered, and act as a reminder to bring up that question in the next class. It could be an excellent adjunct study guide for the final exam. Mainly, it would be a tool to reinforce the learning and give the student ownership of what they learn.
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In the school i teach in we use those composition notebooks you can buy at wal mart for about 5 cents a piece when they go on back to school sale. They use these books as their text book. We don't have traditional text books in our school. All their info is recorded in these books. They learn to make table of contents and use tabs to coorelate to the TOC. periodically their teacher collects the books and looks over them for what the kids are reflecting on, what they have questions on and it also helps shape how the teacher can reteach concepts that have been misunderstood. I never write in my student's book but rather put sticky notes. Kids beg me to take their books home and look over them because they want that sticky note, they want some answers...or validation. It works...
ReplyDeleteHaving the students create a journal for class is an awesome way for them to keep track of their thoughts and successes. For theatre students, I use them as a way for them to track their progress in performance and/or design. They are able to reference them as a source of growth at the end of each semester. Journals also inspire students to reflect in a way that they would not do verbally. As you said, it is a great way to review for an exam or my students case a final performance.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree that keeping a journal is a wonderful activity. I wish that I had gotten into keeping a journal, as I am sure I have lost so many memories over the years. I plan on having my children keep a journal over the summer. Not so they can remember what they did, but to help them with their writing skills. Both of my children blanch at the thought of having to write and essay. Me too!
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