Affective Dimensions of Writing:
I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a writer, because I'm really picky about my writing. I have a my own blog and I absolutely love writing on it. But, I absolutely hate writing in a school type setting. I'd rather do fifty math problems (I don't like math either) than have to write a paper for a class. I understand why professors have us write papers, but that doesn't mean I'm going to like it.
I like to express my ideas through photography mostly. I only have my phone to use as a camera, someday I hope to have a really nice DSLR camera. Those cameras require a lot of money, so it's something I'll get in the distant future. I love photography because when somebody looks at a picture, they can make up the story behind it.
Growing up I used to keep a journal. I would write in my journal almost every day. Then I got to college and got lazy and fell out of the habit. I still love to read my journals from high school, they make me laugh. I don't keep a journal anymore, but I really should start one again. For now my blog is the only recreational writing I do.
I honestly can't think of any school papers I enjoyed writing. I hated them all and I still do. I always wished I could have created things about what I was supposed to write about, instead of doing a paper. I would have loved to make a scrapbook, a photo gallery, a movie poster, etc.
For my discipline (ag. ed.) there isn't a lot of writing to be done. The biggest thing my students will have to do is a speech. I feel that this is important because a speech is actually a research paper. I feel that it's important to research something you're interested in and defend it or tear it down. Agriculture literature contains a lot research papers, my students need to know how to read one and write one. That's really the only paper my students will have to write. The rest of the time, they'll be able to create things. My students will weld, make a tool box, create a scrapbook and photo gallery. I'm excited to see how creative my students will get.
