www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
add;value;to;this;self-discovery;aspect;of
journaling;is;to;encourage;your;students
to;include;spiritual;aspects;as;well.;Perhaps
something;they;read;in;personal;or;family
devotions;may;spark;an;entry;that;explores
their;own;view;of;the;Scripture;or;a;per-sonal;way;in;which;this;can;be;applied;to
their;own;situation.;For;the;Christian,;ev-ery;journey;of;self-discovery;is;a;spiritual
journey;as;well;because;true;enlightenment
comes;when;we;see;ourselves;in;relation
to;God’s;plan.;However,;for;a;journal;to;be
truly;personal,;this;aspect;needs;to;be;gen-tly;encouraged,;rather;than;forced.
Because;journaling;is;often;a;very;per-sonal experience, it differs from blog-ging;or;social;media,;and;our;children
need;to;be;taught;the;difference.;Today,
the;allure;of;the;Internet;entices;teens
to;fling;their;thoughts;to;the;world;in
a;flagrant;fashion.;As;the;mother;of;a
very;political;teen;who;has;already;been
temporarily;banned;from;both;the;NSA
and;MSNBC;Facebook;pages;for;shar-ing;his;conservative;ideas;on;how;to;run
the;world,;believe;me;;I;understand;the
temptation. However, all thoughts are
not;really;meant;to;be;shared;in;a;public
forum,;and;those;who;do;share;personal
thoughts;freely;often;live;to;regret;it.
“I definitely think there is a case of
T.M.I.—Too Much Information—being
put;out;there,”;said;Meg;Cabot,;author;of
The Princess Diaries. “Teens;need;to;know
that;some;things;should;just;be;kept;pri-vate.;That’s;the;beauty;of;a;journal;or;a;di-ary.;You;really;can;never;regret;what;you
wrote,;because;nobody;else;sees;it.” 2
Cabot;also;mentioned;another;delight-ful;possible;side;effect;of;journal;writ-ing—the possibility of a future career
in;writing.;Now;an;author,;she;uses;her
private;teen;diaries;as;inspiration;for;her
own;novels;and;credits;her;writing;suc-cess;to;her;years;of;keeping;a;diary,;be-cause;of;the;practice;that;it;gave;her. 3
This;brings;up;one;of;the;best;advan-tages of keeping a journal—the writ-ing;practice;you;gain.;Most;people;tend
to view writing as an academic activ-ity;which;earns;you;a;pass;or;fail;grade.
Surely,;there;is;room;for;using;writing
as;an;instructional;method;of;correcting
grammar;and;spelling;errors.;However,
writing;is—first;and;foremost—a;creative
method;of;communication,;whether;it;be
of;public;ideas;or;private;thoughts.;Like
most;creative;activities,;such;as;playing
the;piano;or;painting;a;picture,;there;is;a
distinct;value;in;practicing,;whether;you
are;being;judged;for;your;performance
or not. No great creative effort comes
without;a;good;deal;of;practice,;and;the
practice;that;you;enjoy;or;find;especially
practical is always the best kind. For
many;teens,;journal;writing;is;a;wonder-ful;creative;outlet;as;well;as;a;cathartic
release;for;all;the;confusion;that;the;teen
years;naturally;bring.
This;brings;up;the;question;of;whe-ther;or;not;you;should;grade;a;journal.;It
can;certainly;be;used;as;a;part;of;writing
instruction,;but;teaching;implies;a;grade,
at;least;to;some.;In;my;opinion,;as;an
author and homeschool mom, I think
that;students;should;be;allowed;to;keep
However,;writing;is—
first;and;foremost—a
creative;method;of
communication,;whether
it;be;of;public;ideas;or
private;thoughts.
