In correlation with William Coles and James Vopat's collectino of "good student writing" I too feel that some of my best writing reflects personal experience, ideas, and emotions - my personal truths, or, what I have constructed as reality. Erika Lindemann commented on the collection, stating that "good writing is most effective when we tell the truth about who we are and what we think" (p62). In high school, I wrote notes to a good friend of mine throughout the school day. I was always so fascinated by her writing. It was so raw and vulnerable. She wasn't afraid to put her pen to paper and share her innermost thoughts and feelings. These weren't your typical high school notes, they were stories[- stores exposing the core of who my friend was. I enjoyed her writing because to me, it was real. But then there were times when i questioned what she wrote. I wondered how "real" her writing actually was. Williams explains that confession is the true nature of self-expressive writing (p63). He state4s that "[confession provides the primary means of gaining recognition...people crave confession because they crave recognition" 9p63). This statement reminded me of Corey. Often times, i felt the only reason Corey would write such "real" emotions and experience was because she wanted attention or recognition.

From this experience, I can see how some teachers may be opponents of romantic rhetoric. But who is to judge one person's truth? Our individual life is constructed by our individual perceptions. My perception of my experience may e completely different than someone who has had an experience very similar to my own. So who is to say tat my truth is not real, or for that matter, the truth? And how can a teacher determine though one piece of writing that I am writing a lie or not?

I think I'm getting a little in over my head with this philosophical rambling so I'll continue with this: I agree with Williams in that romantic rhetoric is an essential part of a student's ability to write. While I do believe that students need to learn to think critically and analytically (and write this way as well), I think self-expressive writing is beautiful!

So I pose this question for discussion: As a teacher (elementary or secondary) would you be a proponent of romantic rhetoric? At what point in a student's learning (or grade level) should he or she begin to learn this technique?