Baptism by Fire... A resource...

Baptism by Fire

What you will encounter at that site will forever change your life.

...Then again, everything changes your life! It's a site of very cool tips, and in fact, they are referred to as essential.

Really Reading Romano

Isn't this a cool text? When I began the first chapter, and encountered "Liz," the teacher that keeps a sketchbook for her notes, I thought to myself, "So that's why I'm always doodling, it's a vital component of my literacy skills!" As I continued to read, I realized that multigenre practices, such as Liz's notes, are generally discouraged in the secondary schools. Instead, teachers must focus on the five-star essay. Why? Tradition and precedent, of course. Unless students can effectively navigate through the five-paragraph formula, they won't be able to make the leap into college (where, as we all know, more tedious hoops await). Worse, they will not score adequately on the state writing proficiency tests.

While Romano is careful to note that academic essays (as well as other forms of paradigmatic thinking, such as textbooks, editorials, articles, etc.) should be an important part of every students' education, he also acknowledges other alternatives. These alternatives, which represent narrative ways of knowing, render "experience or phenomenon" through stories, poetry, drama, and even visual arts.
Looking back on my own academic career, I can recall only a handful of assignments that allowed me to utilize my narrative way of knowing. However, during the third and fourth years of my undergraduate studies, I was finally given a number of different opportunities to really write creatively. I appreciated classes that placed emphasis on my narrative knowledge and would love to provide students with that type of course. I think multigenre writing is the perfect tool for this because it allows students to place more value on their personal interaction the subject matter.