Which Subject in School has the Greatest Impact on our Students' Future?

Which Subject has the Biggest Impact on our Students' Future?

If I would ask you for the one subject  in school that;

1. Teaches kids how to communicate, 
2. Give students confidence, 
3. Uncovers students hidden strengths and talents- 

Which subject would you say that is?

Hi, my name is Principal Sunshine and Welcome to Episode 1 of The Sunshine Show, where I hope to Inspire you to become a better educator, Empower you with relevant and important content and help you Transform Education for your students!

I believe that learning to Write will have the biggest impact on our students future, and here is why-

• Writing teaches students that their voice matters 
• When teaching students to write persuasive letters - we teach them to write to someone in the government, an organization, or a company, and request a change.  Requesting a change of someone who is in the position of making that change, and receiving a response is a powerful experience for children.  They see how powerful their opinion and voice can be.     Megan Markle spoke at the UN.  She described an experience that happened to her when she was 11 years old.  That experience taught her how powerful she was and catapulted her to many great things.  Please click on this link to see her compelling speech   Meghan Markle's Speech at the U.N. 
• When we ask students what lesson they learned from what they read, we are giving the students a message- your opinions matter. In the Persuasive Book Review writing program, students choose a theme- which is the lesson that they took away from a novel.  When students go through the process of thinking about why they liked the book, and what they learned from it and explore the themes of their peers, they realize that they have a unique perspective.  And that their opinion matters and relates to them, and can impact change in their lives.
• Having students work on writing, helps them seeing their words and thoughts in print.  This is a powerful validation to students that what they think and what they say are important enough for the adults in their lives to read and consider.
• Writing Teaches Students to Communicate and Express Themselves
• Writing helps students formulate their opinions and gives students the space to be able to decide how to express themselves clearly and eloquently.  In the book- I wish my teacher knew- by Kyle Schwartz, students expressed things in writing that they wouldn’t say out loud. which helped them communicate their feelings and fears.
• Writing encourages students to share their thoughts and thereby strengthening their communication muscles
• During the writing process students are encouraged to share their drafts.  This helps students hear their own written words and see how it is understood by others, thereby giving them opportunities to explain themselves better
• Writing Helps students Learn about Themselves 
• Every student's interests and strengths are unique.  When we give our students freedom to explore a topic not covered in the standard school curriculum, research it and write about it, students usually uncover hidden interests and talents. I once had my 8th grade research social justice topics.  Students came to realize what they were passionate about- the environment, animals rights and other topics.
• When students write a biography, they choose a subject who faced and overcame a challenge or who made an impact on the world.  This project helps students relate the experiences of the person about whom they are researching to their own experiences and learn from how the subject reacted to his/ her circumstances. 
• When students write persuasive Letters, they choose to write to someone who can affect change.   When deciding to whom to write they must think about what kind of change they would like to see.

When students go through the steps of writing persuasive letters, biographies, book reviews and other types of essays, they learn these crucial skills!  They learn that their voice matters.  They learn to communicate and express their thoughts and opinions and they also learn a lot about their inner strengths, talents and interests. 

Click on the link below to download the first few lessons of my Persuasive Letter Workbook.  Students are taught to choose a change they want to see and reach out to someone who can affect that change.  Then they learn to express their opinions and make a request.  Feel free to share it with your students children or teachers.  

https://www.curriculumhq.com/pl/2147591282

Also I would love to hear, in the comments section, if you feel that you were taught how to write, and how that impacted your life as an adult.