todays lesson: structure sometimes equals nothing

Some teachers may or may not have a heart attack in response to Paula Stacey's article entitled 
"Lets Stop Teaching Writing" on the EdWeek website. But those are the same teachers that probably need to go take a look. Stacey, who has been in the teaching profession for thirty years, reflects back on her own experiences with the writing process as both a student and a teacher. She argues that this so called "writing process" that we force students to learn may not be as effective as we once thought. Makes sense when you think about it...after students learn the rigid structure of a five paragraph essay with a thesis statement, argument, introduction, and conclusion, they are still asking what to write. Teachers become frustrated with questions such as these, and often, they truly do not know the answer themselves.
Sad thing is, most most respond to this question by pointing to this "structure" poster on the wall, proposing a topic and demanding that they write about it {only within the guidelines set forth, of course. We wouldn't want them thinking outside the box or anything.} This is absurd. There is no standardized writing model, yet each school tries to enforce "it."
To me, Stacey's proposal makes perfect sense:

"My proposal is modest, cheap, and deceptively simple: Ask students questions, read their answers, and ask more questions. Questions and answers. Nothing fancy. Much like home cooking, however, this kind of questioning takes time, it requires practice and honing, and the kitchen is a mess afterwards. But it is worth the trouble and the mess, for in this back and forth, this conference between teacher and student, real thinking and the work of real writing occur"

Students want to learn about stuff that is real. Stuff that matters to them. It is a profound teacher who can get the five paragraph essay to matter to a seventh grader. Or a college student, really. However, almost any teacher can ask meaningful questions that push students to dig a little deeper, to think just a little harder. Once you get those juices flowing, there is no holding them back from writing about it.