While reading “Proficiency” we are shown the ups and downs regarding Shannon’s relationship with writing. This was caused by her continuously failing the writing section on her proficiency test. Shannon was a confident writer until she was faced multiple times with a low score on her test this affected her mindset towards writing overall. Shannon began to feel less motivation towards writing and lost her passion for it. As the story continues, Shannon acknowledges that not everyone will view her writing the same. Although she always received good reports from others around her (teachers, friends; etc.) failing the test repeatedly caused her to view herself negatively as a writer.
When reading “Math and Science to writing” we are shown the feeling of fear after being faced with a challenge. The challenge Ms. Barnes faced was being forced to teach math and science when she applied to be an english teacher. This caused her to think back on the times she had a negative interaction with the subjects math and science. Although she wasn’t too fond of this experience it allowed her to learn that there is no shame in leaving situations you’re not comfortable in. This also pushed her to take writing more serious which resulted in her writing and publishing a book about her experience.
