Do we have to write???

At the beginning of each school year, I have students walk into my room dreading writing. What I ask from them is to be patient and have an open mind and just maybe will they allow me the chance to break through and inspire them to "kind of" enjoy writing. What I've found in my four years of teaching writing is that all students can do it, but for some reason, as they get older, they lose some ability to think creatively and become too much of a surface level thinker. My goal as a writing teacher is to help my students bring back their creative thinking and start to look at the world around them in different ways. In my class, I use a variety of different strategies from music to games to role play to good old fashion research to find a way to motivate, inspire, and encourage my students to "loosen up" and allow themselves to think more deeply and creatively about the topics they are writing about or presenting on.