I believe that the process of writing is often neglected in high school classrooms. I can't remember one thing that I wrote for my high school English class that was meaningful to me as a person. Don't get me wrong, I wrote essays and papers about various works of literature, but none of the assignments had any meaning for me and did not give me a passion for writing. Looking back, I wish that I would have had a teacher or assignment that offered me the opportunity to look at writing as a process, and not just a finished product/paper. I think that writing well, has been one of the few joys that I have had in this life. It is also an essential skill that all students should obtain while in high school. Do we as teachers not have enough time? I think that is a sorry excuse when we know the value of writing well....
One site that I thought was useful..www.webteacher.com it gives videos and ideas for making writing meaningful for students.