Current thoughts on the teaching of writing and its research

I'm not a fan of reading research articles and summarizing them, but I have to admit that this set of articles regarding the teaching of writing (or at least the first three of four that I have read so far) has changed my thoughts a bit. I wasn't a big "writer" in school myself, so I guess I have never really considered the realm of teaching writing, as opposed to the science from the science courses we as liberal studies majors have taken, or the math from math courses or even health, but reading and analyzing these articles so far has me excited, but a little nervous still, to teach writing.
I feel like each article I've read has a different point to it and that each author feels their point should be taken into consideration more so than any of the other authors' points. I've learned that genre is important to consider, and genre is determined or viewed by a student's previous experiences and everyday life. I've also learned that there are topics out there, in this day and age, that are controversial and can be considered "taboo." First hand accounts from teachers have shown me the various opinions teachers have on these "taboo" topics and how and how not they feel their personal opinions affect their students' writing. But from the idea of all these controversial writing topics, I believe I learned most that writing is a form of self-expression, and if a teacher limits or silences a student's writing, the teacher is limiting or silencing a student's self-expression (which is completely opposite of what should be happening!). I have also learned from the articles regarding teaching of writing that writing provides lessons to teachers and students, or writers in general. These lessons are not on the surface, but instead learned from practice and experience, as well as honest feedback and self-reflection/thinking. Teachers need to be writers with their students, in order for their students not to feel as if "they're alone" it what may seem to them as a "scary" blank page.
I have learned a lot from these articles, so far, and I am excited to continue my analysis.