You Inspire Me

Thank you, thank you, thank you for tonight's class and for your meaningful reflections on how you've changed as writers and as teachers this semester. Hearing your words tonight, about your new convictions, your new self-discoveries, and your new energy for teaching, was priceless to me. This has been a trying academic year, and being in that classroom with you folks tonight was my reward for making it to the end. I am so proud of you and of us--something real happened in our class, and it is so powerful to be able to name the thing/s that happened, just as we did tonight. 

I'll leave you, for now, with some powerful words from one of my favorite authors, words to propel you into these summer months ahead:

"From now on, I hope always to stay alert and educate myself the best I can. But lacking this, in the future, I will relaxedly turn back to my secret mind to see what it has observed when I thought I was sitting this one out. We never sit anything out. We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff run out."--Ray Bradbury

Be well, Writers, and have a wonderful summer. 

Peace.

"The Last Waltz" Party Signup

Hey Writers! The time has almost come to bid one another "farewell" for summer, but we would be SO LAME if we did not celebrate all the laughs we have had this semester in SED 445. So, let's come to class next week ready to (1) eat and drink, (2) read "Where am I now?" papers aloud, and (3) play a zany language-based game or just laugh hysterically at the new, shiny duct tape on the carpet.

So, since everyone is already on board with the "bringing the paper" part, I thought we could sign up here to bring something to share with everyone. Here's how I propose dividing up the snack categories: 

SALTY 

SWEET

HEALTHY

DRINKS (not the fun kind, sorry)

FAVORS

So, when you comment this week, please read what those who posted before you are bringing before you add your own contribution to the list. And, let's try to have equal-ish amounts of the above categories. Too many salty snacks and not enough drinks? Oh No! Too many sweets and not enough apples?? Oh No! 

Let's see what kind of crazy Writing Teacher party we can come up with!

Shitty First Draft

This is the week your "shitty first draft" of your I-Search paper is due. I borrow this term from Anne Lamott, writer and author of Bird by Bird. She believes in shitty first drafts because, in the drafting stage, it is important to give yourself permission to get it all down,  knowing full well you will clean it up later. Read Lamott's essay here. It will motivate you to write, I promise. It will also make you laugh. 

http://buddha-rat.squarespace.com/shitty-first-drafts/

If you're someone who needs stricter guidelines for a draft, please know that your draft should be 6-10 pages long and should encompass the three phases of I-Searching (what I knew and assumed before I began, what I did and what I found, and what meaning does it have--to my teaching, to my thinking--now that my search is over). It should be double-spaced for easy reading and should be written in the first person voice ("I"). You should be sure to also weave in your participants' voices, as well as the voices of your secondary sources. 

And, though I am not the MLA police by any means, you all should be able to demonstrate, at this point in your careers, expert MLA format for in-text citations, works cited page, and paper formatting. Use your MLA skills in your draft to practice incorporating it into your writing routine, so to speak. And, please consult your MLA handbook instead of just guessing or hoping someone will fix your errors. Our in-class feedback session will focus on the substance of your writing--the story you tell and how you tell it--and not so much on correcting errors.  Please don't come to class expecting anyone to edit your paper!

The most important part about bringing your I-Search draft to class: 

BRING TWO COMPLETE COPIES.

(Also, a reminder that your Writer's Group reflection essay is due, as well as your Final Version of your "Coming Home Again" writing assignment.) 

Lots to do, folks. And, I know you can do it! Your I-Search presentations were amazing--ride that intellectual momentum into the sunset of this semester. See you on Wednesday!

We searched. We presented. Now what?

So, this is the safe space for you to share with us your silver, gold, and platinum nuggets from the presentations in class tonight. This kind of feedback/response is called a 3-2-1. 

I will model. 

3 things that were intriguing to me:

1. People who shared with us the assumptions they now realize they began with. Examining your assumptions is so healthy, teachers. Thank you.

2. Leah's activity went from "Whaaaa?" to "Wow" in under 60 seconds for me. Cool. Thanks.

3. How each of you interpreted the "token" aspect of this presentation. Diversity reigns supreme.

2 things I have questions about:

1. Do teachers in a school that is "under-performing" or ""under review by the state" get as much freedom of choice as the teachers in South Kingstown? Why?

2. If reflection is a key to teacher survival, growth, and development, why don't schools care about giving teachers time and space to reflect on their practice? 

1 thing that knocked my socks off. 

1. Shawn Waterman. His ideas, his energy, his mind, his wisdom, his generosity, his engagement, and his work ethic. Bravo.

Please click on the "comment" tab below and enter your 3-2-1. I am looking forward to reading about what you took away from tonight's presentations. Peace-

Soothe Your Mind

If you dig cool animation and want a colorful interlude today, follow this link and play the video. 

Don't forget to widen it to full screen to get the full effect.

http://scher.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/welcome-back/

It's Lonely on the 445 Blog

So, I continue to sit here at home, wondering why this e-writing or e-commenting isn't very sexy to you folks. We talked about it some in class last week, and I tried tempting you with a new post, but there's been nothing written here in over two weeks. What's up with that? 

A student of mine who now teaches English at North Kingstown HS has a blog up and running for each of his three classes. He's been teaching there for a week (yes, only a week), and he and his students are online like mad talking about what words they would use to describe Odysseus (yes, that Odysseus), defending their opinions of the guy, and comparing him to stars from popular culture. 

What is it about blogging that lends itself to one kind of discourse and not another? Why does it work for responding to texts but not for reflecting on and sharing Writing Group activities? This is my I-Search question...

Merging Purposes

Tell us what you're doing in your Writing Group! Perhaps you've made a break from Ralph Fletcher and are sailing out there in the big, wide world of writing instruction on your own. 

In fact, what might happen if you started writing and talking about your I-Search projects during Writing Group time? Tell us how it goes!

Post-Spring Break

Hi Writers! It's mid-semester, so I thought it was time for a new thread, though I want you to simply keep doing what you're doing here on the class blog. Following your writing group meeting this week, designate someone to post a reflection. Tell us what you did and why it mattered to you as a teacher and as a writer. And, please feel free to interact with each other here--you can respond to people's posts in addition to posting your own reflection. I don't want the exclusive rights to responding.

Looking forward to reading about what you're cooking up in your groups. One tip: you might consider incorporating I Search topics or ideas into an upcoming writing group meeting, in order to help each other and to support each other's searching process. Your writing group can morph into a I-Search group, perhaps...

Welcome, Writing Groups!

This is the space for you--a designated "responder" each week--to let us know what's going on in your writing group. PLEASE feel free to experiment with genre and style (for example, you might write a bad poem or a birth announcement about your writing group meeting). Your audience is the class, but it is also the whole world. Post with all of that in mind. Your purpose? To share with us the substance of your writing group meeting--the essence of it, what it was all about (stay away from "reporting" to us what actually happened, blow by blow). How is what you are doing related to being a writer and seeing yourself as a writer? How is it related to the teaching of writing to adolescents? So what?