Teachers, Tribes, and Perspectives
I have just arrived home from WWP week. We departed last Sunday for Gillette, Wyoming, where we worked with twelve teachers. We shared practical writing instruction ideas and research and had much needed time to discuss our own practice and our own questions and conundrums. The conclusion: Teaching and assessing writing is messy and we need more collaboration and more time to do it well. Our feedback after our professional development time was similar to what we've received in the past. We were told it was great to spend time together talking about teaching, that there's never enough time to do that, and that they'd like us to come back during the school year and continue the support. So many teachers feel unsupported and unsure about the teaching and assessing of writing from the earliest elementary levels to senior levels in high school. There are so many things we could do if we could find the magic mix of funding and relationship with schools and administration.
From Gillette the leadership team and previously trained Teacher Consultants headed to Powell for a writing retreat. It was a time of rejuvenation and reunion. These people are my writing tribe. They share life with me. They encourage me. They laugh with me. They puzzle through my own teaching of writing with me. They share resources and ideas. They share snacks and books and time. We all need a tribe, a group, a connection. I'm so fortunate to have these people in my life.
We spent a lot of time this week talking about perspectives. There are those who, the moment I talk about my tribe and our times together, view our Writing Project as touchy-feely and squishy. It's great to have friends that enjoy writing and have teaching in common but they feel sharing emotions doesn't equate to the classroom and impact on students. I would vehemently disagree. A teacher who feels secure in their writing is a teacher who feels confident teaching writing. A teacher who feels supported and has resources is an effective teacher. However, I understand where that perception might occur. What those people don't see are our deep conversations with K-12 teachers about assessing writing and about motivating reluctant writers. They don't see the civil debates about the value of structure and five paragraph essays. They don't see the late nights when our leadership team sits around a table and agonizes over how to best support teachers who feel lost or unprepared or trapped by a curriculum. They don't see us share research on best practices endorsed by education consortiums like IES. They don't see us all sitting with books in our hands unwilling to put them down and have dinner until well after 7:30 p.m. because we want to learn more to share with others. They see the surface. They see how close we've grown and how we share writing along with laughter and tears. Those things are important to me. But they don't see the behind the scenes and that's where the hard work takes place.
Wyoming Writing Project changed the course of my personal and professional life. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Some of our past participants have written about the impact WWP had on their teaching and on their students. Many comment things similar to this on our PD surveys. WWP gave me friends in writing with a common goal and vision for improving writing instruction in our state and for supporting writing teachers. WWP encouraged me to practice my writing craft and to be more vulnerable in sharing my writing publicly. WWP introduced me to so many amazing teachers around the state and to so many young writers. I'm so grateful.
There is no rest. Next week we will hold a writing camp for fifth through tenth graders at nearby Curt Gowdy State Park. It will be some of our WWP consultants and nearly forty students hiking and doing some place-based writing and then spending some times in lessons to try out a variety of genres. It will be another adventure and I'm ready to hit the trails.
From Gillette the leadership team and previously trained Teacher Consultants headed to Powell for a writing retreat. It was a time of rejuvenation and reunion. These people are my writing tribe. They share life with me. They encourage me. They laugh with me. They puzzle through my own teaching of writing with me. They share resources and ideas. They share snacks and books and time. We all need a tribe, a group, a connection. I'm so fortunate to have these people in my life.
We spent a lot of time this week talking about perspectives. There are those who, the moment I talk about my tribe and our times together, view our Writing Project as touchy-feely and squishy. It's great to have friends that enjoy writing and have teaching in common but they feel sharing emotions doesn't equate to the classroom and impact on students. I would vehemently disagree. A teacher who feels secure in their writing is a teacher who feels confident teaching writing. A teacher who feels supported and has resources is an effective teacher. However, I understand where that perception might occur. What those people don't see are our deep conversations with K-12 teachers about assessing writing and about motivating reluctant writers. They don't see the civil debates about the value of structure and five paragraph essays. They don't see the late nights when our leadership team sits around a table and agonizes over how to best support teachers who feel lost or unprepared or trapped by a curriculum. They don't see us share research on best practices endorsed by education consortiums like IES. They don't see us all sitting with books in our hands unwilling to put them down and have dinner until well after 7:30 p.m. because we want to learn more to share with others. They see the surface. They see how close we've grown and how we share writing along with laughter and tears. Those things are important to me. But they don't see the behind the scenes and that's where the hard work takes place.
Wyoming Writing Project changed the course of my personal and professional life. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Some of our past participants have written about the impact WWP had on their teaching and on their students. Many comment things similar to this on our PD surveys. WWP gave me friends in writing with a common goal and vision for improving writing instruction in our state and for supporting writing teachers. WWP encouraged me to practice my writing craft and to be more vulnerable in sharing my writing publicly. WWP introduced me to so many amazing teachers around the state and to so many young writers. I'm so grateful.
There is no rest. Next week we will hold a writing camp for fifth through tenth graders at nearby Curt Gowdy State Park. It will be some of our WWP consultants and nearly forty students hiking and doing some place-based writing and then spending some times in lessons to try out a variety of genres. It will be another adventure and I'm ready to hit the trails.
It’s always inspiring to reconnect with my Wyoming Writing Project friends! Teachers are committed to providing quality writing instruction and are constantly questioning our practice and looking for new ways to engage students.
ReplyDeleteWe are dedicated to supporting each other and Wyoming teachers as we learn from each other.
Integrating new teaching and learning is exciting and challenging.
I loved meeting new teachers who are willing to take a precious summer day to join us for writing.
Let’s keep the tribe growing-we welcome all!
Lynette Parkhurst