Writing with My Students

Writing with my students. That's why I've F-I-N-A-L-L-Y returned to my blog. I really do want to write consistently. I miss writing. But I would also miss sleep. And playing with my two girls. And eating healthy meals. All of these things I love, and a few things that I love have been let go. However, returning from maternity leave almost a month ago, I am seizing opportunities of joy with reading and writing with my students. 

Yes, I have papers to grade.

Yes, I have lessons to organize.

Yes, I have paperwork to do.

Many days, it is hard to pull away from those responsibilities to write with my students. Writing with my students feels like cheating because I enjoy it so much. I guess I forgot that it's great for me to love my job. If I don't invest in the parts that I love, I cannot demonstrate and show how literature and writing has enhanced my life or fully encourage my students to do the same.

What have we been writing? Let me share some of my work with you! (In the future, I will maybe see if any students would let me share their work. That would be fantastic.)

In my Young Adult Literature class, we read Sharon Creech's verse novel Hate that Cat so that we can analyze authors craft and emulate poems written by protagonist Jack. Currently my student aid is helping me print and prepare their favorite poems so we have created a class chapbook. Here is my inspired poem that I submitted:

        December Bedtime

            So much depends

                 Upon

                                An open children’s

                                Music book,

        Wrapped in purpley 

                Pink treats

                                Brightly singing the

                                Nutcracker.

            So much depends

                Upon

                                A dancing, grinning

                                           Toddler;

            Swaying, marching,

                Twirling toes

                                 Beside a gleeful

                                Kicking babe.

This blog post is coming from my Creative Writing class, which is my baby. I proposed it. Now I get to "teach" it. Really though, this is a class about self-discovery. My goal is to provide students with opportunities to create and have the freedom to pursue their interests without academic risks.

During our lengthy National Novel Writing Month, rather than pursue a novel, I wrote excerpts inspired by, "Tell me you have a toddler without telling me." These writings may serve only me and bring me joy. And possibly embarrass my daughter at graduation in 16 years.

To finish off this perseverance of writing, we wrote our own pep talks! Here is an excerpt of my unfinished introduction:

Congratulations! You have decided to embark on a grand adventure that may leave you bruised, pulling your hair out, practically in tears with sore finger tips, but...but… you can take pride in participating in a writer’s marathon. That’s what it’s all about: Working through the pain and frustration (physical, mental, and/or emotional) to achieve something that you didn’t believe you could. And just like a marathon, it’s about completing it that’s the accomplishment.

Finishing a marathon is often not pretty. You’ll finish with salt crystals dried to your forehead, sweat in places you didn’t know could sweat, your legs feeling like you must drag them one painful foot after another. But. You. Did. It.

That’s what NaNoWriMo is all about. It’s fighting through the writer’s block. It’s fighting through the unhelpful muse in your head saying you don’t know what you’re doing. Or reminding you that it was a good idea a couple of weeks ago even though now it doesn’t seem like it. It’s pushing through that terrible, terrible, and I mean TERRIBLE dialogue to finally get what your character really wanted to say. Then you take a deep breath and remind yourself that you’ll go revise that later.

We must take pride in doing hard things. Hard things allow us to: Build our own perseverance. Discover how to problem solve. Give permission to not be perfect. 

Right now, our class is working on writing projects that we consider "nontraditional." Take a look at the choice board my students helped me create!

I may be a teacher you know nothing about. This may be the first (but hopefully not the last) time you have come across my blog. But here's your reminder to keep demonstrating the joy and excitement that your content brings to you. Our students are watching.

As I like to tell my students:

Stay safe. Make smart choices. Read a book. 📚