On the teaching of Writing

In just a few days I will begin teaching the Abydos Writing Institute (formerly New Jersey Writing in Texas) to another group of teachers.  This year my partner (Lucy Seward) and I will be teaching at Sherman Elementary in Houston ISD.  We look forward to the new experiences over then next three weeks with our teachers from Houston ISD.  

Why teach writing to teachers in this way?  There are many groups and training opportunities for teachers that offer professional development for teachers in the area of writing instruction.  Many of these teachers did not receive any instruction in college on the teaching of writing and have been thrust into the classroom expected to teach students to write in a highly demanding way.  Over the next three weeks, the teachers will get many strategies for implementing writing in their classroom, but most importantly they will get to experience writing as a writer themselves.  As Cindy O'donnell-Allen says in an article published in The Atlantic, "It takes more than a good grasp of grammar to teach students the true power of the written word."  Isn't that the truth?  All students, child and adult, get blocked by making their writing correct instead of uniquely their own.  Many teachers resolve to assigning writing rather than actually teaching the craft of being a writer. O'donnell-Allen goes on to talk about her experience as a student when she had a teacher that was a writer herself, and the difference it made in her and she really understood that, "The best writing teachers are writers themselves."

So, this summer we will teach the writer, not the writing. We will write every day and will will confer as a writing community.  We will write along side our students/teachers.  We will learn strategies within the context of writing, not through grammar worksheets or mindless exercises in correctness.  We will learn what it takes to be a writer so we can be better prepared to teach our students to write themselves.  

What better investment in teaching can we offer than authentic experiences that will prepare teachers for this ever important pedagogy?  Thank you to the teachers, schools, and leaders who have supported this important work.

Work cited:

O'Donnell-Allen, Cindy. "The Best Writing Teachers Are Writers Themselves." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 04 July 2015