I’m currently sitting on a balcony overlooking a fantastic pool and garden. Tim is getting things ready to go to the beach in a little while, so I thought I’d write a post to keep up with my weekly goal before we head out. I could write the next post about the writing process, but instead, I decided to write about my experience facilitating my first writing institute at my new school.
When I joined KLA in mid-April, I felt the urge to start writing with that group of energetic third-graders, so after a few days of getting to know them, we had our first mini-lesson. The “writing hype” that followed was loud and contagious, and other teachers became curious about Writing Workshop, which was not a thing at this school. I fed their curiosity with caution.
I was the new teacher trying not to come off as too eager, so I just shared what they asked. I started with a brief story about how I learned about this philosophy and the reasons I believe in daily writing; they immediately became interested in the benefits of giving students time to write freely. After seeing their enthusiasm, I suggested we held a writing session for teachers, so they could experience a bit of what writers feel during a Writing Workshop. Each time we met on a Tuesday afternoon, the hype grew and sparked more questions. That hype evolved into an idea for focused professional development in June.
Up to this point, I hadn’t experienced such eagerness and curiosity from an entire staff. Granted, this is a much smaller school, and perhaps that’s why I noticed it, but as I write such words, I know that I’m not giving them enough credit. They know what it means to be a learner and care about what’s best for children, even if that means learning a new and different approach to teaching writing.
The coordinators realized that the school was ready to embark on this journey, so we purchased the Units of Study for all grades and planned for a week-long institute after the last day of school for students. The rush I felt was something I hadn’t felt before; up to this moment, I had always joined a team as they sailed, and my job was to keep up with what they were already doing. This time, I was leading the way as the ship got ready to leave port.
If you’re a teacher, you know this to be true, no one wants to be doing professional development the last week before summer break, so I felt anxious. There I was, the new teacher—the one who talks a lot about writing—asking everyone to read, write, and question new ideas for hours. Those were my thoughts until the first day we gathered; then, they blew my mind.
These teachers had never really written for themselves before, yet they wrote. They had not heard of “the heart of the story” before, yet they revised in ways that made them uncover inner voices. Some of them revealed vulnerable stories in their writing, and others transformed mundane events into fascinating tales that left us speechless. On that last day, when we all shared the writing, we drafted and revised, my eyes filled with tears, and my feet anchored to the floor of my new home.
I’ve always known why I want to be a literacy coach; I recognize the joy that greets me when I see children of different ages writing stories for the first time, reading something they’ve written, and grinning at the words they find. It’s the same joy that emerges from a group of children sitting close to their teacher as she reads them a book. Knowing that all children in the place I work get to experience such joy, that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I want to work with other teachers and visit their classeooms; that’s why I want to share this work.
August will be a new chapter in my life, not just because I’ll be starting a new school year at this new home but because I’ll be part of a new learning wave with people who genuinely care about teaching. I’ll be part of a community of writing teachers who will not only elevate children’s confidence but also inspire me to keep evolving in this work I love.
I can’t wait.
Start with a Story 