We teach reading...so we read ourselves. We teach science...so we notice it in our everyday lives. We teach math...so we practice in our kitchens, checkbooks, and home improvement tasks. But, when we teach writing, do we give it the same attention?
Anais Nin says, "Writers touch life twice." You know, there's something special about writing. It is personal...serving as a timely reflection of the author. It is creative...taking moves we love from our favorite craftspeople and making them our own. It is beautiful...celebrating the spirit of all we notice, name, and hold dear.
Teachers who love writing themselves do one thing above all others: they nurture student writers. A community is built centered around the stories they, as individuals, have to share. The talk of writers echos beyond workshop time and whispers with passion --- we ALL are writers. And so, the spirit extends into homes, playgrounds, coffee shops, and teacher workrooms. Identities develop, skills bloom, confidence grows. We ALL are writers. If we aren't, how will our students ever notice the tangle and swirl of words...of ideas...of creating a piece that is pure magic because it conveys passion? Students are what we show them in ourselves.
Teacher-writers, what will you work on this summer for next year's writing workshop? How will your writing grow your students'?
Write on,
b
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