dialogue winter 2007

8/7/2019 Dialogue Winter 2007

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I Believe in Teaching Childrento Think Deeply:

An Interview with Judy Leff,SDAWP Fellow (91) and County Teacher of the Year

Inside...CongratulationsSDAWPFellows 2007 . . . . . . . 4

Weavings . . . . . . . . . . 4Patricia Floren

StrategiesWhen StudentsWrite Alone . . . . . . . . 6Pianta

Young WritersCamp . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9Nathan KhuuVineeth MurukutiAnnie XuJane HanDavid ShawEmily SenesNoemi Barragn

In Defenseof Poetry. . . . . . . . . . 10Ali Wise

This is WhyI Teach . . . . . . . . . . . 13Mayla Guth

Also included:

Muse Box . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

PublishingOpportunities . . . . . . . . 15

DialogueCall For Manuscripts . . . 15

Calendar of Events. . . . . 16

The Revision o f Teaching and Learn ing

DialogueA Publication of the San Diego Area Writing Project Winter 2007

Judy, can you describe the journey that your career has been to date? What havebeen the significant milestones or turning points?

Growing up, I never thought of becoming a teacher. I developed a great love for theSpanish language and respect for the Mexican culture while earning my bachelorsdegree in Latin American Studies. As I prepared to enter a Masters Degree program inpsychology, a friend told me about a unique opportunity. California State University LosAngeles was initiating an innovative credential program for bilingual students, an intern-ship in the East Los Angeles community. Students would work in classrooms full time forthe year and all university classes would be held at the school site. I seized the opportu-nity to utilize my Spanish, be on the ground floor of a new experiment, and contribute tothe community. I was so inspired by my master teachers and the training we received inthe community, that I embraced teaching as a career and never looked back.

I began teaching in the early 70s in East Los Angeles. Those were heady times. We wereyoung and inspired bilingual teachers fighting for a cause that was just gaining momen-tum in the epicenter of the Chicano Pride movement. We were fighting for the right of allchildren to have equal access in public education. This was not a new cause; we werestanding on the shoulders of Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez, giving life to theLatino communitys passion and dreams for the future.

Those early years built the foundation for my career and the belief I have never aban-doned: that all children deserve an education that honors their culture, their abilities andtheir right to realize their dreams. That commitment grew not only from the times in

which I lived, but from my family upbringing that taught, by example, the power of stand-ing up for what is right and just. My mother was Soroptimist president and a communi-ty leader for many years in my hometown of Monterey Park, California. As a business-

woman, her life was devoted to improving the lives of others. She founded a school for the

mentally challenged at a time when mentally retarded children were still hidden fromview. My childhood was filled with fundraising and volunteer opportunities. That senseof purpose was coupled with another of my familys values, a thirst for knowledge. Myfather was an avid reader, amateur political analyst, and lover of the arts. He was affec-tionately nicknamed The P.E. (Professor of Everything). Our home was filled with booksand intellectual conversation on every imaginable topic. I had wed purpose with love oflearning, and I was ready to conquer the world.

As an educator, what in particular are your beliefs or philosophies regarding

children and instruction?

First, I believe in teaching children to think deeply by implementing a rigorous, integrat-ed curriculum based on big ideas. I begin each spring to think ahead to the next year. Ibounce around ideas in my head, to create a language arts curriculum based on a big


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nology. After spending one veryuncomfortable summer writing aCyberGuide at the San DiegoCounty Office of Education, Ibecame convinced that weavingtechnology into my curriculum wasmandatory and have spent the pastten years teaching teachers how todo just that.

I also elevated my teaching bybecoming immersed in teacherresearch. During my tenure asco-director of an EisenhowerScience Foundation grant, Ireceived extensive training in theClassroom Action Research modelin Madison, Wisconsin. Throughteacher research, I learned another

way to challenge assumptionabout my teaching using a system-atic research process that chal-lenged me to prove my beliefsabout my teaching. This knowledge

I passed on by leading manyteacher research groups in my dis-trict.

What I have learned, I willingly and joyfully share. In my district, andacross the county, I have taken aleadership role in professionaldevelopment. I want all teachers toknow how to deliver a rigorous, yetappropriate, curriculum to all stu-dents. I want them to know abouthe power of reading and writing toshape a childs world, and I wantthem to see that an old dog canlearn new tricks by introducingthem to the ways I have integratedtechnology into the fabric of mycurriculum. I share what I havelearned formally and informally

with colleagues and the many stu-dent teachers I have mentoredThis year a group of teachersapproached me to ask for help withtheir writing curriculum. Weformed a study group and have metregularly. I especially enjoy men-toring young teachers at my schoolsite because I feel responsible for

giving back to my profession, forhelping to create a new generationof educators who will base theirteaching on thoughtful, skillfullydesigned lessons that have meaningand relevance to their students.

Which instructional approach

do you consider your trademark

or innovation? What have you

been working on or have you

fine-tuned in terms of promoting

achievement with your students?

2

In Possible Lives: The Promise of

Public Education in America, Mike

Rose works against the negative

view of teachers and U.S. public

schools that Hirsch offers. Rose

does this largely by changing the

parameters of the discussion.

While he also uses anecdotal evi-

dence, he is careful not to univer-

salize the stories he tells. He uses

specific examples of teaching prac-

tices that work only to suggest pos-

sibilities, not to universalize these

anecdotes, and not to claim univer-

sal excellence. Hirsch, on the other

hand, uses anecdotal stories to

claim universal decline in U.S. pub-lic schools; this may be compelling

to some, but it makes for sloppy and

irresponsible arguments. We need

to find more ways to understand

and expose this kind of argumenta-

tion. This is not to say that what

Rose is doing is not valuable and

responsibly developed--I think it is;

it is, however, to say that we need to

broaden the kinds of responses

made to such arguments. how

Dialogue

Winter 2007

Issue No. 19

The Rev is ion ofTeaching and Learning

Editors: Stacey Goldblatt Jennifer Moore

Page Design: Janis JonesWriting Angel: Susan Minnicks

Published by theSan Diego Area

Writing Project at UCSD

Directors:Makeba JonesKim DouillardSam Patterson

UC San DiegoSDAWP9500 Gilman DriveLa Jolla, CA 92093-0036(858) 534-2576http://create.ucsd.edu/sdawp/

Dialogue, Winter 2007

idea, which I tie to an historicaltime frame. This year my big idea,courage, is linked to the WWII time-frame. We explore courage in ourown lives, in the lives of thosearound us, and in the lives of histor-ical figures. We read and study sto-ries based in WWII that speak topersonal and collective courage. Iinvite speakers like a concentration

camp survivor and a decorated pris-oner of war from WWII who bringthe era to life. Students learn tothink big, feel safe, and fill in thedetails for themselves. Under myguidance, they manage their ownlearning, collaborate in readers

workshop, write like writers todevelop such pieces as monologueson a person of courage, andresearch topics and issues that cap-ture their interest. Using my WWII

webpage as a launching pad, stu-dents independently research and

study the building of the AtomicBomb, the music and art of theConcentration Camps, and muchmore. One student describes thelearning environment this way,Learning in this class is a big chal-lenge for our brains. We get indepth on every subject and it seems

like everything we study is connect-ed so it means a whole lot more.

I believe in delivering this curricu-lum to all students, which requiresmeeting students where they are

without compromising the content. When my transition students werepreparing to write a five-paragraphessay on pandas, I led them through

the process step by step. We researched together on theInternet, found key words and tooknotes. Paragraph by paragraph webuilt our essay. Through collabora-tion, we created our topic sen-tences, selected supporting detailsand developed our paragraphs.

When they were confident enough,I let small groups work indepen-dently and continued to supportothers. One student explained,When we dont understand some-thing Ms. Leff doesnt just say, You

figure it out, she helps us figure itout.

Each day I teach, my rewards areplentiful and my hope is renewed.

When a student writes me a notethat says, Youre my hero,because she needed someone totalk to, Ive made a difference inthat moment, for that child. When aSpanish speaking student whom Inurtured returns to tell me, Thank

you Ms. Leff, because of you Imgoing to college, I have made a dif-ference for that child and herfamily. When two tough-lookingteenage boys stop me in front of themovie theater and give me a bighug, I know the truth. I can onlymake change one life at a time. Andfor the lifetime of opportunities Ivehad, I am truly grateful.

Explain the role of SDAWP in

your professional life. How has

it influenced, changed or vali-

dated what you do?

My greatest contribution to teach-

ing has been sharing what Ivelearned with others in my profes-sion. Throughout my 30-yearcareer, I have embraced changeand allowed myself to step out ofmy comfort zone as a learner. In1986 when I attended the San DiegoArea Writing Project, I became a

writer. This pivotal moment in myteaching career taught me aboutownership of the learning process.I also stepped out of my comfort

when I entered the world of tech-


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3Dialogue, Winter 2007

A chorus of murmurs floats on theair as pairs of students read quietlyto their partners who hold stop

watches to time and chart theirpartners reading. Repeated read-ing of short passages targeted totheir reading level has dramaticallyincreased fluency and word recog-nition for my English LanguageLearners. By charting their results

daily, students assess their ownprogress and are motivated toimprove.

discuss our concerns. As a result ofthis meeting, the four of us formeda study group to research the caus-es, effects and solutions my teampartner and I might implement inour classrooms next year.

Our readings identify several caus-es for the increasing failure of boysacross all demographics and age

groups. First, boys are physicallyactive, impulsive, action-orientedand natural risk-takers. These traitsare not normally nurtured orrewarded in school settings.Second, boys lack what DanKindlon in,Raising Cain , calls emo-tional literacy. They do not knowhow to name their own emotions orhow to read the emotional signalsor intent of others. This lack ofemotional literacy means boys havea low threshold for emotional pain,

which leads them to withdraw o

act aggressively. These behaviorscan draw harsh punishment. Thirdmany boys lack male role models.

changing attitudes toward reading.

Students write daily while reading.I teach specific strategies to interact

with text and spend time modelingorally and in written journalentries. At first, I give them dailyfeedback on their written responsesas a way of monitoring both their

writing fluency and the quality of

their interactions with the text. Asthey progress, students often inter-act with each other in small groups,and I monitor and record their con-

versations.

On a quarterly basis, studentsreflect on their progress by review-ing the work in their portfolios.One student wrote in her reflection,I used to just read words, but nowI love to read because I feel like Iminside the story. Twice yearly, stu-dents present their work and

explain their progress to their par-ents at student-led parent confer-ences. Juan explained to his moth-er at his student-led conference, Iam like Cesar Chavez. Before I did-nt think I could write a whole essayby myself. But now I know I can. Iam like Cesar because I keep say-ing to myself, Si se puede, si sepuede.

What educational issues are you

most concerned with locally, and

nationally?

Two issues in public education thatconcern me are the achievementgap between white students andEnglish Language Learners, andthe alarming rate at which boys arefailing in school. It is this secondissue I wish to address because ithas become the center of discussionfor our 6th grade team.

Early in the school year, a maleteammate and I began talkingabout the group of boys in our 6thgrade classes who comprise themajority of the behavior problems.These are boys for whom tradition-al forms of discipline are counter-productive. I was particularly con-cerned about a group of Hispanicboys who are bright, underachiev-ing, and making the wrong deci-sions. The recent attention ofmainstream media on this sametopic reinforced our belief that weneeded to delve deeper. We met

with our principal and the districtadministrator of special projects to

One studentwrote in her

reflection I usedto read words,

but now I love toread because Ifeel like I am in

the story.I returned toteaching and

found that I hadto be present formy students. Ihad to set asidemy grief in order

to meettheir needs.

I meet my students where they are.I use formal and informal assess-ment tools, monitor studentprogress closely, and change myteaching content and strategies asneeded. I use a variety of strategiesin my transition language artsclassroom to assess initial levelsand progress including standard

reading fluency and comprehen-sion assessments like the Stiegletzand District benchmark tests.These students, who are beginningtheir English only instruction withme, are assessed frequently.Assessment drives my curriculum.

When some transition students were acing their spelling tests weekly while others consistentlyfailed, I assessed each studentssight vocabulary and developedindividualized spelling programs.

During silent reading, I scan theroom and notice Rosa is reading aJunie B. Jones book. I approach herand whisper, Rosa, this is the firsttime you have chosen a chapterbook. She beams with pride andresponds, I know how to pickbooks now, and this ones justright. I sit down next to her and

we read together for a short time. Iobserve the types and levels ofbooks students choose to read dur-ing silent reading time. I interact

with them informally to assess their

As the Newsweek article, TheTrouble, January 30, 2006 stated,A boy without a father figure islike an explorer without a map.Boys, especially poor boys, needmen in their lives to look up to,men who can guide them.

The effect of these risk factors hasbeen that boys are failing at analarming rate. They are two timesmore likely than girls to be diag-nosed with learning disabilities andbe placed in special educationclasses. Boys between five andtwelve years of age are 60% morelikely to repeat a grade in schoolthan girls. Between ages five andfourteen they are 200% more likely

(See Interview continued on p. 14)


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CongratulationsSDAWP FellowsSummer 2006

Raquel Kelly CarVista Focus Academy, Vista

Roberts EwingDePortola Middle School, San Diego

Patricia FlorenHardy Elementary School, San Diego

Mayla Guth

MIssion Estancia Elementary School,Encinitas

Nadia MandilawiSan Diego City College, San Diego

Patricia Trissy McGheeSan Diego City College, San Diego

Shannon MeredithCarmel Valley Middle School,

San Dieguito

Tamara MuhammadNubia Leadership Academy, San Diego

PiantaSan Diego Mesa College, San Diego

Linda SennettNubia Leadership Academy, San Diego

Sandra SmithCorreia Middle School, San Diego

Michael WellerCorreia Middle School, San Diego

Alison WiseRancho Santa Fe Middle School,

Rancho Santa Fe

For nearly twenty years, I have carried a basket. Its a strong basket, handcraft-ed in Ohio by a family-owned company known for heirloom quality weaving. Itsa basket thats been filled with, at different times, different things. At first Ibought it just for magazines, picturing how nice it would look next to my bed, the

current issues of my reading journals and gardening tomes nicely stacked, wait-ing to be devoured. Then I decided to use it as a car basket, filled with necessi-ties for a trip across town or across country: a map or two, a bottle of water, a sun

visor. The basket became, over the next months, a carrying case for many thingsflowers from the farmers market, sand toys for a walk to the park, lunch for twolittle boys and me. On the day that I decided to make it a diaper bag, my life waschanged forever.

I packed the basket up with enough toddler gear to last a couple of hoursperched Baby Ben on my hip and walked into the principals office at the schoolof our then-kindergarten son Christopher. I smiled, gulped, and offered myself asa volunteer. Id like to help children write poetry, stories, anything, for a fewhours a week, I began, because I love writing and would like for them to loveit too.

Great! the principal responded. I just got a grant to hire someone just like youHow would you like a job? Thats honestly how it happened. I was offered a jobat that school, on the spot, wearing my momjeans and tennis shoes, as aCalifornia Writing Project Writers Assistant. I didnt know if I wanted a job, whatthe job was, how many hours I would work, how my husband would react or

what I would do with my baby. But I said yes. And my life was changed forever.

We worked out the details, of course, which arent so hard to work out when itssomething you really want to do. Over the next five years I filled my basket withpicture books, stories, poems and ideas, and spent a few hours with kindergart-ners through fifth graders each week. It was great: There were not a lot of para-meters, because this was a grant position at the school and we could make it

whatever we wanted it to be. The teachers were each glad to have me for an houra week, working with their kids, while they were free to do prep-work or teacher-

work. The kids seemed to enjoy it, and I liked the extra money. Christopher wasproud of his Mom working at the school, and Ben had fun in the preschool sand-box.

I liked teaching children so much that I decided to get my multiple subjects cre-dential, encouraged by that same principal to keep the job and attend classes atthe same time. I learned about and started weaving more substance into mylessons. I felt I was making a difference in the students by bringing the world of

writing to them. I began to prepare myself to enter the world of real teachingthat is, finally getting my own classroom and having my own students to moldinto little writers. I was ready! But all that was put on hold when we had anoth-er baby, our Hannah, and then I was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer whenshe was four years old. The story of my battle with breast cancer is another storybut it does figure here. Dealing with a life-threatening illness changes your per-spective on things. It makes you pay attention, and it makes you closely evaluatehow you spend your time.

Our family dealt with the illness, did what we had to do, and I got ready to goback into the classroom. I approached the same school, and offered myself to thenew principal. The grant that had supported me all those years ago no longerexisted, but he hired me with other monies. So I started up again, discoveringnew picture books, planning new lessons to take to each class and learning newkids names.

Right away I noticed differences in the classrooms. The new administration inthe district had made some big alterations. Many of the creative things weregone, replaced by strict literacy blocks and stringent schedules. All of these

WeavingsPatricia Floren, SDAWP 2006

4 Dialogue, Winter 2007


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things had woven together to makea change in the teachers and in thestudents. I wondered how they

were going to make a change in me.

Teachers were glad to see mebecause I was going to bring some-thing back into their classroom thatthey felt had been missing. But,since I was also a different person

now, I had to evaluate how I wantedto make a difference. How did I fitinto the bigger picture? How could Imake it matter?

I quickly found I wasnt the sameperson that I was before. I had faceddeath. I had faced the prospect ofme not being here to continue whatI had startedwith my family, withmy friends, and with my students. I

just wanted to pick up where I hadleft off, but that was impossible. Ihad to create a new path and a new

journey. A new sort of basket.

As I worked with the kids at thisschool, a new desire formed. I nowlonged to be more than the enrich-ment person, more than the MissRumphius of Writing, striding in

with her basket of cute projects andideas. I longed to make a differencein their writing lives, not just for theday, but forever. It would have beeneasy to return to that younger me,but that wasnt enough. Was it that Iknew more about writing, moreabout teaching, more about life, ormore about me? Probably it was allof these.

My goal was always to spark a pas-sion for writing in the students andteachers with whom I work. Now I

wanted to do it in a more lasting way. I began to look around forgreat resources and mini-lessons,and found many. But my urge was toshow the teachers and studentsmore than a mini-lesson and, moreimportantly, to become more than amini-lesson giver.

I began to believe that we can helpchildren become more confident

writers by teaching focused skillsand crafts that they can weave intotheir writing organically, such asusing powerful verbs in everythingthey create. I began to prepare mylessons by intertwining some of thepoints that have become the centerof my belief system about teaching

writing.

We need to not just talk around writ-ing, but model writing in the class-room. We need to help our studentsfind powerful writing in mentortexts. We need to look at what other

writers have done in appropriatementor texts, and try these craftmoves in our own writing. We needto know what we are teaching. Weneed a focus. Within a context, we

need to let our students have free-dom. Beginning with a certainstructure or focus may seem limit-ing at first, but it can be safe andthen motivating because the stu-dents have something to hang on to.

We must encourage our students tomove beyond the safety net, and findthe power and the voice that isuniquely theirs.

A change happened in my studentsbecause a change happened in me.I started to notice it when these new

children, my second generation ofstudents, would run up to me duringrecess or after school, clutchingtheir notebooks and screeching,Mrs. FlorenI LOVE writing!

Writing is my passion and power,declares Adrian. Each day when

you come, I feel like a brand-newboy, scribbles Jay-Von. It was astarry fall night when she was born,Mainya-Laya, pens Mara. On theborder of Texas, stood a little house.There she lived. It was the begin-ning of a new cowgirl.

A new cowgirl, indeed. Its a verysmall time that I am with them,really. Such a small window of time.And it would be a very easy thing tonot claim the space as mine, the stu-dents as mine. But when I watchthose students beam over a poem,listen to them read a beginning thathits the mark, and feel their wordssweep at the soul, I know I am theirreal teacher.

The lines we lift each day show wis-

dom in these young writers. That,coupled with my own wisdom fromdealing with an ongoing, life-threat-ening disease makes me want tosqueeze the most out of everymoment, and that is what makes itreal.

Two years ago, I bought a new bas-ket. Its chunkier, but then, so am I.It has leather handles that are easi-er to grip, easier to hang on to whenglowing boys like Adrian and Jay-

Von run up to enlighten me abouhow they are becoming writers.

Most of us teachers have some sortof basketthose places close to ourheart where we weave the words,stash the ideas, let the languagechurn and burn. Some are back-packs, some are tote bags, some arecarts with wheels. Some are little

handheld devices where ourthumbs and forefingers tap outwords in a quiet room.

But in the end, we weavers know wehave something that is uniquelyours: A finished product of differentshapes and sizes that will reallynever be finished. And now that youknow itWhat will you do with yourbasket?

Dialogue, Winter 2007 5

MUSE BOXWriter and poet Mary Oliversays, When we have learnedhow to do something wellwesay it has become second natureto us. Many are the secondnatures that have taken up resi-dence inside us, from the way

Aunt Sally threads a needle to theway Uncle Elmer votes. It

demands, finally a thrust of ourown imaginationa force, a newideato make sure that we donot merely copy, but inherit, andproceed from what we havelearned.

Read your favorite passage froma book, then write it word for

word. Observe a masterfulteacher and attempt to implementa lesson plan/technique of hers in

your own classroom. Write likethe student who impresses youmost in the classroom then let

your hand imitate the prose of thestudent who struggles the most.

Reflect on how you can grow as ateacher and a writer through theact of imitation and, in your own

words, let us know.


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dents do when they write havebecome pretty messy. Some stu-

dents have been taught to adhere toa highly rigid sequence of brain-storming, freewriting, revising ofmultiple drafts, and peer andteacher editing. Others have beenexposed to a more individualizedexperience which may incorporateall or none of those features. As for

what goes on outside of class, stu-dents may go to peers, tutorial ser-

vices on campus, or sometimesfamily and friends for help.

But what is it that I actually do toincrease students self-sufficiency,particularly in the areas of criticalthinking and error monitoring?

What really helps students valuecontent and tend to mechanics,such as grammar and punctuation?

Coming up with an answer isnteasy. After all, language learnerscan only authentically producebased on what they can acquire.And what they can acquire, along

with other variables, hinges on

input and whatever stage they areat in their language acquisition. Allof these influences operate in adynamic, synergistic way, andspeakers have their individualtimeframes. Thus, it is impossibleto rush, short cut, or artificiallyaccelerate receptive or productiveskills.

Further, Im acutely aware of con-flicting expectations of multilinguallearners (whether too high or toolow or inappropriate), biases intesting and evaluation, crudelydesigned assessment tools or out-right systematic linguistic discrimi-nation. Particularly in K-12, assess-ment of language skills has left thepedagogical arena and spilled overinto the domains of identity, poli-tics, and ideology. This is part of my

personal experience. I grew up in amultilingual environment. People

in my home state, Hawaii, codeswitch as they move from onedialect or register to another. I grewup among many language modelsAnd like many of my students, I

worked and went to school fulltimeso I often didnt have time to reviseor ask people to read my papers as Imade my way through school orstandardized tests. I can under-stand, even if only in a limited waythe conflicts my students feel andthe predicaments they face.

Thus I advocate for more refinedmethods of assessment, but I alsofeel the urgency of time that my stu-dents feel as educators and politi-cians attempt to sort things outHere are some things I do now:

Anatomize the reading passageand prompt of the essays theyve

just read and written. I walk themthrough the passage to identifythe authors claims and possiblepositions to take in response tothe prompt.

Prepare myself to read theirpapers carefully and analytically.I read their papers closely forgaps in logic. Like a detective or afastidious psychoanalyst, I haveto trace the thoughts of the stu-dents, to find precisely wheretheir ideas begin to break down.This is time-consuming. My abil-ity to read and understand expos-itory passages well is key. Everypassage students read, I mustread with new eyes. Every claimboth the author and student

writer make I have to considerand test. The more the student

writer is struggling, the more dif-ficult it is to do this. It takes timeand effort to identify problems,construct solutions, and conveythem sensitively to students in

writing or in conferences.

Make a list of typical errors as Iread their papers, which ofteninclude misreading of the article,errors in logic, incorrect word

Over fourteen years ago I wasteaching at an intensive English

program at a program in Hawaii.The students were from affluentfamilies and came to the programto have fun for a few weeks and getsome exposure to academic coursesin English. On his writing place-ment test, a beginning level student

was able to produce just two orthree sentences, and at the end,gave an apology and wrote some-baby [sic] help me! He was clearly

joking about his desperation, so theraters and I shared a laughalthough we were also fairly surehe was unaware of his error. Thisstudent was in Hawaii to have funand learn a little Englishtheseplacement results and struggles

with English wouldnt affect his lifein any real way.

My multilingual college studentsarent in such a fortunate position,however. At this point in the game,they must often perform in high-stakes assessment tests and inclassroom assignments that require

fluency, accuracy, and reasonedthought. They do need somebabyto help them. Further, if they wantto exit from programs or levels atan accelerated pace, they are askedto exhibit certain minimum skills intheir writing. As the number of stu-dents lacking basic skills continuesto multiply, Ive been trying to think

about what I do in the classroom tohelp them and why.

Like most community collegeinstructors, I often struggle with thegaps that exist among writing theo-ries, their application and out-comes. Instructors are left toassume that students transfer whatthey learn through process writ-ing to pieces they produce aloneunder timed conditions. But defini-tions of process and what stu-

Strategies When Students Write AlonePianta, SDAWP 2006

As the number of students lacking basic skillscontinues to multiply, Ive been trying to think aboutwhat I do in the classroom to help them and why.


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choice, and misuse of grammati-cal structures. I debrief them firstas a class and then privately inconference. Teaching studentsabout common fallacies in logicdoesnt seem to stick, but seeingflaws in logic by other student

writers in response to the sameprompt helps: A picture is wortha thousand words. (Student

papers are always anonymousand never from students in cur-rent classes.)

Have them reflect in writing for

just 5 7 minutes just after anessay to see what they felt after

writing: What part was easy?What was difficult? What wouldyou do differently? Why? I askthem to bring reflections to thenext class for discussion.

Give frequent in-class essays with

varying levels of teacher input.During 2-hour practice essaysthey can ask me anything. Inother types of sessions, to repli-cate authentic protocols, they

write solo. Time expands for themwhen we do this regularly.

Encourage internal checklists tocheck the soundness of theirlogic. In class we go over E (evi-dence) tests. Whats the evi-dence? Is it truly evidence (andnot just an example)? Is there

enough of it? Who/where is itfrom? Is it relevant to my point? Isit consistent (not some out-in-left-field exception)? Is it appro-priate contextually? (e.g. beingteased by your brother is not onthe same scale as sanctioned torture as defined by the reading.)

Have students read and rate sam-ple student essays at the begin-ning of the semester using thedepartment/program rubric.Acting as readers, they see things

they dont notice as writers.Students also see there is a sys-tematic way of scoring papers.The hope is that they start to self-evaluate and feel a transfer ofauthority to themselves ratherthan feel they are merely at themercy of someone elses evalua-tion.

Regularly mark the text and doline-by-line analysis with them.This works well as a class, ingroups, partners, or alone. Once

they become more familiar withthis strategy, groups can be givenoverhead transparencies of thetext which they can annotate andthen share with the rest of theclass.

Use questions as a strategy tounderstand readings with whichthey feel no connection. Young,

multicultural, and/or disenfran-chised, they often cant relate tothe readings. This is a goldenopportunity to instill a strategy forglobal competencythat is, as a

world community, we are respon-sible to cultivate curiosity andinterest within ourselves aboutthings to which we may not relate.The very fact that it may not inter-est students makes it most useful

as a teaching tool to preparethem for college and universitylevel work. I have studentsexplore disconnection throughinquiryWhy is it boring?Whats in here thats the leastappealing and why do you thinkthat is? Rather than avoiding theproblem of disinterest by artifi-cially providing only high interestmaterial, its useful to acknowl-edge that much of their work incollege is expository and mayoften be unappealing initially.Thus they need to get better atbecoming interested. That in itselfis a strategy-based skill.

Bridge their interests by exposingthem to authentic popular publi-cations. Depending on the level, asubscription to magazines like

Newsweek can be effective. For$4.72 per student, the class canenjoy 8 weeks of enjoyable,

provocative reading in class. Ialso give prereading activities

with standard freewriting ques-tions like What do I know aboutthis topic? What do I need toknow? What do I want to know?

Provide grammar and editinginstruction directly related to thereading and the errors in thepapers they write. The debriefingsessions are perfect for doing this.

Spend more time with them tobreak down the prompt and vari-ations thereof. Students frequentlymisread the prompt or are baffledif the question has more than oneaspect to it.

Have students log grammar errorsand monitor the contexts in whichthey make them over the semes-

ter. Its not that the logs inspireradical change, but it increasesboth awareness and motivation toimprovewhich are useful when

writing alone or with others.

Ultimately, writers all have theirown internal processes when they

write. Strategies differ depending onthe task. When I write things for

work, I treat the piece as if it were

very hardyI can slice it, dice itand chop it. With creative work, Iam much more observant of the

wholeness of piece, so I am gentlerand more cautious about fundamen-tal changes. Revision tends to takeplace over a much longer period oftime. I like to let a piece set beforetrying to rework it. The spirit of cre-ative work seems more fragile andharder to recover if lost during revi-sion.

Students also have a myriad of waysto approach their writing. I try tooffer them different things to try andlots of writing time to experiment.

When I think about it, its sort of likea swimming classand they need tobe in the water a lot. I diagnose andoffer solutions, and they get back inthe pool. We debrief as a team orprivately.

The student about whom I beganthis essay probably spent his daysdrifting on his raft in a big resortpool. My students are in trickier

waters, but they regain their humoras their muscles get built up. Theyhead out, glancing back at me occa-sionally, in tandem or alone, movingout in long pulls or short quickstrokes, working steady, becomingmore assured.

...as a world community, we are responsible to

cultivate curiosity and interest within ourselvesabout things to which we may not relate.


8/16

oung

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WC

My EmbarrassmentBy Nathan Khuu4th Grade

Embarrassment is like

Getting eaten by a predator.

Embarrassment blushes

For help. Embarrassment

Is a flower about to die.Embarrassment smells

Worse than gasoline.

Embarrassment sounds

Worse than a giant

Playing with his set of

Drums with an amp.

Embarrassment tastes

Worse than medicineThat youre not

Supposed to bite,

But you bite it anyway.

Embarrassment feels

Hotter than the burning

Sun. This is my embarrassment.

Left OutBy Annie Xu4th Grade

All I am is a little sprout being

Left out, left out, left out.My elders such large plants,Treating me like a scrap of paper,Already whipped away in the wind.They spit out rude comments:Look how timid he is Too small to be a plant!Hes as helpless as an antwith a broken leg under a hammer!They laugh with the greatest of guile as they breathein the fresh sunlight, leaving no more for me.

I am so miserable, my ears too small to hear,my voice too small to speak.But my leaves shine green with happiness!Because even the gentlest rain will drip from the high leavesof my elders, and I will get to drink, the buzzing of the beesand the chirping of the hummingbirds cheer me up.One day I will grow up to be a beautiful plantand everyone will notice me.

I am a plant who chose to live.


The BirdBy Vineeth Murukuti5th Grade

Moving through the breezeFluttering by with the wind

A propitious bird flies by the meadow


9/16

I am a PrayerBy Jane Han5th Grade

I am a prayerI wonder whats within the heavensI hear angels whisper in my earsI see doves soaring in the skiesI want peace among the worldI am a prayer

I pretend the world is a piece of hopeI touch the warm spirits of the peopleI worry for those who are illI am a prayer

I understand the ways of the worldI say prayers with everyoneI dream for peace among countriesI try to learn to love allI hope for peace for everyone

I am a prayer

YWC 2006 ReflectionBy Alison Sternal, T.A. for 4th/5th grades

I am amazed by YWC every summer.

I wonder where all these great kids come from.

I hear pencils and notebooks constantly falling off desks

and clattering onto the floor.

I see flip-flops, Airwalks, sandals, Vans slip-ons, and Converse All-Stars

on feet that dont quite reach the ground when their owners sit in college desks.

I want to be a 5th grade teachera decision I made solely because of my

positive experiences at camp,interactions with wonderful kids, and exposure to enthusiastic teachers.

I pretend three weeks is a whole years worth of learning, exploring, and writing.


I feel so lucky that I stumbled onto YWC

as a 12-year-old wearing overalls and half of abest friends necklace,

and lucky that I never stumbled out of it.

I touch the Boulder Bear, the Snake Path,

the Silent Tree, and the Sun God.

I cry that Im not a carefree, cute 5th grader,

but a harried college student looking for an apartment.


I understand this camp is too unique for words,

which is why I have a hard time explaining it to people.I say, Of course you can read your poem to me,

whenever a camper eagerly asks.

I dream of having students like these

in my classes someday.

I try to imagine what these kids

will be like in a few years,

but give up because they are so awesome

as they are right now, in this moment.

I hope this is not my last summer here,

as my studies and the real world call me away.

I amazed by YWC every summer.


SketchBy Emily Senes7th Grade

You start with a scribble or even a line,

Your sketch will eventually turn out divine.

A pinch of color, a dash of black,

You know that you are on the right track.

Then you connect those scribbles and lines.

Start to form a picture in your mind.

A curve, a doodle, a square, or a star,

You can always sketch wherever you are.

Now just remember the dots and the shade.

All done; youre finished;

Your sketch has been made.

SpringBy Noemi Barragn4th Grade

Smells like fresh air through my nose.

Feels like green grass tickling my toes.Tastes like sweet honey from the bees.

Sounds like humming birdsflying in the trees.

Looks like colorful flowers in spring!


10/16


March and April were toughmonths for me. State testing is highstakes at my school, an uber-afflu-ent we-send-our-kids-to-the-Ivy-League kind of place. If enoughkids werent in the advancedband, then we might lose our stand-ing as the top public middle schoolin the county. Not to mention thatin California, all students at the sev-enth grade level take a writtenexam that affects student place-ment, school reputation, and sev-enth grade writing teacher tenure.At the same time, I was accepted

into a low residency MFA programin North Carolina, which meant I

would have to take a week off at thebeginning of May.

So before I left for North Carolinaand after the tension of testing was

just snaking away, I encouraged my7th grade student writers to honest-ly describe how they felt aboutreading poetry in a pre-assessmentthat asked them to read Ode toPablos Tennis Shoes by Gary Sotoand answer some questions about

it. The responses did not shock meafter being in a middle school class-room for four years.

Reading poetry, some said, is like:sitting in detention, stepping indog poo, or my sister ripping hairout of my head. Now, some of thekids had what I consider to be posi-tive reactions to reading poetry, butI wont focus on those students rightnow. I am looking at the majority ofmy writing students (honors andotherwise) who just flat out didnt

like to read poetry. And though Ididnt know why definitively yet, Iguessed either someone else hadbeen explaining it to them through-out their lives, or theyd nevermoved beyond Shel Silverstein andJack Prelutsky, or perhaps theydnever been given the tools foraccessing a poem and falling in love

with language.

So, considering that these arefiercely independent end-of-sev-

enth-grade students, I decided notto challenge their beliefs outright. I

wanted to approach things with asense of humor and a non-threaten-ing tone. I made a group poem ofall their responses and sharedit with them the next day. Welaughed. And thats it.

However a detectable discomfortsquirmed into my thoughts.

Why is poetry literatures last suit-case on the baggage carousel? Whyare so many educators fearful ofteaching their students how to reada poem? Why is the teaching ofpoetry so often relegated to April,during its month, which is somuch like the marginalization ofblack history to February that itsscary? Why do educators considerpoetry to be a useful unit after test-ing, after it really matters? Why isthe poetry section at Barnes and

Noble miniscule in comparison tocelebrity autobiographies, or cook-books, or travel guides, orgulpchick lit.? Why is writing poetryfun and reading it terrifying?

Why can successful novelists,essayists, and screenwriters make aliving out of their lifes calling,

while accomplished poets must

maintain real-world full-timejobs and hand out their chapbooksfor free?

With the myriad of negative mes-sages kids receive about poetryin school and in mainstreamAmerican culture, is it really any

wonder that students almost sticktheir tongues out at me when I pullout William Carlos Williams TheRed Wheelbarrow?

In Defense of Poetry

How to Not Tie It to the Chair

and Torture a Confession Out of It

Ali Wise, SDAWP 2006

Okay, Ill shoot you straightI amobsessed with poetry. I love theforms, the freedom, the rhythm, thesubtlety, the momentum, the com-pression. But, listen, I dont totallynerd out on kids. I dont start talk-ing about iambic tetrameter, or howthe enjambment of a line lendsitself to dada-ism. I dont do that. Idont want people to run away. If

anything, I want them to feelintrigued by poetry. Giving some-one access to poetry is an enormousgift. So, my challenge lies in moti-

vating educators and students tlike reading poetry, which conse-quently, makes the poems they

write more likable too.

One of the strongest responses I get when I talk about having a poetryjam or moving the unit closer to thebeginning of the year is: Its not inthe standards. Well, duh! We live

in a culture where being an adeptsocialite is more acceptable thanobtaining a Ph.D. in sociology. Ofcourse the standards makers leftpoetry out. Who even reads mod-ern poetry anymore? Who attendspoetry readings? Truth be told,America has a small, and fierce,poetry community. But it is an artform that is increasingly relegatedto the back of the bookstore, the

basement of a coffeehouse.

For three years, I taught at a schoolthat faced charterdom every yearbecause of poor performance onthe states standardized tests. Mycolleagues there were all aboutpoetry, with the exception ofone, who snarled during our

planning day: I dont do poetry.Luckily, she was outnumbered.

Because we planned the unit as ateam, picked engaging poems,and organized an end-of-unitpoetry jam, the kids were wildabout it. Failing students attend-ed after-school rehearsals to re-cite Langston Hughes voluntar-ily; English learners memorizedGwendolyn Brooks We Real Cool;even the kids who consistently

Truth be told, America has a small, and fierce,

poetry community. But it is an art form that isincreasingly relegated to the back of the bookstore, thebasement of a coffeehouse.


11/16


ditched school or ended most oftheir days in ISS (In SchoolSuspension) wrote poems fromtheir voices, their experiences,their place in the world. All kids

want to be heard. I wished I hadBEGUN the year with the unit, notended it!

At my current school, the polar

opposite in socioeconomic anddemographic terms, I have encoun-tered: We barely get to poetry at

the end of the year, and a lot oftimes, we just skip it. Its not in thestandards and the kids cant standit. Hmm. Because I was new, I fol-

lowed my directions like a straight"A" student. What was the last thingon the list? You guessed it. Hence,the happenstance of beginning apoetry unit after testing season, andright before the end of the year.

Gathering my ideas, the next morn-ing after the group poem, I drew aT-Chart on the white board for myseventh grade writers: Turn-onsand Turn-offs (a questionablepedagogical decision, for sure).There was a detectable pink ele-phant in the room. Why was theteacher writing about a turn on?On the white board? In class? All I

wanted was their attention. I had it.

Guys, Im gonna let you in onsomething. There are some thingsI really like about poetry, and thereare some things I really dont.

Stares. Some a teensy bit hostile,some curious.

You see, I love when I read a poemand it means something to me; but I

hate when I cant understand apoem, even after reading it a fewtimes.

Some stares still. Some noddingheads.

And I also really appreciate when apoet uses new and sometimes daz-zling words instead of the same old,same old. And thats why I dontreally enjoy clichs. I mean, I canteven imagine how many poems I

wrote about teardrops and rain-bows and unicorns until I reallyrealized that I didnt like to readpoems like that, so why would any-one want to read mine?

They were catching on. I showedthem some poems I like in a poetrypacket I created for themIntroduction to Poetry by Billy

Collins, I Never Said I wasntDifficult by Sara Holbrook, andMy Papas Waltz by Theodore

Roethke. I then asked them to flipthrough the packet themselves andfind poems they liked, or at least,could tolerate. I asked them to cre-

ate their own T-Charts of turn-onsand turn-offs when reading poetry.

When we shared out loud at the endof class in my second period class,one student said, One of my turn-ons is a short, easy-to-read poem,

and one of my turn-offs is any poemyou have to read more than once tounderstand. Almost every singlestudent nodded emphatically inagreement. Uh-oh. I was in hot

water.

You see, the conundrum wasshould I challenge that right thenand there, and tell them the bestpoems arent transparent upon firstreading? Or should I agree? Makeit easy. Make them feel like I wason their side. I opted for the easy

way out.

But I had big plans for them. I wanted them to fall in love withWhitman, Garcia Lorca, and NaomiShihab Nye. I wanted them torecite Langston Hughes Mother toSon, marvel at the weirdness of

Wallace Stevens Disillusionmentof Ten Oclock and imitate MayaAngelous Phenomenal Woman. I

wanted them to develop a style asunique to them as EmilyDickinsons was to her. I wanted to

save my students, one poem at atime.

I left for North Carolina the nextday with the nagging feeling that Ihad failed my students and poetryThe best poems have to be readmore than once. But you have to

want to read them again and againto appreciate language nuances

revolutionary ideas, and the scarci-ty of sentimentality. I had just givenmy students permission to crumpleup important poems because theymight seem too difficult. What kindof teacher does that? And didnt Itoo shrink away from poetry that

was too intellectualized, tremote, or too long?

Cue the poetry gods. During myfirst seminar at Queens Universityentitled: How to Read Like a

Writer, Cathy Smith-Bowers began

by reading a position piece she wasworking on for Southern Review, inwhich she describes getting in trou-ble for hanging out with boys at tooearly of an age. Her mother let herknow exactly what people wouldcall her behind her backa slut

Though Cathy didnt know whatthat meant at the time, she discov-ered later on that like good girlsthe best poems aint no sluts.They dont give it up easy.

Cathy went on to explain a simpleapproach she uses with her stu-dents to help them access goodpoetry:

1. Feeling2. Story3. Language4. Line

First of all, after reading a poemhow do you feel? Do you feel some-thing? If you dont feel anythingdont bother to read it again. What?Thats right. There are so manypoems in the universe, yourebound to find one that makes youfeel something on first reading.

Second, after you read it once, goback and read it again. Does it havea story? You should try to piece

Why was the teacher writing about a turn on?On the white board? In class?

All I wanted was their attention. I had it.

You see, the conundrum wasshould I challenge thatright then and there, and tell them the best poems

arent transparent upon first reading?


12/16


together a narrative within the textat this point. This helps you navi-gate the text on a literal level.

Read it again. This time, focus onthe language. What dazzling wordsdoes the poet use? What words orphrases speak to you? What tech-niques does the author use to createsurprise, emphasis, and/or tension?

For the fourth go-round, notice the way the poet had chosen to breakthe lines. What are the results of

certain words having emphasis?Notice punctuation here, or lack of.Discuss what affect it has on the

poem, or even the idea lurkinginside the poem.

Now, as Cathy says, the poem is apart of your DNA. You remember itlike you remember the smell of

your mommas hand lotion. It does-nt leave you. Wow. Did I have agift to bring back to my students.

In case youre wondering, I didntgo back and explicate the slut anal-ogy. These are seventh graders. Idid, however, address the discus-sion we had before I left.

Guys, I have to tell you. Its beeneating me up that since we lasttalked: you guys think its okay toread a poem only once. And if youhave to read it more than once, itsno good. I take full responsibility. Idid agree with Josh at that point,but now, I feel differently. I thinkthe best poems HAVE to be readmore than once.

An audible groan or two, but Iexpected that. We opened up ourpackets to Oranges, anotherpoem by Gary Soto. I purposelyselected this poem because it is richin language, somewhat difficult tounderstand on a first read, andmost importantly, its about a twelve

year-old boy taking his crush to thedrugstore for a date.

After reading I drew a four squareon the whiteboard and asked themto do the same in their writersnotebooks:

FEELING STORY

LANGUAGE LINE

I asked Josh to read the poem outloud for the class while we followedalong, or closed our eyes, or staredat something flat in the room. Joshis the classic class clown, and I wasexpecting him to ham it up, but sur-

prisingly, he didnt over-read it. Heread it so well in fact, with enoughbut not too much drama that thestudents felt something. It was pal-

pable in the room. When I askedthem to call out how they felt, I gotquiet, freezing, loving, and

confused. I purposely didnt sayanything. I just wrote down whatthey said to me.

Then I said, Well, I dont knowabout you, but Im a little confused,too. I dont know if the speakershoplifted the orange for this girl,or if the clerk let him only pay for it

with a nickel and an orange. Manyheads nodded in agreement. Letsread it again.

A normally shy Latina girl, Liliana, volunteered to read it aloudthe second time. An intense debate

ensued about whether or notthe speaker steals the orange. Wedidnt reach a definitive conclu-sion, and this again, was purpose-ful. I asked the students to writedown their own interpretation of

the story, regardless of what theperson sitting next to them wrote.

By the time I asked for a third read-er, over half of the class had alreadyraised their hands. These kids areso good, I thought. This is impor-tant. I sometimes go through myteaching day frustrated with Ceciliafor talking under her breath when Iask her to move seats, and impa-tient with Matt who forgot hishomework again; I dont often

thinkWow, these kids are so awe-some! I wish I had more time withthem! So to have an opportunity toappreciate them is really, well, cool.

I chose not to talk to the kids aboutmetaphors, similes, and repetitionat that point. My experiences withthese students had warned me to letthem discover those things natural-

ly. I had to believe they would. AndI had to suppress the Englishteacher in me. I just asked them toname the dazzling words and/orphrases from the poem. I wroteamid their shouting (a very new,uncomfortable thing for me): I wasmaking a fire in my hands, tieredlike bleachers, starting at the cor-ners of her mouth, frost crackingbeneath my steps.

Okay, guys, weve read this poemthree times. I feel closer to it now,

dont you? They were probablythinkingwhat the heck is she talk-ing about?

I want to read it one more timetogether. You might have noticedthat we havent looked at the waythe poet has arranged the words onthe page. For some kids, I thinkthis might have been the first timethey realized that poets makechoices about line length, thatpoems dont come out of the

writers head looking the way theydo in a book. They noticed shortskinny lines, and mostly four

word lines. And when I aske what this did for the poem, theycalled out: it makes you readfaster, and it makes me want to bethere.

Now, I have a confession. At thatpoint in the lesson, I did a dread-ful thing: I brought up the wordenjambment, which is a technicalFrench term describing the processof breaking a line in an unexpected

way, so that a thought or sentence isplaced on more than one line (e.g.Fog hanging like old/ coatsbetween the trees). I believed it

was a teachable moment, but in ret-rospect, I wish I had waited. Notthat they didnt take on the word,

Okay, guys, weve read this poem three times. I feelcloser to it now, dont you? They were probably

thinkingwhat the heck is she talking about?

Now, as Cathy says, the poem is a part of your DNA.You remember it like you remember the smell of

your mommas hand lotion.


13/16

13Dialogue, Winter 2007

everything after that was enjambthis, enjamb that, but I think it

would have been better had theydiscovered it on their own.

Hopefully, they owned Oranges. Iasked them to choose a poem fromthe packet, and using the sameprocess, own that poem. In this

way, I tricked them. That sounds

malicious, but if youre a middleschool teacher, you know its all inthe approach. My students werethinking critically without beingaware of it, and better yet, they

wanted to think deeply, have valida-tion for their observations, and

write about it.

Within two weeks, my studentscould: discuss any number ofpoems on an aesthetic level, writeinterpretive responses to poemsthat moved beyond personal con-

nections, and revise each othersoriginal poems using the four-stepmodel. They created a full-scale

workshopturning in batches ofpoems for class discussion, listen-ing intently to each others com-ments, begging me to make a liter-ary journal of their work. What

world was I living in?

Were these the same students? Hadthey been sneaking their insightfulminds behind my back this whole

year? Of course they had. I hadsubconsciously created that kind ofright-wrong-black-and-white cul-ture in my classroom because I

wanted to be in control. I was theone with the access. I was thesmartest one in the room. And

youd better recognize it, too. Imissed out on so much. And so hadthey.

How many students had I disap-pointed? How many students had a

voice that wasnt heard? How manystudents wanted to express an opin-ion but were too fearful of being

wrong? How many poems had Itied to the chair and tortured a con-fession out of, making my studentsstand by and witness? Pobrecita,poor poetry, indeed. I apologize to

youWalt Whitman, Josh Smith,Ezra Pound, Marceles Carter,Lauren Farmer, Robert Frost, PabloNeruda, Maria Cruz, and DeshawnDillardjust to name a few. Ill doeven better next year.

But its not just how to approach apoem, Ive realized. Its that poetrymust be prominent in a languagearts classroom, at any level, fromthe get-go. Poetry is short, for themost part. It is less intimidating inmany ways than an essay, or novel,or even a short story. Once kidslearn how to approach a poem, andthey are confident in owning it,

there is a momentum in their think-ingtheir ability to analyze a pieceof text begins to move, they want to

write reflective responses, theybuild their own community andencourage each others creativity,they try on the identity of a writer,and most importantly, they feel suc-cess.

Good poetry has a distinct voice, ishonest with the reader, incorpo-rates dazzling, surprising andsparse language, has been thought-

fully (often relentlessly) revised,parlays a narrative, and twists orcomes full circle at the end. By rec-ognizing good poetry, students canthen recognize quality writing. Andit translates to their writing.

Too often, poetry misses out on sit-ting shotgun. I agree with PaulJaneczko in his book Opening a

Dooron teaching poetry in the mid-dle school classroom when he says:

The more poetry we read, themore comfortable well be with it,and the more confident we will feelbringing in poems for students toshare. Together with them we canexplore the varieties of poetry, fromrhyming poems to free verse, fromclassic to contemporary. We are notgoing to like all of the poems weread. But, by reading many poems,

we will see all that poetry has tooffer. By reading many poems, we

will develop our sense of whatmakes a good poem, for ourselvesand for our students.

Poetry is the back door to criticalthinking. Like all art, it pushes thelimitations and expectations of itsaudience; it raises questions aboutthe everyday; it expands humanconnections and can drive the read-er, listener, or viewer deep withinoneself. For many students, poetryis a way into a world that might oth-erwise be closed.

This is WhyI Teach

Mayla Guth, SDAWP 2006

I cant

You can

Just find a quiet place

and listen to

your thoughts.

I cant

You can

Listen to the sounds you hearwhen you speak the word.

I cant

You can

Draw yourself a picture

and search for all the details.

I cant

You canThink of all your stronger choices

when writing down a verb.

I cant

You can

By remembering

your metaphors and similes,

they will have

a visual comparison.

I can

And as my student

reads his writing

I remember

This is why I teach.


14/16


(Interview, continued from p. 3)

to commit suicide than girls and are33% more likely to drop out of highschool. The enrollment of males incollege has decreased 14% in thelast 30 years. The statistics speakclearly to us. We are failing ourboys. The question that engagesour team is, What can we do differ-ently?

Our research is telling us that wecan make an impact, that we canengage boys in a different way. Firstof all, it is imperative for us to helpthem develop an emotional vocabu-lary so they use words and notaggression to solve problems. Next

year we plan to meet with boys sep-arately from the girls to address thisissue. Second, boys need to move.

We are planning lessons thatrely more on active participationand less on lecture. They will beinvolved with multimedia activitiesthat require set building and videotaping and editing programs. Third,boys need role models to guidethem. We are planning a mentorprogram that will bring male com-munity members into our rooms ona regular basis. They will addressnot only academic issues but social-emotional issues as well. Fourth, weplan to include boys as consultantsin solving their problems. We wantthem to understand what is trou-bling or angering them. We will atthe same time provide clear andconsistent but not harsh discipline.

Our journey has just begun, but with the help and support of ourprincipal and a key district adminis-trator, we hope to address the issuesoutlined and develop an action planthat will begin to turn the tide forour boys in our school.

Please talk about being named

Teacher of the Year.

I could say that teaching has savedmy life. Whenever Im asked what I

do for a living, I have always pro-claimed with great pride, I am ateacher. I believe that teaching isthe highest form of service. Thatbelief was unexpectedly challengedand ultimately reaffirmed becauseof my own personal life story.Seventeen years ago, my daughter,my only child, died of cancer at agefifteen. After her death, I really didnot know if I had the courage toreturn to teaching, to look into theeyes of children, without daily

mourning the loss of my own pre-cious child. But it was a conversa-tion I had with my daughter thatrequired me to at least try. Justbefore her death, she looked mestraight in the eye and said, Mom

you have to promise me that youwill return to teaching, that you willnever give it up! In that moment Idid not respond, but I knew that she

knew and understood that teaching was my passion, that without it I would be, A broken winged birdthat could not fly.

These last words come from aLangston Hughes poem that begins,Hold fast to dreams, for if dreamsdie, life is a broken-winged bird thatcannot fly. Hold fast to dreams for ifdreams go, life is a barren fieldfrozen with snow.

If you teach, your life has purposeevery day. No matter what you aregoing through, no matter how bad

your day or your life is going some-thing will happen during the daythat will make you smile or give youhope. It might be something as sim-ple as a child looking up at you andstating, You love children. Or itmight be as spine tingling as a stu-dent standing in front of the classand reading his elegy to his twinbrother who died at birth. It couldeven be something as precious as aSpanish-speaking child saying hisfirst word to you in English.

If you teach, you will accumulate atreasure chest of memories, letters,drawings, silly and strange lookingmementos that make you chuckleevery time you look at them. Butmost of all if you teach, your life willnever be a barren field frozen withsnow. For sure, there will be oneface among the many that will smileup at you, thaw out that snow andmelt your heart.

I returned to teaching and found

that I had to be present for my stu-dents. I had to set aside my grief inorder to meet their needs. I cannotsay that any of the childrens livesIve touched replaced the loss of mydaughter, but I can say that I havefound something to be grateful foreach day of my life. I could say thatteaching has saved my life, and it

would be the truth.

What are your hopes, plans, and

goals for the future, both in your

personal career and with your

students?

You know, after thirty years ofteaching, I think I really get it, Irecently said to a friend. I finallyunderstand the teaching and learn-ing process. I understand because Ihave been held accountable for myteaching. Through formal evalua-

tion, peer evaluation, self-reflectionand training, I evolved as a teacher.I want each and every teacher tolive up to the highest standards ofour profession. To accomplish thisgoal, teachers must first and fore-most reflect on their teaching prac-tices in a systematic way. Newteachers need ongoing training inthe basics of good teaching, meetingthe state standards, meeting thegoals and objectives set by their dis-tricts, and implementing thought-fully designed lessons. They needthe mentorship of veteran teachers,and clear feedback from adminis-trators that will show them how todevelop their skills. As teachersprogress in their careers, they mustreflect on their practices, developthe ability to ask hard questionsabout their teaching, and find theresources and support to answertheir questions and advance theirskills. Veteran teachers who havehoned their skills must continue togrow, expand their repertoire ofstrategies and tools, keep up withchanging times and be the mentors

who provide leadership to thyoung.

Just as we must differentiate cur-riculum for our students, so toomust we differentiate the account-ability process for teachers if we

want them to grow. At the heart ofgrowth is the understanding of theteaching process, knowledge ofgrade level standards, ability todesign effective lessons, a forum forexploring and examining teachingpractices, and the support of admin-

istrators to assist in that growthprocess. We must not only under-stand the goals and objectives of thegrade we teach, but we must beengaged in a continual dialogue

with our colleagues about the stan-dards below and beyond our owngrade levels, and we must commu-nicate those standards effectively tothe students we teach and theirparents.


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students will ultimately use both inacademic settings and personalcontexts. What opportunities do stu-dents have to use what you teachthem? How do you help studentsbecome aware of the usefulness of

what you teach them? How do youhelp students become aware of andarticulate their understandings ofwhat do I do when I do it? In other

words, how are your studentsbecoming more metacognitivelyaware of their use of literacy strate-gies? For submission guidelines

visit: www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/vm/write/110485.htm


DIALOGUE

Call forManuscripts

Spring 2007 Issue

Submission Deadline:

March 1, 2007

Relevance

Meeting standards, incorporat-ing technology, preparing chil-dren for college, careers, andthe "real world": how do youkeep curriculum relevant andmeaningful to you and yourstudents while striving to meet

often competing goals? Statestandards, your students'needs, district mandates,team/department approaches,latest research: how do yousift through all the informationcoming your way to determine

what's most relevant for you inyour classroom?

Write about what's relevant toyou and your students NOW.Give us an example of a lessonrelevant to your students and

their characters and needs.Discuss the issue of relevanceas it relates to how we educatechildren in the United States,our state, your school.

Dialoguewould like to receiveyour work or the work of yourstudents. Submit a story of stu-dent success, a strategy forimplementation, or a personalessay on your teaching experi-ence.

Send all manuscript submis-sions, suggestions, letters tothe editor and Project Notes to:

Dialogue UCSD/SDAWP9500 Gilman Drive, 0036La Jolla, CA 92093 - 0036

Email:[email protected]

[email protected]

PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES

American Cacophony: Languages,Literatures, and Censorship

Deadline: May 15, 2007

The United States is a noisy nation.We argue, we celebrate, we moder-ateall through language. For us, adisputatious society has been most-ly healthy for the growth of ademocracy. Since it was written, wehave attempted to define what thefreedom of speech clause in the Billof Rights means for us as a peopleand a society. This issue focusesattention on the multiple voiceshistoric and currentthat have

constructed and do construct ourconcept of America. We invite man-uscripts on a range of topics relatedto languages, literatures, and cen-sorship. In some districts, morethan one hundred languages arespoken. How do you design lan-guage instruction in such a con-text? What is important for nativeEnglish speakers to know aboutlanguage and how do you teachthem? What do you teach studentsabout American English dialects?How do we define/redefine through

literature? What texts do youinclude and for what reasons? In

what ways do you teach the worksand ideas of the under-ground ordissident voices in America? Whatroles does censorship play in textselection and teaching approaches?How have you addressed attemptsat censorship? For submissionguidelines visit: www.englishjour-nal.colostate.edu/infoforauthors.

English JournalNCTE

Voices from theMiddle

Explaining Change: Theories ofLearning and Literacy in Action


Why did this child succeed? Whydid this child fall behind? Whatdifference does a teacher make?How do I explain the energy andcommitment of my students whenthey get into their writing?Literacy educators grapple withdozens of such questions in theirclassrooms every day. Sometimes

we manage to slow down and askourselves what we mean by learn-ing. Other times we read newsreports about student success andfailure and become frustrated withlimited explanations of what itmeans to learn and change. In thisissue, we hope readers will discov-er explanations of learning that willbe useful for conversation with par-ents, community members, col-leagues, and students. We inviteauthors to describe and explainchange. What theories of learning

and concepts of literacy guide yourinterpretations? How have youmade these ideas about learning

your own and what seems elusiveor paradoxical? How can you illus-trate ideas about learning and liter-acy so children, parents,and com-munity members can also raisequestions and suggest alternateperspectives on learning and lan-guage arts education? For submis-sion guidelines visit: www.ncte.org/

pubs/journals/la/write/10.htm

Language ArtsNCTE

Making Connections: Are WeThere Yet?


The transferability and applicationof literacy strategies are at the heartof all learning. Day in and day outon the journey through school youteach many facts, concepts, and lit-eracy strategies that you hope your


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Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDSan Diego, CA

Permit No. 1909

San Diego Area Writing ProjectUniversity of California, San Diego9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0036La Jolla, CA 92093-0036

Calendar of Events

SAVE THE DATE"A Moment in Time"

San Diego Area Writing Project30th Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, March 3, 20072:00 - 5:00 p.m.

UCSD

2007 SDAWPSummer Institute

Attention SDAWP Fellows!Please consider nominating

a fellow teacher for our2007 Summer Institute.

For information,contact Kim Douillard [email protected]

Tentative dates:June 2 - July 20, 2007

Applications will be

available in January.

San Diego AreaWriting Project

Directors:Makeba Jones

[email protected] Douillard

[email protected]

Sam [email protected]

Associate Directors:Karen Wroblewski

[email protected] Mendez (Imperial Valley)

[email protected]

Young Writers ProgramsCoordinators:Sam Patterson

[email protected] Roy

[email protected] [email protected]

NWP Technology Liaison:John Adams

[email protected]

Program Representative:Carol Schrammel

To contact the SDAWP office,call (858) 534-2576

or email [email protected]

Visit our website at

http://create.ucsd.edu/sdawp

CATE ConferenceFertile Ground:

A Landscpre of Choices

February 8 - 11, 2007Fresno, CA

CATE Pre-Convention/CWP Strand

Thursday, February 8

PromisingPractices

Spring Conference

April 28, 2007Marina Village Resort

San Diego, CA8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

For information regarding ourprograms, please call the SDAWP

office at 858-534-2576,or visit our web site at

http://create.ucsd.edu/sdawp/current.htm

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dialogue winter 2007

Documents