To be completely honest, I have been a coach in other ways and never really thought that I would label myself as a writing coach. Frankly, school forced me to evaluate how to become a better writing teacher rather than a better writer. Feedback, as I have come to know, isn't about what you think would be best for the piece, but rather how you might help the student find what they think would be best for their work.
I found this voice and ending in the Gorman "Earthrise" poetry that we looked at for today. There was spark in her words and her voice that only came from her. No teacher manifested their mind into hers, they helped her find that voice. I felt the same in the article I read for class today, "Y'all told me" by Haddix et Al. To be completely honest, as I feel like is the topic of todays blogpost, was that I did not expect to feel moved by the article at all. I thought that it was another assignment. Another pdf file, and another reading that I just had to somehow overcome before I could finally rest for spring break. LET ME TELL YOU I NEED A BREAK. This is just something more I had to do. But it wasn't that at all. The piece didn't feel like a have to, but a want to. One that I connected to on a soul level. I haven't felt that in a long time.
A lot of the time lately, school has been an island in the middle of the sea, one that I am swimming to desperately. But that sea? It has waves that are pulling me down, sinking me at my core. In essence, pandemic or just blues, I am not having fun. The piece showed me that this is how we can make our students feel about writing. It was a healthy turnaround really, one that showed the compassion and empathy about the similar situations. That is what we need to inspire as writing coaches. That is our role and our responsibility.
Even on the off days- Check this video out.
Ways to communicate- Okay, I love Rita Pierson, who is the champion that we all deserve to look up to.
Helping students find their voices is such a powerful tool in helping them become young writers and readers. It gives them opprotunities to feel proud of their work and not write through a lens of "perfection". I think, as future educators, that helping a student find their voice is much more important than slamming them with proper writing technique. If we can combine their voice in accademic papers, they'll be unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteI'm an "adult" and I still don't always feel like I've found my voice...
ReplyDeleteYour post hits on a really emotional level when you said "school has been an island in the middle of the sea, one that I am swimming to desperately. But that sea? It has waves that are pulling me down, sinking me at my core. In essence, pandemic or just blues, I am not having fun". I think a lot of us feel this way. Too many of us feel this way, to be honest. I struggle sometimes when I get stressed with school and no one around me, not my family, not my boyfriend, not my friends, value education in the way that I do. Its hard to stay afloat when people don't see the worth in swimming.
Alyssa. I may have shared this before, but I want you to realize what a strong voice you have in your writing. I can feel the creative struggle in your words as you play with the academic ideas we are reading about and breath your own life into them. I really look forward to reading and experiencing some of the poetry you write (perhaps) for your mini multimodal project and/or the final project. Honored to have your creative spirit in our class.
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