Teachers Don't Write.
It was none other than your average Tuesday morning. Centers were cleaned, wiggles were out (thanks, GoNoodle), and my students were *patiently awaiting* to learn about self-editing their opinion writing (thanks, Lucy Calkins). As I was instructing the students that "writers are never done," I began to explain that when we write, it often takes longer than we expect because writers need to go back and review their work. Sounds great. And ready or not, we were headed to our Bubble Spaces to edit.
But then.
That's when it happened.
My stomach dropped.
Palms sweaty.
Replaying one of my last sentences, "When I write, it takes me a long time because I want to make sure it is exactly how I want it to be for my readers." It was then that one of my students shouted out, "But, Miss K.. you don't write!!!!"
Boom. Roasted.
*Cringe*
Before I continue, here's a quick snapshot of said student:
But then.
That's when it happened.
My stomach dropped.
Palms sweaty.
Replaying one of my last sentences, "When I write, it takes me a long time because I want to make sure it is exactly how I want it to be for my readers." It was then that one of my students shouted out, "But, Miss K.. you don't write!!!!"
Boom. Roasted.
*Cringe*
Before I continue, here's a quick snapshot of said student:
Sweet, little Jorge.
I stopped to reflect. I mean, he's right. Do my students ever see me write? Most of my writing is done in private. I reflect. I journal. I send emails. I'm writing everyday, but I suddenly realized I was being a poor model for my students. Not once had I thought about how to teach my students what writing looks like in the normalcy of every day life.
Students see their teacher as their guide. In most cases, teachers are the students' mentor. We're a mean to get ideas flowing in their brains. We make sure our students have all the components they need to be a "good writer." And in their eyes, teachers don't write. In my students eyes, I'm not a writer.
Teachers aren't writers.
To be honest, I personally did not enjoy writing until after college. Ironically, my love of writing and publishing was sparked when I no longer expected teachers to judge *cough, I mean grade* me on my ability to write a paragraph essay ; when I no longer had a due date. The writing I publish today are reflections; I express my thoughts. Writing allows me to process the scribble scrabble going on in this brain of mine.
When my sweet 6-year-old friend - so innocently - made that public announcement to the class, internally, I was a bit offended. I write two blogs (do I actively write in them as much as I wish? No.), I journal my prayers, devotionals and Bible Study. I publish my writing - both publicly and privately - to an audience. However, my audience is less important than my students. My students are in my front row, yet they are not experiencing Miss Kaczmarek as an authentic writer.
I began wondering: how can I set up my classroom and my daily schedule so that my writing can also be shared and celebrated with my front rowers? Right then and there I pulled up my blog AND my twitter account. On Twitter I showcase my students and their work every single day, yet they have never been able to access my humble brags about them. Today was the day.
As I scrolled through, my students began to realize that the handsome and beautiful people in those photos and video were, indeed, them. Their shining, proud faces beamed off the SmartBoard and I could just sense the humble pride they felt.
"THAT'S ME!"
"Miss K, that was Float a Boat Day!"
"Oh my goodness, there are so many of them!"
Taking a step back and looking at this scenario from their perspective, what washed over me was that I was celebrating them with my writing at a constant rate. My praise for them was all over social media and spread throughout my public audience. Each written caption from my Twitter was centralized around them. That sense of my writing was there. And they had no idea.
What did I learn from today?
I shouldn't simply write when I exit my classroom walls. I shouldn't simply write in the comfort of my home. My writing needs to be a sense of modeling for my students. But my objective for this is not just to show them that I, too, write. My objective is that I want my passion and exuberance for writing to be exemplified in my classroom, in the hopes that it will impact their love for writing.
But wait. I know what you're thinking.
Not all students will have this bubbling motivation to write...ever. But the fact that I am holding myself accountable - as their teacher - to love something in a way that allows me to express myself is what I strive to model for them. They deserve that.
I've been working to publish this post during our writing block over the past few days.
I stopped to reflect. I mean, he's right. Do my students ever see me write? Most of my writing is done in private. I reflect. I journal. I send emails. I'm writing everyday, but I suddenly realized I was being a poor model for my students. Not once had I thought about how to teach my students what writing looks like in the normalcy of every day life.
Students see their teacher as their guide. In most cases, teachers are the students' mentor. We're a mean to get ideas flowing in their brains. We make sure our students have all the components they need to be a "good writer." And in their eyes, teachers don't write. In my students eyes, I'm not a writer.
Teachers aren't writers.
To be honest, I personally did not enjoy writing until after college. Ironically, my love of writing and publishing was sparked when I no longer expected teachers to judge *cough, I mean grade* me on my ability to write a paragraph essay ; when I no longer had a due date. The writing I publish today are reflections; I express my thoughts. Writing allows me to process the scribble scrabble going on in this brain of mine.
When my sweet 6-year-old friend - so innocently - made that public announcement to the class, internally, I was a bit offended. I write two blogs (do I actively write in them as much as I wish? No.), I journal my prayers, devotionals and Bible Study. I publish my writing - both publicly and privately - to an audience. However, my audience is less important than my students. My students are in my front row, yet they are not experiencing Miss Kaczmarek as an authentic writer.
I began wondering: how can I set up my classroom and my daily schedule so that my writing can also be shared and celebrated with my front rowers? Right then and there I pulled up my blog AND my twitter account. On Twitter I showcase my students and their work every single day, yet they have never been able to access my humble brags about them. Today was the day.
As I scrolled through, my students began to realize that the handsome and beautiful people in those photos and video were, indeed, them. Their shining, proud faces beamed off the SmartBoard and I could just sense the humble pride they felt.
"THAT'S ME!"
"Miss K, that was Float a Boat Day!"
"Oh my goodness, there are so many of them!"
Taking a step back and looking at this scenario from their perspective, what washed over me was that I was celebrating them with my writing at a constant rate. My praise for them was all over social media and spread throughout my public audience. Each written caption from my Twitter was centralized around them. That sense of my writing was there. And they had no idea.
What did I learn from today?
I shouldn't simply write when I exit my classroom walls. I shouldn't simply write in the comfort of my home. My writing needs to be a sense of modeling for my students. But my objective for this is not just to show them that I, too, write. My objective is that I want my passion and exuberance for writing to be exemplified in my classroom, in the hopes that it will impact their love for writing.
But wait. I know what you're thinking.
Not all students will have this bubbling motivation to write...ever. But the fact that I am holding myself accountable - as their teacher - to love something in a way that allows me to express myself is what I strive to model for them. They deserve that.
I've been working to publish this post during our writing block over the past few days.
I wasn't expecting much reflection to come out of that self-editing lesson. Shame on me. But I am, however, very grateful for the unexpected curveball my little friend set out before me on the carpet.
Thanks for listening and growing with me.
It's share time, so I'm off to read this exact post to my Firsties.
xx
P.S. If you enjoyed this post and want to learn more about Teachers as Writers, take a look at my colleague's post here.