The New Class

Yesterday, the 2006 CSUWP Summer Institute met for the first of two pre-Institute sessions. I wasn't in attendance, but I am certain that the conversation was good, the work was intense, and the seeds were planted for a summer of amazing teachers coming together to share their experiences and to learn together.
Any chance someone who was there would be willing to share with us what the rest of us missed? I'm a bit out of the day to day loop of this summer institute -- but I know there are important stories to tell.
All CSUWP Teacher Consultants and current Summer Institute fellows are welcome to be authors on this blog and to publish CSUWP info here. If you'd like to contribute, please leave a comment or send an e-mail to: budtheteacher at gmail.com and I'll be happy to add you.
We're looking forward to your stories.

My Big Fat Poetry Weekend

Billy Collins was the keynote speaker at the Colorado Language Arts Society’s conference where Bud and I just presented a session on blogging with students. Collins's speech/reading was great (I heard him read last fall in Loveland and loved it then, too.) I got to ask him a few questions afterward, both at the luncheon and at the book signing. On top of that, our session went well and we had fun. I was happy.

But the Billy Collins story gets better. Ever so much better. Even better than the time I saw Tom Cruise at TCBY in Taluca Lake, California. Or the time I saw Paris Hilton at the California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills. Or the time I saw Paris Hilton in a Tampa, Florida mall. (I think she was stalking me.)

Last night at the gala reception, I walked into the room feeling quite sassy (our presentation had just gone very smoothly and we got two more invitations to present at other schools.) Much to my surprise, Billy Collins was having a drink at one of the tables; I figured he had left town shortly after the luncheon. I wished that I had the nerve to go up and ask him all my questions about publishing poetry. I must have said that out loud, because Bud looked at me and said, “What’s stopping you?”

Wow. Great question.

“What the hell,” I thought. Armed with a vodka tonic, the most grown-up drink I know, I walked over to his table.

“Hey, Megan,” he greeted me.

“Holy-shit-he-remembers-my-name!” I silently gasped, all the while maintaining a very relaxed, hip, outer affect. (The fact that we were all wearing huge name badges may factor in here, but I like to think he remembered me from the time our eyes met when I asked him a question during the keynote address, or perhaps afterward when we chatted intimately at the book signing.)

ANYway, Bud and I ended up hanging out, having drinks with him and talking about publishing and using Poetry 180 in the classroom. After a while, the perky conference chairwoman announced that the line dancing was beginning. Billy Collins looked at us and said, “Shall we?” Next thing I knew we were out on the dance floor doing the Boot Scootin’ Boogie.

I thought that was as good as it could possibly get.

But wait.

When I arrived at the conference this morning, I found that Bud had signed me up as one of only fifteen highly privileged people to take an impromptu master class with the Boot Scooter himself. During the class, I read aloud a piece I had just written, and he said it reminded him of Gertrude Stein. Me and Gertrude Stein in the same sentence. Thank you, Bud.

I can now die a happy woman.

I line danced with the poet laureate.

That beats Paris Hilton hands down, don’t you think?

Conferencing

It turns out that there are five or six CSUWP Teacher Consultants here at the Colorado Language Arts Society Regional Spring Conference in Colorado Springs. Renee Esposito will be presenting some of her work with writing circles tomorrow. Megan Freeman and I are presenting on blogging and podcasting this afternoon. Stay tuned for podcasts and summaries, as well as a few photographs.

Digital Paper

BAWP's got their online e-Zine up. Good stuff. There's even a piece from Jim Gray, the founder of BAWP and NWP who passed away in November.

Getting Published

Had a great first day with other NWP teachers from other parts of the country. We got right to work, though, in true Writing Project fashion -- and I expect I'll be quite tired by the end of the weekend.
Regular readers of this blog probably know that one of the major ideas behind the NWP is that the best teachers of writing are those that are writers themselves. This teacher writing takes a number of forms, this blog being my primary writing environment. Others write poetry, professional articles, keep journals, write fiction, etc. But one end goal of writing is getting that work read, or published. (I've been having some interesting conversations lately about whether or not publishing via blogs is really publishing. What do you think?)
Megan, one of the CSUWP's group of pretty amazing teacher consultants, has put together a really handy resource to help folks who are looking for places to publish. Here's a link to her three-page spreadsheet of literary journals that accept either poetry, or fiction, or both.
What other handy "Where do I get published?" resources do you know about?

Away from Home

I'm writing tonight from the Warwick Hotel in Denver, Colorado, where I am preparing to begin a three day National Writing Project event tomorrow. We'll be looking at information from other NWP sites and coding them to help get a fix on what's going on around the country. (At least, that's how I understand the process right now -- I'll understand it better tomorrow.) In the evenings in between work sessions, I'll be planning a conference presentation on blogging and checking in with a teacher that I am working with on a pen pal project with our students.
Busy weekend, but it's that good, "good things are happening in our classrooms, let's share them" type of busy. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope I can record some audio and pass along our conversations.
One note -- we'll probably be giving that conference presentation on blogging in a room without Internet access or computers. We're thinking that we might use sticky notes as a metaphor for blogging.
How many of you are conferencing in areas without reliable Internet access?


(Cross-posted @ Bud the Teacher)

A Virtual Writing Tour

Paul Allison, Tech Liaison for the NYCWP has posted the results of their recent walking and writing tour of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Check out what they're writing -- and what they're seeing when they do. I like how they've taken the pictures and the text and put them together in Flickr. Their work might make for a good set of writing prompts for you if you're feeling stuck.
Really. Go look and read already.

Update -- Here comes a deadline

From the national folks:

PREPARING FOR THE 2006 NWP ANNUAL MEETING IN NASHVILLE ––
We hope you plan to join us in Nashville for next year’s NWP Annual Meeting, November 16-18, 2006. Due to space limitations, there will not be a call for session proposals for the 2006 meeting. Please consider proposing a session for the 2006 NCTE Annual Convention and keep in mind that the deadline for submitting proposals online to NCTE is approaching quickly: JANUARY 17.
http://www.writingproject.org/cs/nwpp/print/nwp_e/166

I find it funny that NWP would plan a conference in a space where they can't accept proposals. Seems odd, doesn't it?

Holiday Writing Ideas

A couple of weeks ago, I submitted my final newspaper column for the time being. The newspaper is going to replace me with student writers, which is quite fine with me. I'm a writing teacher -- I love it when kids have something to say AND a place to say it. The local newspaper is a great forum for students. That said, though -- if you need a weekly newspaper columnist, let me know. I work cheap.
Anyway, here's the last piece. Hope you enjoy it.
_________________

When I was in high school, my father wrote me a letter out of the blue.

It was a short piece, a one-page note about the excitement of the “adventure” that I was on (I was on a church mission trip at the time, and was not told where we would be going or what we would be doing until we arrived.). My mother also wrote a letter, making for quite a special moment when I opened the “care package” from home.

I still have the letters in a box of treasures that I’ve kept from my childhood. I’ll always have them, because the words are permanent, forever there on the paper for me to read and reread whenever I need a reminder of that special time. I also keep a collection of the letters and cards my wife has written for me. They are in a special place where I can reach them whenever I want a reminder of special moments.

Writing is a way to make a mark on the world and on the people and issues that we care about. We write to share our experiences, our questions, and ourselves. At school, we teach students the conventions of writing so that they can communicate their thoughts, ideas, questions and experiences with whomever they choose to share them.

December being a month of gifts and giving, there is no better time to share your writing withthe people who are important to you. Here are a few prompts that you might use to complete a writing project for someone special this holiday. Sit down and try to get some writing done. You might choose a night as a family to sit down together and write presents for each other this year, or for family members in faraway places that can’t be with you. Remember to use all of your senses in your writing – each sense of taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight can bring something special and memorable to your essays, stories, letters and poems.

1. Write about how your family spends the holidays. Who or what makes that time together special? What unique family traditions do you have? Ask someone who knows how they might have gotten started and write down what they tell you.


2. Think about the places that you travel during this time of year. Who do you travel with? Where do you go? How do you get there? Have any crazy things happened during your travels?


3. In many families, holidays involve some pretty important shared meals. Write about a family meal that you remember as being exceptionally good or special or downright unusual. Was it the quality of the food? A special family dish or treat? Smells or tastes? Who was there to share the meal with you? What made it such a special or strange occasion?


4. Put all of the names of your family members into a hat. Ask each family member to draw one name. Write about the family member that you’ve picked. What makes them unique or special in your family? What would you like to tell them that you’ve never had the time to say or share? Is there a special memory that you have that you would like to get down on paper? Take an hour as a family to write about each other.

Whatever topic you choose to write about, make sure that you share your writing with your family. You can publish in a variety of ways:

• Send out the best family writing in a holiday letter or card.
• Box and wrap special pieces and give them as gifts.
• Post all the writing on a family website. Share the website with friends and family all over the world.
• Type up the good stuff, frame it, and hang it somewhere around the house where
  you will see it regularly.
• Set aside a corner of the fridge for your writing. Take turns being the “featured author” at home.

Take the time to write with your family. You will truly treasure the stories and experiences that you have to share with one another.

Bud Hunt is on the board of the Colorado State University Writing Project, teaches at Olde Columbine High School in Longmont, Colorado, and blogs at www.budtheteacher.com. Send e-mail to budtheteacher@gmail.com

NYTimes Editorial on Educational Practices in Japan

Interesting editorial in the New York Times today about Japanese teacher training programs. Here's a highlight:

The book has spawned growing interest in the Japanese teacher-development strategy in which teachers work cooperatively and intensively to improve their methods. This process, known as "lesson study," allows teachers to revise and refine lessons that are then shared with others, sometimes through video and sometimes at conventions. In addition to helping novices, this system builds a publicly accessible body of knowledge about what works in the classroom.

The lesson-study groups focus on refining methods that improve student understanding. In doing so, the groups go step by step, laying out successful strategies for teaching specific lessons. This reflects the Japanese view that successful teaching is the product of intensive teacher development and self-scrutiny.

Sound familiar? Here's my letter to the editor on the subject:

To The Editors:

In Why the United States Should Look to Japan for Better Schools, you lauded the Japanese practice of “lesson-study groups” in which teachers come together to share best practices, thereby promoting instructional mastery and student achievement.

While such practices may not be commonplace in American public schools or university education programs, they do occur in 189 locations around the U.S. every summer.

The National Writing Project (NWP) offers fellowships to teachers interested in improving their pedagogy, increasing their resources and expanding their professional networks. The month-long summer institutes focus on teacher research, writing, and the sharing of best practices through peer-to-peer teaching demonstrations. Following the institutes, teachers return to their own schools and districts to offer professional development to their colleagues. As stated on the NWP web site, the main purposes are “developing teacher knowledge and leadership in their home communities and putting this knowledge and leadership to work to improve student achievement”.

We don’t need to look to Japan for a model with which to revitalize American education; we need to recognize the successful models we already have and begin to integrate them into the mainstream of American teacher training.

Sincerely,

Megan Freeman
Fellow, Colorado State University Writing Project

Coverage Continues

Joey, a RUWP tech liaison, is also live-blogging the NWP Meeting. Here's his take on today's kick off sessions.

Poetry Idol?

Cool.

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The National Endowment for the Arts and the publisher of Poetry Magazine have organized a national poetry reading competition for high school students, with the winner receiving a $20,000 college scholarship.
“There’s a twofold importance in a program like this,” Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
“One half is education; students come into contact with great poetry and language and learn it by heart. There’s also an equal, and often overlooked practical importance. It will improve the student’s command of language, and will provide much needed training for speaking in public. A student speaking well will do better in the job market and better in life.”
The program, co-sponsored by the NEA and the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation, was officially announced Thursday in Pittsburgh at the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English.

(Cross posted at Bud the Teacher)

NWP National Meeting

While I'm not at the NWP National Meeting this year, I know that we're well represented. Several board members are present and some are even presenting.
I'm following the events via blogs like this one from folks who are posting as stuff happens. Thanks, Red Cedar WP and everyone else sharing info for those of us left behind.
I'm only mostly jealous.

A Loss

James Gray, the founder of the National Writing Project, has passed away. I never met the man, but he's been making a difference in my life, and the life of my students, for the last five years or more.
Well done, sir.

Teacher as Researcher Gathering

The Teacher as Researcher group will meet the 4th Friday of the month - that's Friday, October 28th. Everyone is invited to bring their current classroom questions and a few bucks for a drink to Starry Night Cafe at 3:45. It's a great chance to catch up and talk about our work. We'll be out of there by 5-ish, or move on to other nearby venues for more writing, talking, and relaxing. See you there!

New Student Blog

Hi everyone!

I started a blog with my poetry club at school. Check out The Wednesday Afternoon Poetry Club. The club consists of twelve girls in grades 9 and 10, and we meet twice a month as part of the school day. I thought the blog would be a way for us to get a lot more out of the group, and create an online writing community. In the three days we've been at it, they've already posted 15 poems, and commented on all of them, so I think it's working! I used the NWP e-anthology's bless-press-address format for soliciting comments, and that's working well, too.

It sure would be awesome if some other teacher started an online writing group at a different school...then students could visit each other's blog and share feedback...

Any takers?

Thank you, Billy Collins

Here's the poem inspired by Billy Collins's visit last week...

We'd Like to Thank The Ready-Mix Concrete Company

In the crowded auditorium
(with the professors
and the farmers
and the students
with tooled leather journals on their laps)
noticing the art nouveau flowers
on the recently renovated walls
I listen with appreciation
to the list of sponsors and donors
who made the event possible
and I look up in surprise at the last name mentioned

the company that created a foundation
on which to support the poet’s visit

who paved the way to bring him
to this former sugar beet town

who smoothed out the bumps
that rose along the way

and cemented the date in the minds
of all who were lucky enough
early enough
organized enough to get a ticket.

There is great hope for a civilization
where in a world of economic depressions
and wars
natural disasters
and famine
concrete companies bring
poets laureate
to stand on wooden platforms
in vintage theaters
to share their poetry
with the gathered people.

Thank you, Ready-Mix Concrete.

September 29th Coloradoan Article

Extra Helpings of Education (I forgot what the title was edited into)
By Greg Pierson

The other day I observed a woman ladling food onto her husband’s plate at the all-you-can-eat buffet. I was curious – obviously this man was perfectly capable of helping himself. I mean, why would you help a person with something they could do for themselves? And then the teacher in me kicked in. How can parents and teachers get students to quit playing victim and help themselves?
I do not want this to turn into an episode of Jerry McGwire where parents end up pleading, “Help me help you!” Humans are the only creatures that expect better results while continuing in the same cycles. We all play the victim at times. Sometimes we need a bit of help but don’t know where to turn. My goal is to help students and parents get extra help on schoolwork by knowing when, where and how to access information.
To begin with, extra help is not coming in one minute before class. Extra help is not time to suck up. It is not time for grade grubbing, whining, or any extreme measures (including violence, blackmail or forgery). Most of all, extra help is not punishment. After all, if a coach asked your child to stay after sports practice for a little one-on-one instruction would you balk?
Extra help is a time commitment, which shows effort from a student. Sometimes it is before school, sometimes at lunch, sometimes after school. Many times students can help themselves and they are not even aware. Even in this age of instant gratification getting extra help still takes a wee bit of time.
Attending classes is the main course in education; however, most teacher contracts’ allow them time before and after the school day. This is a brilliant time for students to get some individualized attention.
If personalized instruction isn’t what you have in mind, computer labs on campus are commonplace. Computers are in school for a reason (not Ebay) -- for students to complete schoolwork. Help yourselves. Knowing when a media center or computer lab opens is individual to schools. If your student needs to complete their work on a computer, perhaps a call to the main office is in your near future.
Lately, in discussions with my colleagues, I’ve learned how differently each teacher makes time and information available. For example, math teacher Eric Harding has set up his own website complete with daily notes scanned in from his overhead. Students can be self-sufficient and parents can keep things (due dates and study help) in check with a simple visit to the school homepage and a click on “staff websites.” On the other hand, Sheila Long, language arts teacher, has her students create their own plan for makeup work. This plan includes: work the student needs, when they need it, when and where the student will work on the assignment, and finally when the teacher can expect it. The more specific the plan is – the more successful the turn in rate.
Occasionally “when” and “where” are troublesome specifics of a meeting. My wife used a three-ring notebook for students to sign up for extra help. The binder was always available to students on a counter in her room. That way her students could make the call on “when” (day and time) to meet. The “where”(as with most teachers) was in her classroom and, with a quick signature, students knew they’d get her full attention for their own needs, questions, make up work or advisement.


Maya Angelou said, “Education helps one cease being intimidated by strange situations.” It never fails that in teaching kids to become responsible citizens we create intimidating situations. Information is the key to unlock that door whether it be a visit to the computer lab, a quick look at a teacher website, or an individualized conference. I am all for students being proactive in their education- many times all it takes is a nudge from mom and dad instead of a heaping spoonful on their plates. Encourage your kids to get the information they need on their own but be aware of staff websites. Students, the easiest way to find out what teachers expect is to ask. Just think of extra help as a second helping of mental nourishment that you can spoonfeed yourself.

Anybody see Billy?

Just curious- did anyone venture to Loveland to see our EX-poet laureate, Billy Collins? If so, I want a full report on my desk in the morning!

Teacher-Consultant is Also a Columnist

I'm pleased to report that Greg, a T-C in the 2005 class of CSUWP, had an excellent guest column published in today's Fort Collins Coloradoan. Hopefully, we can get him to reprint it here or on his blog. The piece, which you should all read, is about how students can get help at school when they need it. I intend to share it with my students over the next several days.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the paper doesn't post education columns online.