Winding Down

The past 4 weeks (4 months for the staff) has been like driving towards the horizon. And finally, though it always remains at a distance, we seem to getting closer to the end of our time together.

Although we still have a few days left, our trip to Tamasag tomorrow is the beginning of the end in my mind. The time off will be nice when July 7 elapses but the time we've been here has been amazing.

Wednesday felt like a day of "things we NEED to know". From Elsa teaching us about writing in the ELA classroom, which offered more lessons on the ELA population than many of us have learned in years, to Nancy's demo on "How to Change the World" from a kid's perspective, not exactly a light subject but one that does inspire. There is little doubt that both of these amazing teachers do just that everyday.

And lastly... of all of the amazing author's chairs this year, and they have been powerful, profound, and escapist, Donna's struck the biggest cord with me personally. It is a piece (a book hopefully... one day) that NEEDS to be published, NEEDS to be read... by everyone. It will change many. It already has...

Something to think about...

Did anyone see the news today, about a new website called Teacherspayteachers.com? You can join for an annual fee of $29.95, and sell your units and lessons to other teachers, or buy from your colleagues around the world. This web-store has just been "opened" by a 33-year-old former teacher. It raises some really controversial issues, and calls into question the type of sharing of demo strategies that we do for free during the SI and in the rest of our professional lives. Should we sell our stuff? Isn't that what consultants do? Aren't we worth the money, too? Or do we have an ethical obligation to share? I just love talking about these issues with anyone who's interested, so post a comment here if you have one.

By the way, I'm so proud to be a part of CSUWP again this summer - what a great community - a talented group of positive, motivated people - and awesome writers, too. I shed tears over author's chair every day. Being around all of you makes me feel so good about our profession. Thanks for that attitude adjustment-
Megan

Thank You

I feel a little guilty that I haven't posted more, the first one coming the first week of the institute, but my laptop has been in Texas getting fixed, so I have an excuse, be it marginal.

Author's chair: something everyone in the institute looks forward to each day, except for one day, the day they have to read. I love it for the standpoint that as an adult, I love being read to, but also because there are some amazing teachers here who are amazing writers. Some have been so funny, that my face and stomach hurt from laughing, laughing so hard I was crying. And some, have been so beautiful, so rich in emotion and human experience that I could feel the corners of my mouth being pulled down, one of the signs I'm going to cry, as tears leak onto my cheeks. It's scary for the writer, but such an amazing experience for the audience to be present for shared life experiences.

I feel so blessed to be in the presence of so many gifted teachers and writers, so many wonderful people who make the world a better place by who they are and all the lives they touch. Every day I learn so much, I laugh a lot, and occasionally, am brought to tears by the gifts people give to an audience of careful listeners.

Week Number 3

The third week has begun... from "nervous" Donna (though she showed absolutely no signs of it and her demo was killer) to possibly the best SI Feedback session I've witnessed, it was an amazing beginning of our last full week. This group has finished the honeymoon but yet still seem to respect and love each other just as much as they did the first week, maybe more now that they've spoken to improvements that they wish to see from each other. I'm more impressed everyday.

A few busy days ahead and then... ahhhh... Tamasag.

East Coast Update

I'm here on the east coast of South Carolina living vicariously through the blog. Ani discovered the ocean yesterday. I hope everyone at the CSUWP is having wonderful discoveries, too. Thanks, y'all, for the updates.

I hope week three finds everyone well -- and that good work is still getting done. For the benefit of our podcast subscribers, who can only receive automatically one mp3 per blog post, here's another link to Kyla's great podcast. Forgive the reposting, but our subscribers will be grateful.

Finally... Podcasts

I finally was able to get over my computer troubles and get the podcasts up and running.
So here are the only ones I have so far... A re-recording of Colleen's Suess Tribute and Kyla's childhood view of her grandmother's house. Both are fantastic.

The Education of Bertrand the Zirk by Colleen S.
My Grandmother Has Two Houses by Kyla C.

Or... Click HERE to get a stream of any and all of the podasts.

Now... if we could only get others to join...

Colorado State University Writing Project

Summer Workshop Success

Well the first of our "Summer Writing Workshops" (aka Open Institutes) is almost over. This has been a fantastic week. I knew we were going to rock the first day when we started piggy backing. Since then we have had all the typical writing project "quirks" - Laughter, clicking on a laptop, tears and food! The week has been so much fun, and we have some great people in the group. Including our own young writer, Bethany. She's going into fourth grade and has been writing and sharing on all of our prompts with us. We think she's ready for Summer Institute right now. She's sure teaching us a lot.

I hope next week's workshop goes as well as this week. I am really looking forward to it.

A big thanks to Cam for helping me out the first day. You were quite the success. Your 6 pack is coming soon. :) Although you did somehow manage to break the electricity in the room. The front outlets haven't worked since you finished presenting on Monday!

Halfway Home

Tomorrow at lunch, we will hit the midpoint of this year's summer institute. Time flies...

Another day of Double Demos, but this group has adjusted extremely well. There is an air of collaboration and respect in the room that always builds over the four weeks. But this year, I am especially impressed. Although the CSUWP fellows have always been amazing, the excellence of this year's demos are a notch above. Though they are still pushing for constructive criticism, this year's participants haven't quite realized how well they are doing so far. Nine demos down and not one weak one in the bunch... not even close. The entire staff has been awed by this year's batch. So far so good.

In addition, I learned today that E. Jason has commemorated the Fort Collins Flood of '97 and everyone in town should hear his rendition. In addition, I learned that I will one day be reading Lindsey's children's book to my Mathphobic kids. Fantastic author's chairs.

This "class" is already quite accomplished... they just keep adding to their repetoire.

The Death of Richard Cory

I'm always very interested in the writing that comes from the demo, but rarely am I inspired to write as much as I was today in Colleen C.'s demo on Rhetorical Analysis. Using "Richard Cory" by Arlington, Colleen had us rewrite from different point of views, analyse from a historical, literal, and/or an emotional perspective, and go to depths of poetry using personal responses. And all I wanted to do the whole time was write. Fantastic demo.

Double Demo Day

Although I think the fellows were a bit concerned, the first of the "Double Demo Days" has come and gone... very well.

Natalie and Jackie both did amazing jobs of demonstrating constructivist, student-centered, interactive activities that kept everyone engaged. The teaching of personal writing in the form of "gift" poetry and the link between the past and present as part of a high school histroy classroom were both extremely powerful lessons that any grade level or content area can use. Thank you both.

The demos continue to be engaging, amazing, and inspiring.

Week Number One, Intense and Done

Well, the first week is over... and how did it fly...
A wonderful, emotional, intense week of hard work and reflection.

Every year's SI has an aura to it... this year is no different.

They are...
cautious but willing;
Youthful and wise;
Energetic and patient;
Challenging yet supportive.
They are Boisterous in plain clothes.

A bundle of contradictions.
But that's what makes them so special,
They are many things, all things.

They are coming into their own as a class of Fellows
and there is little doubt that they will do great things.
Just keep watching...

Podcast Numero Uno

Colleen S. has graciously graced us with the first podcast of the season, and it is a jolly one. Reminiscent of Dr. Seuss, she reads an amazing poem that belongs on every teachers wall (no matter the age level) in poster form. Check it out.

The Education of Bertrand the Zirk by Colleen S.

Nonreturning Ulcers

I was talking with a new CSUWP fellow the other eve
when my stomach felt like a sieve.
She sounded excited, nervous, tense
My intestines were getting dense.
She told me of all the had to do
(Think of something intestinal that rhymes with "do"- I'm not going to sink to that level).
I missed the WP jumping in
the brass knuckles, piggybacks, and gin.
Then I thought of something that made me mellow
I remembered I was STILL a fellow.
Although I can't promise I'll be consistent
I do promise to NOT be distant.
So may good things come your way
and I'll close with Namaste'.

I wish fortitude to all the new fellows - Greg Pierson

Daily 1/2 Dose

This is where I usually semi-recap the day for those that follow us from afar (or at least for Bud), but its nice to see that other members are starting to speak for all of us. Kyla has been praised, Colleen is pumped, Liz and Tami are wondering what to do with their heads and I already said what I thought of Lindsey and her stage performance this morning... so nothing else needs to be said. Good work people.

Get used to it, you all will hear it a lot if you continue at this pace.

Also... first podcast should be up soon... Thanks Colleen (Stan).

Two, two, two days for the price of one

Good evening all! I swear I come home every night with this strange sensation of being exhaustingly overwhelmed from the ideas and writing that I have been exposed to, countered with this reverance and awe that I get to be a part of this institute. I can't believe that we are not even through our first week together because I already know so many of you on a deep level, but the inquiry and focus makes every day feel like more than 7 hours. Thanks for pushing me as a writer, an educator, and a human! Get ready for an interactive daily log tomorrow!

Get your Fix...

All WP fellows...

I talked about this really cool website in SI today, Writingfix.com. Great place for random prompts, ideas for left- and right-brainers, interactive writing activities, and tons of ideas for cross-curricular writing and assessment. Check it out.

Lindsey's Promise

Promising young teacher, Lindsey C., again showed me why I need to listen elementary teachers as much as my high school colleagues. She amazingly displayed how first-person experience for kids (of all ages) will improve their writing. Sounds obvious, but the research, personal classroom data, really cool student voice and work made her argument extremely convincing. Great Inquiry-based Demo... wonderful example. If your curious about sources, ideas, etc., she is more than willing to pass her knowledge on.

Taking, and Sharing, Pictures

I've had some folks ask me about how they can share pictures they take during the Summer Institute. The answer, it turns out, is very simple. All you need to do is to host your photos via Flickr, a free photo hosting site. Once you've gotten your photos online via Flickr, you've got two options for sharing them with everyone. The first, and easiest, is to tag each photo you take with the tag "csuwp". I know, very creative, huh?
Once your photos are tagged, then you'll automatically see them in the badge on the right side of the blog main page. Click on them to see them in full size.
Also, once your photos are in Flickr and you're registered as a blogger on this blog, you can click the "blog this" tab above your individual photos from Flickr. Then, you can write a blog post and put a particular picture right into the post, as I did with the "Trouble" post below.
This stuff, once you get the hang of it, is all really quite easy. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures.

3 days down, the rest of our lives to go

Now that demos have begun (Tami was everything I expected -- again, creative and inappropriate thinkers, assume what you will), the WP takes on a new life. Every year, the first 2 days are full of awkward fumbling and cautious testing of the surroundings, kind of like a newborn, or 2 teenagers in the backseat of a car. Now that the 3rd day has passed, we are hitting our stride. We are becoming a family, with all of the goods and bads that come with it. Words are being heard, voices are being renewed, and kids, in the end, will be affected.

We had a little bit of home cookin' from Trudy, a dose of lesson learnin' from Tami, and hopefully there will be a lot of story publishin' for Colleen (or Stan if you prefer) in the future. Her first reading is poster-ready, a fitting partner piece to "Everything I need to know, I learned in Kindergarten". Her second was again, a great example of hilarious reality, of the Jackie Sp8 mold.

Another fantastic day focused on writing and sharing. Soon, the demos pick up and, although all else remains, the pace changes. Put your head up and arms out and get ready for liftoff.

hearty pat on the back

Thanks to Tami for getting us off to a roaring start with her demo this morning. She got me thinking about my practice as a writing teacher so I eagerly awaiting each new idea: Linds tomorrow and the next one and the next after that. Also thanks to all for fostering such a positive environment where we can take risks and share pieces we may not have shared in other circumstances.