Saturday, March 6, 2010
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The Path Home
About Me
- Dr. Cook
- I am an Associate Professor of English and Secondary Education at Rhode Island College, where I am also the Director of the Rhode Island Writing Project.
I love two of the pieces of advice Ralph Fletcher gave. He said, "Give students a glow and a grow." As a tutor, I find a good part of the students' writing and then I give them suggestions for improvement; his way of putting it is more eloquent. He also said, "Start with a waterfall," which I think students will like to hear, other than write something that grabs the reader's attention. A waterfall is beautiful and exciting, and everything below it is what trickles down but still gets splashed with that life-giving water. My favorite session was the Writers' Cafe with everyone here! I will definitely put together a writers' cafe for my students, since the writing that's on the menu might be more appealing to them, as they get to choose the topic. Plus, it's fun to pretend you're in a cafe chatting with your friends; it's such a relaxed atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI had a really fun time at the conference yesterday. Thanks for posting the picture, Dr. Cook! So, I brought a lot away from the conference yesterday. I agree with Laura about all three points she brought up. I would have included all of them too; but, I will pick a few new things instead:
ReplyDelete1)I did get one really good thing out of the first session. That is the packet of poems we were given. I especially liked the poem, "Benevolence" by Tony Hogland.
2)The entire second session was awesome! I loved how we were able to see a "writer's cafe" through modeling. I love the idea of making it as real as possoble for the students and the notion of "if you feed them they will come!" I know this to be true about children in general. I love the idea of tricking them into doing work while they almost believe they are playing!
3)From Fletcher's keynote, besides for the nuggets Laura mentioned (which I also love) I liked the way he illustrated that as writers AND as teachers (editors) we have to allow for give and take. I loved his way of getting that point across by giving the example of the (hilarious) editor who was hell bent on factuality! I loved when he told us about testing out the line about reading by the moonlight with his Boston Globe "because you know she was going to check!" I can totally picture it! I would sooooo do that too. And, I'm with Ralph about the "solitary wolf." I know because I have one! And if he was in the wild, there is no way the pack would wait up for him with his old, arthritis-ridden shuffle! Good thing he has me!!
I hate going third because I feel like I'll just be repeating what you guys have said!
ReplyDelete1. Tracy - I LOVE "Benevolence" by Hoagland. Even though I feel like I didn’t really get that much out of the first session, I’m so happy I went just so that I could read and have a copy of that poem. I think it’s so beautiful and the last lines are so haunting and honest – I just love it.
2. I loved how Fletcher talked about how resistant kids can be to revision. I think the stress that teachers place on allowing revision in the classroom makes it seem like students LOVE it, but Fletcher brought back a lot of the feelings I remember sharing with my friends of, “why can’t she just grade this already? I’m sick of writing it over!” He talked about how ridiculous it sounds to expect students to appreciate revising their work when, most times, they are assigned a topic to write about and then are given a low mark or criticized about. I think it is just important to give kids a “glow and grow” (like Laura mentioned) in order to get them to actually want to revise.
3. I also loved Fletcher’s idea that in an effective writing classroom, there needs to be room for students to push back and disagree with the teacher’s ideas of their work or the teacher’s suggestions. I want to help students learn to feel confident enough in themselves and their ideas to question the world, so it would be hypocritical of me to expect students not to question the suggestions I make of their work or to stand up for something they have written that they really believe in.
Overall, it was such a great day! I’m so happy I got to experience a “writer’s café” because I know t is something I will use someday. I’m also so glad I got to meet Beth Wheeler before going to her classroom tomorrow because she’s really nice and welcoming and I know that meeting her yesterday will help ease some of my anxieties about going to the middle school.
My top three moments were:
ReplyDelete1. Ralph Fletcher's very first words to us: "I'm going to begin this morning by giving you a little love." LOVE IT.
2. Ralph Fletcher's very first point: that what was happening in Donovan and in Gaige on Saturday is a "story that doesn't get told enough in education." We hear about lazy teachers and angry teachers and teachers who are frustrated and burnt out. But, we don't hear about the teachers who come to RIC on a sunny Saturday to learn from each other, do we????
3. Ralph Fletcher's question and response: "What are the conditions that my editors give me and how can I give these same conditions to my students?"
a. My editors love my writing.
b. My editors are good readers and lovers of language.
c. My editors open the door to revision with suggestions.
SO AWESOME! I am so proud of all of you and was so happy to "represent" at the conference. Looking forward to tomorrow!
Ok...so now it's my turn and I will try not to repeat what you all have already said!
ReplyDeleteMy three favorite things about yesterday were:
1. Glow and grow (alright, so I am already copying on my first point!) but really, I love it! It's so similar to the "compliment sandwich"--which I can't think about without laughing because Stewie (the baby) in Family Guy gives one to Brian (the dog)... Seriously though, how often do we forget to tell kids about the AWESOMENESS that they've written and instead just focus on what needs to be revised, reworked, redone. I say give 'em a break and offer the glow and grow!
2. I also really liked the poem "Benevolence." I may not have gotten too much out of that whole poetry workshop, but that poem is so powerful and says so much even though it leaves so much unsaid as well. I read it through in advance and I literally gasped. It took the breath out of me...which in my mind is a sign of an excellent poem!
Also, Alice B. Fogel did say something that I liked (in the very beginning). She commented that it's ok to separate poetry--sometimes teaching/reading it for the testing, but other times it's ok to just read poetry simply for the say of reading poetry. She mentioned "poetry baskets," in which you would just have some poems and maybe read one a day or every other day and just leave it at that. I like that idea of simply relishing in poems for a moment and then moving on. Makes the whole notion of poetry in the classroom a little less overwhelming!
3. The writers' cafe! OMG is all I can say. I love it and I wanted to "play school" last night when I got home so I could practice how I would run my own in my classroom, but Matt said no.
Honestly, the writers' cafe is definitely something that I would use in my classroom (or before/after-school.) What a great way to get kids excited, involved, enthused.
By the way...I totally repeated what everyone else said...but I just couldn't help it! We have the same tastes!
ReplyDelete"I love it and I wanted to "play school" last night when I got home so I could practice how I would run my own in my classroom, but Matt said no."
ReplyDeleteHahaha, Jill - favorite person status.
Kathryn and Jill--You are cracking me up. "Go out like a lamb."
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry my top 3 are coming in late but here they are...
ReplyDelete1. I love his humor… Besides all of his great advice for revising, Ralph Fletcher proved to me that school can and should be fun. Adding humor relaxes the environment, allows the students to feel comfortable and on the same level, and shows kids that learning should be fun!
2. Poetry isn’t scary…Alice Fogel’s workshop may have seemed simple but I feel like her simplicity is what relaxed some of my fears towards poetry. She went back to the basics and focused our attention on reading poetry for pleasure which I believe is lost when poetry is brought into the classroom.
3. Students will write for food…The writers café is such a creative idea that I can not wait to use in my classroom. The writing prompts were simple and fun and the environment of the café seems appealing to students. I loved the menus and how the students had to select one prompt from each section, an appetizer, entre, and dessert. Looks like it will work great when introducing a new unit.