Self Expression

I've been visiting a lot of schools this month, teaching, writing, speaking, listening, watching. It's been great.

Students always amaze me. Here I come - someone they don't even know. I offer them a few writing tools and ask that they think and organize and write and revise. And, they do, with great big smiles. If there's one thing my past thirteen years as a writing coach has taught me, it's that kids want to know how to express themselves.

Course, teachers and administrators have other concerns. It's not that they don't appreciate self-expression, they do. But they feel pressure - pressure from the state, from parents, from the media, from their neighboring schools to SCORE WELL ON THE TEST, in particular on the writing performance section of the test. So, quite often I'm asked to share tools that will help students write stronger persuasion, personal narrative or expository pieces. I'm less likely to be asked to write poetry or fictional story.

The good news is that ALL writing requires many of the same elements - focus, careful word choice, interesting leads and satisfying endings, as well as voice, show, don't tell, and thorough development of ideas and information (details). So, that's what I try to share with the students. Whether we're writing response to literature or a fictional story, we work on craft.

Being conscious of the craft of writing is the first step. Students sit spellbound when we share excerpts from published books. They readily pick out the phrases that "paint pictures in the reader's mind," show how a character feels, illustrate setting, or engage the reader. Then, the students are anxious to experiment. They
sit and think and weave words together to work their own writers' magic.

That's probably one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do. I provide a few tools and suggestions then stand by and watch students surprise themselves with their own writing. It's satisfying work and I'm lucky that it's my job.

At the end of each visit, I usually fantasize that at least one child, if not more, will continue to take risks with language - will experiment with form and style - and enjoy writing for a lifetime. I can only hope!