Thoughts on writing…

I am currently taking a class that focuses on the teaching and workshopping of writing in the classroom. Of course, there emphasis on technique, process, crafting, etc…..

Reading is foundational to good writing. Thinking on this, and hearing other writers in class, I wonder: Is it OK to write in the style of Hemingway or Sandra Cisneros?-short, concise, not possessing flowering language and extreme imagery. Yes, I think there can be such a thing as “extreme” imagery. Take a peek at the book, The Raw Shark Texts. Um, I’ll let you decide for yourself, but I couldn’t make it past the first chapter. I do, however, appreciate its inventiveness.

I have spent this past week reading Bonnie Friedman’s Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction, and Other Dilemmas in the Writer’s Life. Friedman paints some glorious images and dead-on metaphors for the ideas she tries to convey. I find myself stopping every couple of pages just to absorb the painted words. Wow! It’s nonfiction written in lush prose. Even though I find this writing stunning, I have no desire to write in this “elongated” fashion even though it creates an almost communal experience between the reader and the words on the page.

Is there anything wrong with “austere word choice” and “unvarnished descriptions”??? I guess it’s all about the little thing we writers call “voice,” when we all actually have many voices. And, no, we don’t need to find the voice because it’s been there all along…….. It’s just that when I’m in class w/ me peers and write, following a prompt, and then share in class. I either feel like my piece is much more sparse (and I like it that way); I feel pressured to create, or attempt to, a vividly detailed, lush, and clever metaphor. I feel like this is the expected norm in writing-for prose, anyway. Hmmm…..

Perhaps I am realizing that it’s Ok that my voice doesn’t necessarily sing in tune with others-kind of like the penguin in Happy Feet who is booted out because his voice isn’t what it supposed to be and he, therefore, finds a rhythm all of his own.

I warned you about ramblings, right??

Acrostic Poetry exercise

This is a one-hour lesson I completed with 9th-graders. We followed up on “The Raven” and poetic devices we had dicsussed previously. I then read a poem titled, “Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?” by Robert Koertge from the poetry 180 website. It’s theme is about writing and addresses the process of writing. I transitioned this poem and its writing discussion into an grammar exercise, noting that writing incorporates a purposeful choice of langauge for a variety of effects. Writing also incorporates basic grammatical elements,such as: gerunds, infinitives and adverbs (the class was in the middle of studying those parts of speech). So……I had them go on a word search in newspaper and mags to find phrases and words to cut out and create their own Acrostic poem around the word, “WRITER.” I also included examples of the kinds of acrostic poems I was looking for.

They had to include at least one gerund, infinitive and adverb in their poem.

Supplies needed:

glue, scissors, publications, constrution paper or other heavy duty paper on which to mount the poem on.

“Do you have any advice for those of us just starting out?”

Acrostic examples and activity handouts

Some Henry V discussion/writing resources

Some discussion and writing topics that can be used to coincide with the study of Shakespeare’s Henry V.

Henry V discussin/writing ideas

“The Raven”

Please feel free to use all of this, some of this, or even none of it. Maybe it will inspire you to create something.One 50-minute class period.It’s perfect for the Halloween season or a study on Poe and Gothic lit. I hand out the sheet about lit/poet terms and devices. Go over alliteration, assonance, etc. Explain that these are common techniques used by writers to create affect, tone, mood, etc…. Cover poetry basics however you see fit. Discuss Poe some, etc… (depends on where you are in a unit of study) I then pass out a copy of the poem, or have them read from a book. There are 18 stanzas, so most students can take a turn at reading a stanza. Then, I post the “Interactive Raven” from projector onto board and look for specific examples of alliteration, assonance and ryhyme. After going over the specific use of these devices and discussion of the poesm, I show them the Simpsons version of The Raven, a five-minute presentation. Finally, they have in-class or homework to draw or write a descriptive image of their interpretation of what Poe’s chamber looks like. Links and attachments: “The Interactive Raven” http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/start.html The Simpsons version of “The Raven”: http://en.sevenload.com/videos/SCR4nVh/The-Simpsons-The-Raven-engl Literary and Poetic devices The Raven poem

“In Medias Res”

Yes, you’re saying, “what the…?” Well, in literary terms, it’s a Latin word meaning “in the middle of things”-a story or plot that opens up in the middle of the action-like Milton’s Paradise Lost. However, mine is not a story of epic proportions.

I am half-way through Master’s teaching program here in Georgia and I think this blog will be a benefecial writing/expression forum in which I can take the opportunity to reflect, whine, inspire, share, whatever… thoughts about this teaching adventure I have embarked upon. It has taken some serious time, effort and coordination to get to this place-just months shy of graduating with a master’s in secondary english education and a signed teaching contract in my hand.

Earlier this week, I was so fortunate to find a similar blog on this site about a student-teacher who conveyed aspects of both her student teaching experiences and her preperation to start the 2007 school year as a new, first-year teacher. I believe it is called “The Curious Incident of the Teacher in the Classroom.” ( I love the play on the title of the fantastic novel). Anyway…I read through pages and pages of her (I am assuming a she, but just noted herself as gateacher) blog and found her to have insightful ideas, valuable lessons, incredible drive, and a knack for clear and engaging reflective writing. Needless to say, I connected with her journey, her stories and couldn’t wait to see the end-her success as a new teacher in her own classroom. (No, I didn’t cheat and read the end of her story first)

Yes, this woman did successfully obtain her teaching certificate and a teaching job at a high school-which remains nameless. Her excitement was obvious as she attended new teacher orientations and prepared for the openeing day. Lesson plans, ideas and goals for the year were posted. You can’t imagine how almost devastated I was to find her last post on Aug. 13, 2007, saying “The End.” This brave, motivated and obviously bright teacher QUIT! She made it one week. Talk about anti-climatic!!! The teaching profession lost one of their own-and what would have been a good one!

Her situation immediately had me look at my own views on teaching. Am I strong enough to handle it? Can I be there for the long-haul for my students?? So many questions……I’m merely picking up the page where gateacher left off. I’m interested to see what upcoming experiences will be. I know there are so many of you out there working as hard as I am to become an educator, or you’re thinking about doing it. Maybe someone can eventually find one good nugget of info. on here at some point.

I just took took the GACE content test today. Yes, parts of it were challenging, but most of it pertained to English teacher “stuff.” I should have my results in a month and am keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t have to re-take any portion of it! However, I do know some smart folks out there who, even with their best efforts, have had to re-take the GACE! Comforting news….somehow.

It’s been a long and mentally draining couple of days and am signing out now. I hope to keep this updated a couple times a month so that it really can be useful for something. By the way, there are a couple of upcoming job fairs for teachers in Georgia:

1. American Association for Employment in Education in Savannah, GA on Nov. 11, 2007.

2. Gwinnett County is hosting a job fair next weekend. There’s a score of listing on the Teach Georgia page.

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