Dear Blog Readers
It seems amazing to me that our Summer Institute Writing Group has only been together for twenty days and so much has happened in that little bit of time. I have learned so much that I am not sure where to start. First I will say that I am learning so much from and about my fellows. It awes me that we have been together for so few days, yet it seems like I know them so well, like we have been friends for a long time. I have learned a lot from them too. I so enjoy when we share about our classrooms and what we do. It is both inspiring and motivating for me. The friendships developed through writing and sharing our writing has been the best part of SI for me. The SI experience has been amazing.
At the beginning of the project, I would have to describe myself as a “used-to-be” writer. You know, the person who used to write, who loved to write stories and journal. Looking back I can’t even remember when I stopped writing or even why I stopped writing. Writing is very personal to me and for some reason I think I quit so that no one could invade my personal thoughts by reading my thoughts. Now I can see what a mistake that was for me. For me, writing is better than therapy. I have made this statement over and over again since the beginning of the third week. (My apologies to those who are sick of hearing me say it).
I feel that my writing is growing. It feels wonderful to be writing again and to discover new things about myself and my writing. I have also discovered I can write poetry. Ha! Who knew! Not me, that’s for sure. I would like to develop my writing further. I want to be able to write good stories. I also want to keep journaling. I want a book of prompts that I can flip open and just pick one randomly and write. That would be so good for my mental health.
The SI experience has also been wonderful for my teaching practices. My fellows have shared so many interesting projects and teaching strategies! I am excited to incorporate them into my Science classroom. Writing has always been an area I have avoided focusing on in Science. I was concerned about the time it would take to grade written work. My attitude about writing has changed drastically. I always dreaded teaching writing, even though I loved to write. Now I can see that the benefits of including writing in my teaching far outweigh those benefits of excluding it.
The following pieces of writing that I have included in my e-Portfolio are reflective of my SI writing experience. Below you will find a description of each piece and why I included it in my e-Portfolio.
II. Personal Writing
- “Gizmo’s Poem”—is a sixteen line noun poem that I wrote during Lorie’s demo presentation about Therapy Dogs. I picked this poem because the event it describes is a current event in my life and is reflective of my personal life.
- Ethnography for June 22—is a play-by-play summary of one day as an SI observer.
III. Professional Writing
- Advice for Beginning Teachers, 13 Rules for New Teachers—is a short professional article that offers survival advice to new teachers.
- Building Bridges Demo Documents—is a collection of the documents about my demo presentation on building bridges between science and writing curriculums using projects.
IV. Deep Revision Piece
- Gizmo’s Story—is a short story that goes into greater detail than Gizmo’s poem. The same story, a different genre. I chose this piece to deeply revise because it is a unique, funny story that is true. It will be a part of our family history; something our kids will never forget happening.
V. Less Formal Writing
- Chapter 1, The Read/Write Web—is a reflection of my reading of Chapter 1.
- Digital Story Telling—is the July 2 exit slip reflecting on my thoughts on our experience using digital story telling.
- Blogging & the e-Portfolio—is the July 7 exit slip reflecting my thoughts on my experiences using my blog and creating my e-Portfolio.
- Eulogy to My Math Teacher—is a poem I wrote to my junior high math teacher during JD’s demo on Math anxieties.
- I Am What I Am—is a poem I wrote about myself as a teacher, mother, wife, or any other role that I play.
- Where Am I Going?—is a funny, crazy poem about my life as a mom taxi cab driver.
- What I Am Leaving Behind—is a short narrative reflecting my motivation for joining the SI Writing Project.
- When I Changed My Mind—is a short, narrative piece about a change that occurred in my life as a teacher.
This SI Writing program has been a positive and rewarding experience for me, both professionally and personally. I feel that I have grown as a teacher, a writer, and a person from the interactions I experienced with my fellows. I want to continue writing when SI ends. I love writing and I am so glad that I discovered that again; but I love my fellows more.
Beth Wireman
