“It’s not that we’ve chosen the wrong career path, it’s that we’ve chosen the wrong leaders.”

In other words, another criticism of the school monopoly.

If vouchers and charter schools were part of the mix, you’d have many different leaders to work for. Everyone would find the setting that suits them best. Teachers teaching where they believe they can do their best work will prove itself through the success of students.

Meanwhile, the NYC school-system monolith lives on.

In 1986 I was introduced to the Writing Workshop at Teachers College Columbia. I have continued to attend the workshops because they are absolutely brilliant. I am indebted to Lucy Caulkins because each year new authors emerge from the classroom. The kids are on the move because they are making Reading/Writing connections, daily. They are also immersed in the best literature possible (which Lucy Caulkins advocates).

The voices of our students need to be heard. Therefore, in an effort to provide an audience for our writers, beyond the perimeters of the classroom, the writers compete in contests throughout the nation..and win. They also submit their pieces of literature to periodicals. And finally, webpages are created to celebrate their efforts and accomplishments.

Our students are ready for any challenge. They are perfecting their craft in the classroom each day. Then, like artists using words as a tool, they have created moods, captured fleeting images, and provided the rhythm only they know,in a variety of genres, to make their picture complete.

Each year we look forward to the awakening of new writers who will be published at a very young age. Their work has been validated again and again. They are writing to be read as they place their words and life on the line. And in the process they have reinvented themselves. And we can only say, “Write on!” The process works!

As for Columbia–I have been using the Writing Process well before I ever heard of Lucy Caulkins. I am a strong believer of children editing and revising their own work. I have stopped correcting pieces the way I did in the past. (All they really did was recopy the corrected work.) I do not know if this process works well in JHS or HS. The element I like best in Reading Workshop is when students write down what is confusing about their reading. Many times we take for granted that what we assign is easy to comprehend (until we give them an assessment).

Amen!

Everything Old Is New Again