On November 5th, 2011 the NVWP hosted its first annual Fall Renewal. This year’s renewal leader was Sheridan Blau, Director Emeritus of the South Coast Writing Project in Santa Barbara, and Distinguished Senior Lecturer in English Education at the famed Teachers College in New York City. Below are four reflections from NVWP TCs Kim Overholt, Robin Frost, Audrey Benson, and Laura Tornello on the experience.
Fall Renewal Reflection
By Laura Tornello, NVWP TC
Sheridan Blau
At the beginning of November, I felt trapped on a conveyer belt of obligations. It was the end of 1st quarter, so everyone was in a grading frenzy, and I had somehow become “that English teacher” that carries a stack of papers and a purple pen everywhere; I was even halfway tempted to grade at red lights along route 50 while I sat in traffic on the way home from work. I was trying to juggle work with a massive research project for grad school, and for several weeks, my “break” from grading was working on an annotated bibliography and coding interview notes. Most abstractly, I was feeling pretty discouraged- I didn’t feel respected at work, my planning time was being steadily carved away, and I felt beaten down by the surging tide of standardization and alignment. And then, abruptly, the date I had circled and starred on my calendar came upon me.
NVWP TCs sharing
The NVWP Fall Renewal reminded me why I keep fighting everyday. It gave me tools to take into my classroom right away. I had read Sheridan Blau’s The Literature Workshop for my grad class last spring and loved it; however, listening to him speak and actually participating in two workshops was such a powerful experience. Two other NVWP teachers from my school also attended the renewal, and all three of us used Blau’s strategies in our classrooms in different ways the very next week. We had excited discussions in the workroom over the steady hum of the copier: “I’m doing ‘pointing’ today!’ and ‘I can’t wait to do “Nineteen’ in AP Lit!’ The renewal also reinforced for me the writing project’s strong sense of community; it was inspiring to see so many other TCs from our 2010 summer, as well as other sessions. Hearing other people talk about having similar struggles made me feel much less isolated, and hearing their triumphs and successes reminded me that there is a whole network of other teachers who also believe in the power of writing and are not willing to let the many obstacles we face on a daily basis prevent us from giving students relevant and meaningful learning experiences.
Mason Pond
As I walked past Mason Pond on my way back to my car, I knew that there were so many things looming over me- both figuratively and literally (a stack of essays nearly two inches high was sitting on the dashboard of my car, as if I expected a mid-afternoon traffic jam on Braddock.) I knew that I could have checked so many tasks off of my to-do list instead of coming to the renewal, but it simply was not something I was willing to sacrifice. The Writing Project is not another obligation. It is an escape from that seemingly never-ending conveyer belt. (That breadcrumb was for you, Jim!)
Exactly What I Need
By Robin Frost, NVWP TC
"It didn't take long for the laughter to start."
There’s a certain “feel” to NVWP events; a kind of jovial warmth found no other place. We T.C.s are a happy lot, brimming with creativity and expectations. The morning of the Renewal was breathtaking and Mason’s beautiful campus was bathed in fall colors. The bright yellow signs lead a clear path to the conference room where we welcomed one another with hugs and smiles. It didn’t take long for the laughter to start. We filled ourselves with delicious treats and hot coffee then took our seats. Following a brief welcome, we began with writing and a soothing hush fell about the room. It was wonderfully comforting to be back in the old routine, I was fortunate to have Sheridan Blau at my table. What a gentleman! Another “perk” of the Project is that everyone, no matter how prestigious, is as personable and generous as the rest. We talked of our experiences with teaching and commiserated with typical issues we all face these days.
The beginning of Sheridan’s presentation focused on various theories and the idea of building an academic community where students are engaged in the making of knowledge. “The Great Leap” is when a student feels he/she belongs to the community. Ownership and the feeling that one belongs (through active participation) are the significant forces behind mastery. As usual with NVWP presentations, I felt my pulse quicken and excitement build, “Yes! This makes sense.”
"Renewal is the perfect name for our Saturday."
Next, we were given “Nineteen” a lovely poem that was as open to interpretation as one could get. We wrote our reactions and shared. This is my favorite part because the most beautiful and diverse pieces of writing come from the responses. No two ideas were the same and yet all were equally honored. Finally, we read “Any Minute Mom Should Come Blasting Through the Door”. Blau had us read silently, popcorn read, then choose a favorite line to share. I now use this three-part reading in my classes and am reaping the rewards! Anyway, what followed was most invigorating. Paul shared his piece of analysis which instantly brought back all my graduate studies. Being a wife and mother, my piece took quite a different perspective. The conversation that followed was steeped in honesty and respect (two things severely lacking in public schools).
Renewal is the perfect name for our Saturday. I walked away with renewed spirits, renewed enthusiasm, renewed confidence! Thank you, dear comrades for being everything you are and exactly what I need.
Reflections on the Fall Renewal for NVWP
By Audrey Benson, NVWP TC
Audrey Benson reading "Nineteen"
Anticipation: Walk to the Hub
Finally, it was November 5th. Waking eagerly at an early hour on a Saturday, I couldn’t wait to get to GMU, greet my colleagues from last summer’s NVWP intensive workshop, and then experience what the day had to offer. The sun shone as my steps echoed on the empty campus. Certainly, no college students were in evidence at 9am. The contrast in atmosphere was quite striking, so different from the bustling July days of NVWP, with university summer session and numerous youth programs on campus. I followed the trail of yellow signs, guiding me to the Hub. Hugs, hellos, smiles all around the room. The happiness of TCs reconnecting filled the room with energy. Clearly, everyone present believed that this room was the best place to be that day. Renewal was offered; renewal was generated, absorbed, and shared. With gratitude, we seized the opportunity to experience again for one day the focus on writing and reading and teaching that is so fulfilling about the NVWP.
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Pointing!
Can there be meaningful learning without participation? As human beings, we learn when we feel involved on a personal level and the learning matters to us. Using this foundation, Sheridan Blau introduced us to new ways of reading and critiquing literature that increase personal participation in creating meaningful interpretations. Our learning focused on commentary as a vehicle for exploring literary works. Participating in the demonstration lessons provided powerful examples of the richness of this approach. Commentaries – which are basically any personal thoughts about a piece of writing – generate discussion points, from which multiple avenues for interpretation emerge. Diverse and sometimes vehement reactions to a poem about a lost opportunity for love – or was it? –had us laughing, thinking, debating, participating in making meaning. Understanding is constructed out of the discussion, rather than having a thesis set forth as “the right way” to view a piece of literature. A key benefit of this approach is that reluctant learners can listen and participate around the edges of the conversation until they develop the confidence to dive in fully. We enjoyed a day of engaging learning and gained new insights and techniques to take back to our classrooms.
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"I wonder ... which makes me think ..."
An effective technique new to many of us was “pointing”. After two quiet readings of a piece and writing a commentary, we called out – a verbal “pointing to” – phrases or lines that we found especially striking in a story. Spontaneously taking turns and calling out, we created a swirl of voices and words. Repetition of particular lines and images created emphasis around salient parts of the story, forming a shared impact. I can still hear the voices calling out certain lines over and over, increasing their significance, and making me hear the language of the story in a new way.
On practical side, here is a take-away piece of advice from Sheridan: when you can’t think of what to say, start with “I wonder…..which makes me think…..” Several TCs used this phrase to jump-start their commentaries, to good effect.
The Truth be Told
By Kim Overholt, NVWP TC
“Overholt sucks! Overholt sucks!” is how students faithfully began every class during the second week of my teaching career. I’d like to be able to say that the reason for this was because of their socioeconomic differences. No. Demographic differences? No. Ethnic differences? No! In truth students always know what they need; they’re just not professional enough to articulate it.
For the first time in almost two decades of teaching I finally became savy enough to arrive at a professional workshop, this past November, prepared in advance. I had already read and began to apply Sheridan Blau’s methods outlined in his book, The Literature Workshop. I now was looking forward [a little “starry-eyed, I might confess] to meeting another educational icon (aka guru). I could never have predicted what would unfold.
"More, I began to chant. More learning, I heard it say."
As Sheridan guided us through the workshop, I was able to share the success I had had implementing his literary techniques – silent reading, “jump in” reading, “pointing” reading, writing to a line, and then sharing one’s writing. In fact what I shared with him was that his technique, though I was unsure of using it with my students at first due to my unfamiliarity, inspired authentic reading! My 12th grade students, as it has been my goal this year, became natural readers once again, not forced, now apathetic repositories for curriculum.
Yet, it was his response that made The Chant permissible.
He didn’t smile at me acknowledging that he was right, as so often my mother or father had done while I was growing up as I had uncovered their finite wisdom. No, he turned around toward me with somewhat of surprised look on his face. Can we really read people’s body language? I thought. Then, while intentionally pausing and making direct eye contact with me in a room filled with other teachers, he earnestly said, “Thank you. It’s good to know that it is working.”
Kim Overholt, Robin Frost, and Paul Rogers
It wasn’t until later, during he second presentation on academic writing, that I began to audibly hear The Chant. Based on his premises in this presentation, I began to doubt. If academic writing is relative, [as Sheridan was teaching us], than isn’t this process, Mr. Blau, is subjective and therefore inconsequential? As we processed to the lunch lines, Sheridan, instead was talking with another groupie like myself. The Chant got louder – the question burning in my mind. More, I began to chant. More learning, I heard it say. So, I chanted it out loud.
I approached Sheridan and asked the question, cowardly qualifying [unlike my students during my first year of teaching] it with I was simply playing devil’s advocate. Again, he paused. He smiled. And we talked. In fact he later redressed this oppositional question to the rest of the class proffering oodles of knowledge and wisdom that which couldn’t be denied, only respected and revered by us all.
Sheridan Blau and NVWP TCs
Did I continue to teach at that first school? Yes, I did, though I went home crying every day for the first two weeks. Why are the students so cruel? Don’t they know how much I care? It wasn’t until I stopped worrying about myself as a person and stood as a Teacher – one who “impart[s] knowledge or skill; give[s] instruction to” (Dictionary.com 2012) – that I was able to recognize what the students were asking of me. The truth be told [as most career teachers have taken the time to uncover] was that they respected me enough to ask for a real learning experience; I simply had to heed their call.
The truth be told just like them, 16 years later as an adult student, I began to chant out of respect for Sheridan – a master of his trade. And, he answered my call, in the blink of an eye, without breaking a sweat.
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Photography by Marissa Mack
