However, the need became greater than ever to have non-judgmental responses. As I observed author’s chair in multiple classrooms, I heard the students initiating the “thanks for sharing” or the snaps. Sharing without response had permeated the culture and climate of the classroom. And, because one teacher had been bold enough to say, “I don’t let them,” in regard to students’ sarcasm or mocking, other teachers understood that their personal response was a direct connection to its effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
Writing marathons. One positive experience with writing and sharing led to another. Once we began freewriting, we started sharing writing more. The next thing I enjoyed and learned in the Summer Institute and wanted to implement was a writing marathon. A writing marathon is an intense writing experience where large and small groups write together, usually in spaces outside of the classroom. The writing marathon is an intense experience that served to help me to get out of the box and write in atypical spaces (See Figure 2 on the next page for more writing marathon resources). A group will write in one area for 10-15 minutes, share, and move to another space. Typically, we try to move to at least three places, and then the entire group gets together to share parts of the writing.
Over the course of the past two years, I have taken teachers on six different writing marathons. We moved from place to place trying to absorb our surroundings. Because of the freewriting experience, I was more sensitive to my surroundings and able to focus on the here and now. Another thing about writing marathons–there is no time to revise the writing. The focus is on getting words on paper and using your surroundings to inspire that writing. Sharing occurs at several points in a marathon, and the writing that is shared always feels raw and powerful. The writing marathons at our school are voluntary, and a small core group of teachers participate, but, “thank you for sharing” has become the norm. The more we use “thank you,” the more natural it sounds.
Teacher small writing groups. My role as literacy coach is to provide embedded professional development in the area of reading and writing to the teachers in my building. My experience with freewriting, sharing without response, and small writing groups changed my personal relationship with writing and how I incorporate writing in my work as a literacy coach. After my experiences and the feeling that “I was a writer,” I wanted to create opportunities for teachers and students to write at the school where I worked.
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