Julie: We have many readers who are classroom teachers who are working diligently each day to encourage and inspire their students to be writers. I read on your website these powerful words from you: “Anyone can create a sloppy copy. Real writing begins after that, it’s called rewriting.” What would you add to this to ignite a writing passion in these teachers and their students?
David: I think it helps to see the act of writing as having four parts to it. Part 1: Get ready to write. Look up what you need to know, make notes, decide which facts are the most important to tell to your reader. Part 2: Draft a rough copy. Part 3: Revise the draft by whacking out all the information that doesn’t matter, trimming out boring details, adding in missing points, moving whole sections around. Part 4: Polish till you can see your face in it. Find more interesting metaphors and similes, replace weak nouns with stronger ones, pry out useless adverbs and unnecessary adjectives. When we see the big picture before we start, it’s not such a hard sell when it’s time to revamp that first draft.
Julie: When you get an opportunity to visit schools to inspire teachers and students personally, what do you emphasize? In other words, tell about your school visits and how teachers can contact you to come visit their schools.
David: When I began making school visits, some 40 years ago, I saw my role as an entertainer. If I could hold students’ attention by reading and making them laugh, I thought I was earning my pay. Many writers still look at it that way. Performance poets are a big thing these days. I don’t quarrel with that. I still love to make kids giggle and ask questions, but I want to make sure I leave something for the teachers after I’m gone. To help me learn how, I got out of my comfort zone by partnering on a book about teaching poetry with NYU professor emeritus and former president of International Reading Association, Dr. Bernice Cullinan. Next came a book for the classroom with a wonderful 3rd grade teacher in Colorado, Kathy Holderith. I’ve learned a great deal by working directly with educators, joining the professional organizations, and reading their journals. In 2010 I served as the poet in residence as part of a grant in the Paterson, New Jersey, school district. My job was to work with teachers and students in three elementary schools to help elevate interest in writing and follow up via Skype from home. I’m currently working with two educators who are developing an online writing course for 9th grade. I partnered with Dr. Laurie Edmondson, dean of the school of education and child development at Drury University, to create DVDs with 20 writing tips from me to students and we wrote a teacher guide to accompany it. Dr. Tim Rasinski (Kent State University) and I teamed on a book about developing reading fluency and comprehension. We’re currently at work on a social studies book for grades 4, 5, and 6. In the recently released 4th edition of Children’s Literature in the Reading Program (published by ILA), I wrote the first chapter, which is how to use poetry as a teaching tool in the classroom. I also wrote the poetry chapter in the 3rd edition.
These days my time goes more to keynoting or presenting at conferences, providing professional development, and giving workshops. In November I’ll give the author luncheon talk at The Missouri Early Learning Conference at Tan- Tar-A. I still enjoy visiting schools and, when I do, I’m inclined to leave handouts or references and share at least two or three good ways for students to get into their writing. That and make them laugh, too, of course!
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