Student Engagement
The transformative power of storytelling is infectious – even to the most writing-resistant students. All students – all people – have stories inside them desperate to come out and be heard.
When students are seen — and heard — by their teachers and peers, they come alive – and become more engaged. “Being seen is more than being acknowledged,” van Manen writes in The Tone of Teaching, “For a child, it means… being confirmed as existing, as being a unique person” (2003, 31). We are all living the story of our lives, I tell my students. Understanding the narratives we read in English class helps us understand our own life stories; studying the craft of writing gives us the power to change it.
Therefore, my two primary goals for students in my ELA classroom are to:
Develop a deeper appreciation for literature as a tool for understanding the self
Gain agency and self-advocacy through the power of writing
To develop a deeper appreciation of literature in my students, I will:
Share and study narratives of people both inside the school and out in the world who have taken control of their destiny – especially through the power of words or through artistic expression by selecting works created by students who reflect the diversity of the student body
Frame writing as an essential skill for “knowing oneself” that can be used to take control of their lives during instruction and discussion and provide opportunities for students to do “exploratory” writing exercises that will allow them to reflect on their experiences and their identities
Use literary analysis as a tool to deepen critical thinking skills – a way for students to question “the powers that be” in their lives and the messages they push
Project-Based Learning: Publications
Modeled on my experience as both a student in and instructor for the Young Emerging Writers Program, my students will take on the responsibility to manage and contribute to a professional-grade schoolwide publication that features creative writing, art, critiques, op-eds and local journalism. This will allow students to meaningfully connect the skills they’ve been honing in class to what really matters to them. Additionally, students will have an opportunity to develop a network of community relationships and develop real-world career experience — which is essential to their professional development.