Teacher Writers

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Comment by Steve McKee on October 28, 2009 at 8:38am

I have begun posting "Daily Cardiograms," short excerpts from "My Father's Heart" on my discussion page.
I think you can get to it from here:
http://ncte2008.ning.com/forum/topics/f58-a-book-suggestion-for-hs?page=1&commentId=2256925%3AComment%3A50600&x=1#2256925Comment50600

Comment by Steve McKee on October 19, 2009 at 1:59pm

Hi, Everyone. I am NOT a teacher of English, but I used to be (and more on that in a minute). I am joining "Teacher Writers" because after reading through your comments I believe my memoir, "My Father's Heart: A Son's Reckoning With the Legacy of Heart Disease," could be of service to a lot of what you are saying here. I will be presenting "MFH" as a reading-list book as a guest of the Pennsylvania Council and its "Pennsylvania Showcase." F.58, Saturday, 8 a.m., Room 107B.
See the movie: http://ncte2008.ning.com/video/f58-green-gold-a-run-through
Now, about my teacher of English cred: In 1975-1977 I taught English and reading and co-directed four plays ("Christmas Carol," "South Pacific," "Diary of Anne Frank" and "South Pacific") at St. Mary's High School in St. Mary's Alaska, an Eskimo-Indian boarding school a mile from the Yukun River and 90 miles from the Bering Sea. I write about it on pp. 109-114 of "MFH."
Hope to see in Philadelphia!

Comment by ella .solo on September 21, 2009 at 3:09am

I always like teacher.This year ,I graduated from college.Now I miss them so much.

Comment by Sarah Polda on August 14, 2009 at 12:30pm

Thank you! I will get that book. Have you read My Thirteenth Winter by Samantha Abeel? Excerpts from that have been really fascinating for middle schoolers- I think her honest writing will appeal to the older students.

Comment by freida golden on August 14, 2009 at 11:18am

I start every group by asking about them and telling them about myself, yes the memoir! I have some questions that I have worked on for the last 15 years, like what type of music do you like, who do you live with, what pets do you have, what media do you use, Facebook, Twitter, television. I give them a few minutes to write then I answer the questions about myself. Then I take their papers and read them. This gives me ideas about them to use for writing prompts, ideas to talk about with them to build relationships, and further ideas to suggest for writing. If someone writes about their 6 dogs... a writing idea. If someone writes about using the computer for all their news... writing ideas, music I am not familiar with... on and on for writing ideas that they gave me the first day of class. And then it is so easy to find examples of memoir to use for teaching points. If you are a new teacher The World's Best Memoir Writing edited by Eve Claxton will have many examples in one spot for you to make it easier your first couple of years then you can find your own favorite ones.

Comment by Ali Kline La Pointe on August 14, 2009 at 9:28am

Check out Nick Hornby's Songbook - some of his essays are great models to inspire authentic student writing. I've also found great success using podcasts of This American Life to teach voice; listening allows students to recognize how important it is to develop an authentic voice that will in turn work to guide readers.

Comment by Sarah Polda on August 14, 2009 at 9:18am

Thanks. I read Teaching Through Genre, and I think we may start with the memoir. Selections from Annie Dillard's An American Childhood, Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, etc. seem as though they may work.

Comment by freida golden on August 14, 2009 at 8:59am

Sarah Polda-
I taught 6th grade then started working with writing projects and had to adapt all my work to upper grade levels. The lessons don't change, just the examples that you use with them. What readings will they be doing, or what do they read on their own? Ernest Morell, NCTE member, has some great ideas for working with pop culture, reading, and writing.

Comment by Andrene Bonner on August 9, 2009 at 1:27pm

I teach English at Mount Vernon High School in Westchester County, NY and my students find it quite exciting that their teacher has written a book. I will be reading exerpts for my summer school students this week. It is a coming-of-age book set in Jamaica, Caribbean and is titled, Olympic Gardens. It received the 2009 Lorna Goodison Caribbean Award for Transformative Literature at the Tamarind Festival for Caribbean Literature in Washington, DC on June 14, 2009.

About the Book: By the time Roderick Brissett learns that he is being shipped away from his rural family home to live with his aunt in the city, it is too late. His mother’s decision came without questions or answers. Roderick’s youth is tested under the most adverse conditions. It is within the abyss of such harsh realities that he must find strength and seek some semblance of joy that will help him to survive, grow, and find his place in the world. You can read what they say about the book at http://andrenebonner.wordpress.com. The book is perfect for high school and college. Just thought I'd let the group know about this. Walk good.

Comment by Timothy on May 22, 2009 at 9:32pm

Since using Penny's book, Write Beside Them with my students in my Teaching Writing course, I have now bared my soul more with my Freshman Composition students and have shared with them some of my painful writing. I remembered a tragic event in 1997 when one of my students was kidnapped and raped while two of her friends who were also kidnapped were forced to watch. I have been reflecting on the ways the play I was directing at the time provided healing for the actors and the community and how different students showed maturity while their lives were shattered and altered.
At times, I wonder if this kind of transparency with my emerging writers will pay off but my students are forgiving and seem to lower their own guards. All the while, my writing gets stronger even though I do not yet know what the final product will look like.

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