CHAPTER FOUR

What Do YOU Think? Establishing a Community of Decision-Makers

A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associate living, of conjoint communicated experience. John Dewey ______________________________________________________________________________

As I got closer to the beginning of the school year, I felt apprehensive about jumping into a discussion of
Lets decide on what we will do as our first activity. After reading Linda Christensens work in Teaching for Joy and Justice, I realized that this was because I needed to build a team of students who truly knows and trusts one another before launching into the big question: What will we do together? (Christensen, 2009). I also realized that I may have to do some un-teaching Students were well-versed in doing projects, as well as choosing the role they would play within them. Designing a project would require them to rethink how they saw a project. The purpose would be different. Instead of fulfilling a goal pre-established by the teacher, I would be asking them to establish a goal together. I hoped that wading into the waters of co-design by inviting smaller decisions first would allow students to feel more comfortable trusting and negotiating with one another. Ironically, this struck me as I was sitting on an airplane full of strangers a few weeks before the fall semester began. This might sound strange, but I was having my usual ten-minute freak out when the plane ascends fearing that the plane would crash Then, I thought to myself If we did become Losties, the first thing we would do is get to know each other and what we are all about Then, we would determine one anothers strengths. We would ask ourselves, How can we use each our complementary strengths to achieve our objectives? Yes, our first instinct would be to want to get off that island as soon as possible. BUT, lets say we knew wed be off the island in a year and had some time to kill. Wed have 52 random people who could create some cool stuff together. But before we decide what the cool stuff is, wed have to determine WHO we are, what our talents and strengths are, and THEN what we COULD create together. The classroom is different from the Figure 4.1 (above) Image from the TV show, LOST (below) workplace because kids dont apply to fulfill a specific Student discussion 1

role. Instead, we are a random group that could create anything. We had to start with ourselves first. Then design a project. So, we began with our team. Who were we? How would we work together? In my preliminary survey, nearly all students noted that they treated one another with respect during their junior year of high school (49% strongly agreed; 47% slightly agreed). I knew that I would need to maintain that same sense of respect as they found themselves regrouped into a new senior class. I would have to take time to build a trusting community. However, I also knew that I shouldnt take too much time. On that same preliminary survey, students frequently noted that they hoped that senior projects would honor their time. When asked the open-ended question, What do you hope your senior projects look like? sixteen percent of respondents mentioned that they hoped their time would be honored. Below are a few responses along this vein: I dont care what they look like, just as long as once the project is over that I dont feel like its a waste of time. I also hope they don't take forever to finish so we don't stuck on the same topic for long periods of time. Anything that gets content across and doesn't waste time. In light of these responses, I recognized that while establishing a respectful community was important, I also needed to figure out how to do this efficiently. I wanted to create a swift, yet deep connection that honored their time and desire to address content. For this reason, I chose to start the year with a few very purposeful moves. We would become a not just a community, but a writing community. We would build our connection by writing and sharing our writing. Sharing ones writing necessitates vulnerability and trust. I knew that I would have to be the first to share my own writing before I asked them to do the same. I also wanted to have a bit of fun along the way.

Day One: An Invitation to Be a Part of a Writing Community

Famous Faces, Famous Phrasings
Students walked into the room to see famous faces taped to the desks. I handed each student a passage from each famous person and asked him to sit at the desk with the speaker to whom the quote belonged. It was fun. Some would giggle at the quote or the familiar face they saw staring up at them; others had to think a little bit deeper. Would Taylor Swift really refer to her music as her flow? Would Michael Phelps giddily accept his 21st gold medal, or would he respond a bit more nonchalantly than newcomer Gabby Douglas? As students settled into their seats, they were eager to see if they had guessed correctly. And I had successfully invited them to participate in their first examination of language while breaking Figure 4.2 Content and Craft, Talib Kweli them apart from their pre-established 2

cliques. Before I revealed each speaker, I allowed students to amicably argue why they felt they had the best guess. One determined that Talib Kweli would be more likely to refer to his music as his flow than Swift. Though both might speak about music, its far more likely that Swift is the one who has a way of channeling heartbreak. After each reveal, Id be sure to note how the winner correctly matched his speaker. When one student recognized Kweli by the way he crafted his words (choosing flow over something like lyrics), then Id note the student had played detective by paying attention to the craft Figure 4.3 Content and Craft, Taylor Swift of the speakers words. When another student argued that she had correctly identified Swift because she spoke about heartbreak (which Swift is notorious for singing about), then Id note that she had correctly deduced this by the speakers content, or what she said. Before I revealed each speaker, I allowed students to amicably argue why they felt they had the best guess. One determined that Talib Kweli would be more likely to refer to his music as his flow than Swift. Though both might speak about music, its far more likely that Swift is the one who has a way of channeling heartbreak. After each reveal, Id be sure to note how the winner correctly matched his speaker. When one student recognized Kweli by the way he crafted his words (choosing flow over something like lyrics), then Id note the student had played detective by paying attention to the craft of the speakers words. When another student argued that she had correctly identified Swift because she spoke about heartbreak (which Swift is notorious for singing about), then Id note that she had correctly deduced this by the speakers content, or what she said. With each reveal, we discussed whether or not the student had guessed correctly by the distinct content or craft of the speakers words. I very purposely chose this as our opening activity. Not only did I want to engage students quickly, but I wanted to make it was clear that engagement and learning were something I hoped to remain synonymous throughout the semester. There wouldnt be a hard work session followed by a time for fun session. The two would be intertwined in a manner that would maximize their time in our class.

Letter to Students
After a brief discussion of the difference between content and craft, I told students that we would start writing today. Before I asked them to do any writing, however, I told students that I would share my own writing with them. I made them a promise that any writing I asked them to do, I would do as well. I first became inspired to do this when reading Penny Kittles Write Beside Them (2008). Though I have practiced this for the last couple years, I made sure to explain to this group of students that I am not just the leader of this

group of writers, but a participant. Before I asked my students to do any writing, I shared with them some of mine. I had written a letter to my students before the year started that expressed my hopes for our class and why I love to read and write (Appendix B). This is another activity inspired by Kittle. Rather than trying to impress them with my writing, I asked them to note what they learned about methrough the content of what I shared and the craft of my writing. In short, I let them analyze me a little bit. When I asked them about the content of what I shared, some remarked: Youre not going to push us... well, not in a mean way. You really, really like to write. We are going to be reading a lot in here. When I asked them about the way I wrote, or the craft, some shared: You like to use comparisons. Like, when you said that its hard to write, you said it was like driving on Rosecrans (a heavily-trafficked street near the school). You like to use dashes a lot. You space things out on the page. Like, you have just one sentence all by itself. As students noticed my quirks and my cares, I got a taste of what it was like to read my own work in front of my new community of writers, and they got to know methe teacher who was now about to invite them to write with her. It was frightening, yet liberating. Students got to know what I was about quickly. I wanted to make it clear that my role was not one of authoritarian, but of participant. Then, I invited them in.

Who Are You Today?

Now that I had written and shared, it was time for us all to step in. Taking an activity from Graham Gordon Ramseys book A Creative Guide to Exploring Your Life (2008), I gave each of us an index card and asked each student to write one paragraph that described who they were on that day. With the new school year, the opportunity for a new persona can be unearthed, and I wanted to make it clear that each student now had a blank slate that s/he was about to write about. Using a PowerPoint, I showed students examples first before asking them to spend five minutes writing their paragraphs. Then, I asked students to condense their paragraph into a sentence. This, I explained, would be our first exercise in revision. Sometimes, I continued, we can slice up our verbosity and be a bit more concise. After showing students the examples of how our model writers did this, we each crafted our sentence on the card. After this, we distilled the meaty bits of our sentence and came up with a single word to describe ourselves. I was careful to inform students that they should not include anything that they were uncomfortable sharing with the class. In this way, I made sure that students could trust me not to coerce them into sharing their writing. My intention was to be explicit about what we were doing and why. I included my card in the mix and explained that I would be pulling a card at random. I would read the paragraph, and then the sentence, and then the word. Afterward, students would try to guess the writer. If they did guess correctly, I would ask how they did so. If a student responded with something like, Well, they wrote about Tarantino films, and everyone knows that Max is obsessed with them, then I would note, It sounds like it was the content of what was shared that gave it away. If a student responded with something along the lines of, It just sounded like him. He always says that hes stoked about things, then I would be sure to note that the writers craft gave him away. After each of the writers was identified, we would be sure to discuss how s/he was given away: by his content or his craft.

Figure 4.4 Who am I Today? cards

Granted, I am in a rather unique situation that allows this to work. Students at High Tech High International already know one another fairly well by their senior year. We have a small class of 100, and most have been in the same class at one point during the previous three years. Name games and typical icebreakers would seem pointless. While they might know one another, they usually do not know me, nor do I know them. This is a chance for a fresh start. This exercise was intended to do a few things: 1) invite them to write with me, 2) share their writing in a very safe space, 3) note the difference between content and craft. This activity worked well. Students enjoyed guessing the writer; I enjoyed getting to know my students. They had also written together. We were becoming a working, sharing community already. I pulled five cards on that first day and began each of the following mornings that week pulling five more. Students loved the cards. One student noted, I liked the note card thing. It helped us learn about each other, and see if anything they wrote or how they wrote it gave the person away. My card was in the mix, as well, and it was fun to see students look around, puzzled, before they remembered, Wait... Stephanies card hasnt been pulled yet. I am glad that students saw value in the activity that went beyond just having fun. They clearly saw the connection between building a writing community and were starting to note the difference between content and craft.

Raised by...

In the second hour of class, we continued to follow a pattern that I hoped to make routine in our classroom: We looked at a model text, discussed the content and craft of the piece, and then embarked upon creating a similar piece with our own spin on it. Again, I borrowed from the pros. A few years ago, I became enamored with Linda Christensens Teaching for Joy and Justice (2009). She opens her book with a chapter called The Role of Poetry: Community Builder, Grammar Text, and Literary Tutor. My favorite poem that she shares with her students to build community is called Raised by Women, by Kelly Norman Ellis (2003). Together, we read the text and created our own Raised by... poems. It took some time, but gradually kids started to open up. I made sure that this activity was not just fun, but felt rooted in content. We looked at each (What is that chunk of a poem called?) stanza and noted that the poet was bringing up different topics in each. One stanza focused on hair, while another focused on choices made, and so forth. We mirrored her topics, listing styles such as pigtails, and fauxhawks under our Hair Style category and added a few of our own topics, including games, TV shows, books, and more. Shortly, students were shouting out Spongebob!, Fruit Roll-Ups!, and Junie B. Jones! and the room was filled with the release of nervous and nostalgic chatter about their upbringings. We came up with a list of the multitude of ways in which we were raised and splashed them across the board 1 [Figure 4-5]. We closed the day by examining the structure used by the poet and working to shape our own poems. After ten minutes of writing, I informed them that we would share them the next day in class. This was the tricky part. I knew that this was a tall ordereven for High Tech High students, who are accustomed to public exhibitions and presentations. This was a work in progress that I would be asking them to share, not a beautiful final product.

Figure 4.5 Brainstorm of What Students Were Raised By

A more detailed overview can be found in Christensens book.

My goals were twofold. First, I wanted to allow them to hear one another and how they were raised. In reference to my airplane analogy from earlier, I knew we needed to see who was in this room with us, and what unique qualities each had to offer. Second, I wanted each student to feel that this is a room where they can count on being heard and supportedwhen we share our writing, its a piece of ourselves. The content is deeply connected to us, but we are all working on our craft. Thus, in honoring those who value efficiency, I made it clear that we were sharing to honor each other and honor our collective goal of becoming (not simply being) better writers. Per Christensens suggestion, we all moved our chairs back into a larger circle for a read around. I explained how the process would work. We would begin with a reader who felt comfortable sharing, and then move to her left. The writer to her left had the option to read or to pass. We would go through the circle once, and then for a second round. This would give students who had passed in the first round time to gather courage. There was no critique or debriefing after each reader. We simply listened and snapped our fingers in appreciation (as one might at a poetry reading) after each writer read. I made sure to include myself in this circle. I had made it clear to them on the first day of school that I would always write with them, and so I prepared a draft of my own Raised by... poem. I informed students that they would be listening for what they learned about one another and what they learned about poetry. Each group was incredibly respectful of one another and listened intently. I considered this to be our primary victory. However, the morning group was much more reserved than the afternoon group. Im not sure whether the time of day played a factor in this or not, but nearly all students in the afternoon group chose to share their poems, while roughly one-third of the morning group did.

Figure 4.6 Elizabeths Raised by Poem

After we shared, I collected an index card from them that requested they respond to each of the following questions: 1) What did you learn about each other? 2) What did you learn about poetry? Following are a few selections from each group that represent common threads in each response.

What did you learn about one another?

(AM Class): We all write very differently, and I think were all going to help each other because of that. I like how everyone was honest and it really shows love and care for how they were raised. More sensitive than I expected. Everyone really respects what you have to say. (PM Class) It makes us unite as a class. I learned that everyone in our class thinks completely individually. Each person has a different life and different ideas and that makes us each unique. I learned many of their experiences are similar to mine, like the food they ate and the games they played. It made me think about how all my peers have a story.

What did you learn about poetry?

(AM Class) Takes guts. Ive also learned that poetry isnt one format. A person can mold it any way they want. Poetry can be heart-filled and yet silly. Poetry is how you want to express yourself instead of writing what is required. Poems dont necessarily rhymeits only important that they flow and have meaning (PM Class) What I learned about poetry is that it doesnt always have to be dark and deep; it can be fun. A thing that I learned about poetry is that it is beautiful. It is a fun way to share your feelings. I didnt know my poetry doesnt sound that bad once its read aloud. I kinda like it! Its a very cool way to express yourself and tell the world who you are. Students responded in an overwhelmingly positive manner. All seemed to feel comfortable and confident contributing to the classroomwhich is my goal as I build a community that can design projects together. While no student wrote about it, I feel that my choice to share a poem helped contribute to our community. Perhaps it only made a difference to meit made me feel like part of the groupbut, I was curious to note whether or not my being part of the writing community is something that my students note as putting them at ease. This began a routine that would endure while crafted writing pieces together in the upcoming weeks. We would refine our craft and share our stories as we built our community.

Building Our Blogs

While our formal writing pieces became a tool for sharing ourselves, our informal writing served an equally important role. Student blogs became very telling and useful for making class decisions! Students were asked to respond to specific questions each Friday which pertained to the events throughout the week. During the first week, I told them that they would be deciding on our class norms together and to start thinking about How might we create a class experience that allows you to work to your maximum potential? On Friday, they recorded their responses in their blogs, and on Monday, we examined them and created our class norms.

Figure 4.7 Melissas Blog

Each Monday began with a reading and discussion of each of their responses, which I had copy-pasted from their blogs into a single document. Each students response was available to view on the document. Here are a few selections from each group that represent common threads in each response:

... I feel that by this point our class, for the most part, has respect for one another and the school rules and really what
else can you ask for? A QUIET SPACE. A quiet space goes a long way for me to, as mentioned above, stay focused and produce decent writing. Being able to listen to my own music really helps me focus and self-motivate myself to write.

 I enjoyed the warm-ups we did before class started. And the index cards that allowed us to know a little more about
our classmates were great. Being able to determine if we want to keep working is useful and the ability to share what we are writing and other work with the person next to us is a helpful procedure. Students read over the responses (recorded anonymously) for ideas that were repeated or seemed to be important to add to our list of norms. After reading over them by themselves, they discussed their observations with a partner. Next, they proposed an idea for a norm that was then recorded by a student on our whiteboard. This is how we decided that we would begin each class with a student-proposed question of the day, that we would share the beanbags in the classroom, and that Figure 4.8 Our Class Norms most students needed to listen to music through their headphones when they wrote. Students had a chance to express the needs they saw that their classmates had, and we pledged to revisit these norms each week. It was a rather informal process. Nothing was signed or officially typed up; however, it remained on our board. If someone violated anothers need for a quiet space, one of us (and it wasnt always me) could simply point to the board as a reminder. Not all of these worked out perfectly the first week. We repeated this process during the second week, making addendums to the class norms and proposing ideas for how we will select books and how we will respond to our readings this year. This was so useful for us! They got to think to themselves on their blogs and avoid what Yale psychologist Irving Janis coined groupthink in the 1970s. Janis defined groupthink as a mode of thinking that persons when concurrence-seeking become so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action (Janis, 1973). It can be difficult to avoid groupthink in high school, but this allowed us one way to record their thoughts without the influence of others. After they recorded their own, they could see each others responses, and then discuss the best decision for the group. This process became a way for students to express and share their needs in our classroom and for me to help them make decisions that didnt come just from my own needs, though I was also free to express them, but from the needs of our students. Quite simply, it was a way of co-designing the structures of our classrooms.

Co-designing Goals Together

Reading
The blogs also helped us to set reading goals for the semester. Because we were co-designing our course this semester, I decided to adopt Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittles practice of allowing student to choose their own personal reading (Gallagher, 2009; Kittle, 2008). We would be doing plenty of reading together throughout the semester, and I felt that it was important for my students to learn to find and select books to read. In order to determine how many would be an appropriate goal and how students could share their reading with the class, I put the question to the blogs during our third week: 10

How many books do you feel is an appropriate challenge for YOU to read this semester? How would you like to share your reading with the class?
Some were unsure how many they could (or should) read throughout the semester, but were game to try. Many recorded comments similar to Randys: I don't know the exact number of books I plan to read this semester. I don't usually read a ton, but I want to become a better reader. Others used this forum to express their concerns about reading. Sean wrote, I will really have to push myself to be able to read even 3 books. I am a very slow reader can't read more than a few lines at a time. If I try to read a full paragraph without it, by the time I reach the end I will have forgotten the first half and I'll have to start over. I would prefer to verbally discuss the story with someone or a small group. I feel that stopping constantly to take notes takes forever and I never seem to take anything from it. After perusing the responses on Monday, students noted that most identified between three and five books as appropriate. This sounded great to me! As with our norms, we recorded them on the board and moved on to determine how we would be held accountable to this reading. I explained that what was important to me is that we were sharing our reading with one another. In order to build a community of readers, we would need to keep each other abreast of what we were reading and whether or not we would recommend these books to other readers. Students shared some of the following responses to this question on their blogs:

How many books do you feel is an appropriate challenge for YOU to read this semester? How would you like to share your reading with the class?
I'm really not sure how many books I will read this semester. Maybe sharing our reading by just saying what the book was about so that others might become interested in reading the books as well. I think if we were to share our readings with the class throughout the book, I'd like to share some of my favorite stanzas and share my analysis behind them. I would like to share what I am reading to the class by getting to read one paragraph from my book that struck me. I would then like to share why. This would be a great way to get a snapshot of the writing style and the readers opinion of what he read as a whole. I think it will be fun to create a poster on our book we read that has the characters of the book, the plot, the settings, and drawings. I would like to share what I read through a book-club style kind of meeting. I find it fun and beneficial to talk to somebody about what I read after reading. The best way I can come up with to share the book with the class is to just say what type of people would be interested in the book from my experience. Clearly, most students were in favor of sharing their books orally. In our Monday discussion, we discussed different ways to do this. I volunteered the idea of giving book talks, something I had done previously in a college course. Though the talk can take various forms, it is generally five minutes in length and is meant to sell the book. We took the ideas from the blog posts and came up with a basic outline: a reader would provide background information on the writer, summarize the book without giving away the ending, reading a passage that demonstrating the authors writing style, and explain who might enjoy reading the book. Megan recommended that we avoid giving these talks all in one sitting. She noted, I think that if we all share at the same time, we will stop paying attention after the first five people. If we share it should be five people a day or something of the sort. We decided that students could sign up on our class calendar ahead of time and that we would have only one book talk per day that would follow our daily ten minutes of reading time.

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For those averse to preparing book talks, we took one students suggestion to create an artistic representation of the story and create an accompanying artists statement. This allowed students to express their reading through a different medium. Though no one wrote about it in their blog post, our discussion generated another novel idea: book trailers. I felt compelled to throw in just one more option that I was a big fan of: Goodreads reviews (Chandler, 2007). We recorded these on our whiteboard, and later, I provided examples of each on the course website. Students had proposed the ideas (with the exception of the Goodreads reviews), and I helped shape them. Students eagerness to option that I was a big fan of: Goodreads reviews (Chandler, 2007). We recorded these on our whiteboard, and later, I provided examples

of each on the course website. Students had proposed the ideas (with the exception of the Goodreads reviews), and I helped shape them. Students eagerness to dig back into their books led me to think that they felt happy with our decisions and our decision- making process. It was accomplished quicklyin no more than twenty minutesand it was made clear that modifications could be suggested, if needed. Another portion of our class had been co-designed.
Figure 4.9 Book Response Options (posted on course site)

Honors
Still more decisions needed to be made at the beginning of the year. At High Tech High, most 11th- and 12thgrade teachers were allowed to extend the invitation to participate in an Honors section of the course. This is always a challenge. This option must be embedded in the course itself. Our schools do not track, but wish to challenge each student to an appropriate level of rigor. So, the teacher designs this challenge. I hadnt planned for this aspect of our class to be co-designed; however, it felt natural, at this point. Our class was being constructed together. When it came time to design another aspect of the course, it provided me with another opportunity to invite students to co-design the curriculum. I invited those who sought an additional challenge to attend a lunch meeting in which we would discuss the requirements for honors credit. I asked students to first identify which of their previous honors courses had offered a challenge that worked for them. After identifying the strengths, as well as the weaknesses or various programs, students were ready to propose ideas. Most expressed an interest in reading more classic literature to prepare for college; others wanted to work on an individual creative writing 12

project. I loved all the ideas, and because I didnt feel we had come to a collective decision, I proposed that Id mull over these ideas and try to flesh out the particulars. Over the weekend, I considered their ideas and came up with what I thought was a fair compromise. Each week, students would read selections from How to Read Literature Like a Professor (a book often used in AP Literature courses) and an accompanying short story and prepare for a Friday discussion (Foster, 2003). In addition, they would create an original piece of writing inspired by the chapters within the book that we read, applying their understanding to create an original piece of writing. When I brought this idea back to the students interested in signing up, most agreed that it sounded like a fair challenge. A few students decided that this was a bit too much of a challenge for them and opted to not enroll, explaining that what was of chief importance to them was maintaining a balanced workload. This seemed to be a bit too much for them. This seemed a wise choice on their part. The honor sections should be challenge learners; it was up to students to determine whether or not this was appropriate to their needs. Two students expressed disappointment because they had already formulated ideas for a writing piece of a larger scope. Because their ideas did sound well-plotted, I asked them to flesh them out further into a proposal. If they were going to opt out of the weekly readings and discussions, they needed to present a clear schedule and share their progress with me regularly. The two didnt disappoint, and I helped them to tweak and develop their plans to meet their end goals. Our class was coming together, and it was because of our work together. I was feeling amazing. It was so much fun to work with students to develop ideas together! The class felt like a joint effort, rather than a regimented routine. This was still the beginning, though. I knew that while the generation of ideas can be stimulating, carrying out our plan would require grit.

Writing About Ourselves and One Another

We followed this routine while crafting our next four writing pieces. The first two pieces were narratives: first, a Snapshot Narrative, then a longer narrative. At this point, I was still channeling Penny Kittle and deliberately choosing to begin with a study of story (Kittle, 2009). Stories, I believe, are the most natural form of writing. They also allow me to get to know a students writing style and strengths during the beginning of the year. When a student is writing about a subject he has mastered (himself), he can focus on craft without worrying about processing content. We looked at models of exemplary writing, determined the qualities of content and craft that we could steal moves from (Kittle calls this examining mentor texts), and co-designed our own Exemplary Qualities of the ___ (Kittle, 2009) Then, we brainstormed ideas and critiqued our work before the final sharing of the piece in the read around. Our community was becoming a safe place to create and share. Students expressed that they were learning about the craft of writing; they were also learning much about each other. After each read around, students shared their final drafts of their written pieces with me through a shared Google Document. They copy and pasted the Exemplary Qualities of the ___ into this Google Document and evaluated themselves. Next, they answered five to six questions (depending on the piece) that addressed the process they went through to create this piece, as well as the two questions that we began with when writing the Raised by poems: What did you learn about narratives? What did you learn about each other? Below, I have included comments from these documents that represent common threads within these responses to the Snapshot Narrative.

What did you learn about snapshot narratives?

Snapshots are a doorway to an event from a viewpoint in the past. You have to be careful with what you say and focus on that one moment. Also, be super detailed. 13

There is so much emotion one can feel in just a few moments.

Co-designing a Rubric

Record Internal Standards

Examine Models

Add to List of Internal Standards to Co-design Rubric

Figure 4.10 Co-designing a Rubric

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This was a very short piece, and it was telling that students understood that a lot could be communicated in under a page of writing. This set the stage well for our next, longer narrative piece.

What did you learn about each other?

I learned that we are all very passionate people. Also, Sean doesnt give himself enough credit. He was wary of sharing at first, but his narrative was really well-written. My class is so unique and everybody has a tie to something that inspires and makes them feel amazing. What I learned from the snapshots was that people have had really interesting experiences. It reinforces that you dont know what someone has been through. My classmates are opening up, and I love it! I learned about this class, that theyre as a big familyincluding the teacher! All friends, dont make fun about someonethe perfect place to learn. These points reinforced what I was witnessing during the read-arounds: students respected one anothers unique stories, and they respected one anothers bravery to share them. We continued this process with the longer narratives, with similar results. However, some students quickly expressed their anxiety about the big beast of the fall semester: college application deadlines. I get why were doing all this story stuff, but when are we going to get to our personal statement? Dave asked. Others saw this as the perfect segue way into the college application: This week we started writing our narratives. I also plan to use this for my college apps. Its great how my essays are working perfectly for common app essays and college supplements, Nolan wrote in his blog.

When Are We Going to Talk About College?

Though my primary purpose in crafting these short narratives was to build a community through the building of writing skills, I had also anticipated that many might choose to modify these writings when writing application essays. I felt this was a satisfactory middle ground. I let those who were itching to get started know that these writings were meant to be honest pieces that should demonstrate their newly-acquired skills. I explained that they needed to only focus on the honesty and the craft right now; later, it could be modified to serve the purpose of the personal statement. We needed to write honestly first, without worrying about selling ourselves to an anonymous reader. In this community, all writers were accepted, so long as they returned the respect their classmates awarded them. In previous years, I noticed that students start to separate themselves from one another during the college application season. They separate themselves into groups of their peers who are applying to Ivy League schools, those who will be the first in their families to attend school, those whose parents have made a monumental list of schools to apply to, those who are just going to community college, those who are those who have no idea what to do, and so forth. Yes, we would work directly on college applications, I promised them. But, lets just get to know each other first. In this way, we could help one another uncover our individual and collective strengths. Lets first figure out who we are before trying to sell something were not.

Profiling the Superpowers

When completed our narratives, my students and I was eager to try a new genre of writing: the personality profile. Though I had often thought about implementing this genre in my course, this would be my first time. I chose to do so during this action research project because I wanted students to help one another to uncover one anothers unique qualities. Seth Godin, author of Linchpin, calls this ones superpower, or the unique 15

gift each person can contribute to others. This would satisfy their urge to work on their college statements because another student would be researching them and crafting a piece that highlighted their superpower. It would also provide us with ideas for the project we would co-design together after the applications were done. By understanding the strengths and struggles of each person in the room, we would be able to determine a project that capitalized on this understanding. Before replicating the routine of looking at models, noting exemplary qualities, etc., I made sure that my students understood that the purpose of this project. Each of us has something unique to offer, I explained. Your job as an investigative reporter is to uncover this superpower by observing your subject and interviewing those who know him well. Next, I shared the literature that inspired this idea: a selection from Seth Godins Linchpin and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyis discussion of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975; Godin, 2010) [Appendix C]. Once students were clear on the purpose, we moved into the examination of models, etc. This was now familiar territory. I determined the partners, though students were invited to name the peers that they did and did not feel comfortable working with. Next, each student was required to set their partner up with at least two references: one professional, such as an employer or internship mentor, and one personal, such as a close friend or family member. The interviewer was responsible for conducting three interviews: the professional and personal references, and of course, with the actual subject himself. They were also required to observe the subject in flow, that is, while doing something in which he lost track of time. For some, this meant observing them while coaching a group of young athletes; for others, it meant simply watching them interact dynamically with other people. Students took on the role of investigative reporter, synthesizing their sources and crafting a brief profile that would live on a student-created website. I participated, as well, profiling one of my colleagues. This allowed me to stay a step ahead of them, sharing what went well, and what I needed help with. They became increasingly comfortable giving me feedback, which would be valuable as we co-designed our project together. This also helped them to see the incremental steps I was taking in reaching the end product. In the reflections that followed these pieces, several noted that seeing my progress (and giving me feedback) was helpful. Elizabeth wrote, I think that your profile about Mr. Madison was very helpful because I watched how the writing evolved and it helped me guide the process of writing my piece. Quite frankly, it also helped me feel like we were sharing this process together. It was the kind of collegial environment that I was hoping to maintain as we moved into codesigning our own project. Students worked so hard on these profiles! They noted that they found it useful to begin their profiles with a snapshot narrative of their subject in flow, and appreciated how this built upon the work we had already been doing. Peyton wrote, I really enjoyed my snapshot. Every time I read it again, I can relive it over and over. And it gives a sense of her creativeness I am very proud of my work. Students also felt like they learned a lot of useful writing skills while creating these: I learned how to talk about someone else and how to put quotes in and write transitions. I also learned the interview process. I think that would have been my favorite part of the profile. I learned how to research about others from gathering sources and embedding the quotes into my piece. I learned how to phrase passages, sentences, and even specific words to make someone appealing or desirable in some way.

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This was very affirming to note. I had been working constantly to ensure that students were growing as a community and as writers. Students were very proud of their pieces, and many more chose to read them during our read-around. They had also been noted that the process leading up to the final product, in which we critiqued models, and offered one another feedback was useful: I learned that its good to have others read my piece, because when I got my feedback I noticed things that I didnt notice before. For example, it wasnt clear to the reader who said a certain quote, so it helped pointed out things only I would know. Reading the classes firsts drafts helped me a lot because we were all writing about the same thing. Also the readings Stephanie gave us and crossed out the sentences helped me format my profile. One of my biggest impacts was going through old Rolling Stone Magazine interviews. It helped me see how professional interviews were written and what made them so intriguing. Several noted that they had become closer to their partners and wanted to create a piece that captured the other honestly and accurately: I think that the better you know the person, you are able to pull the quotes that really showcase that person. Instead of things that just sound great or look great on paper. Lauryn and I have become very, very, very close during these past few weeks. We have never had a class together or ever had lunch together. And I absolutely adore this girl! We found common traits and interests. I consider her a great friend and I am so thankful I had her as my partner for this project. I learned that you can capture an aspect of someones life and turn it into a beautiful piece of writing. I really enjoyed learning about how to show an audience how a person is through describing the persons personality. Id never written a piece about someone else that wasnt fictional so it was really cool doing research and writing a very honest piece. Others expressed how proud they were of their final products: I enjoyed my piece a lot. I think I should get an A at least. I followed the qualities quite well. I put time and effort into this piece and I think that it is genuine and from the heart, not just words on paper. I had a hook (quote), flow, and captured the tone of my own voice as well. I feel like I deserve an A because it is something that I worked very hard on and was serious about creating a worthy project that my partner would be happy with. I really wanted to capture him and I feel like I did a good job of that. I dont really care what I get [for my grade]. I had fun writing it, it was interesting, useful, thats all that matters. Finally, students appreciated hearing one anothers stories during our read-around and seeing the profiles on our website: I learned that everyone is amazing in their own individual ways. We all have different stories to tell and sharing a bit of those today kind of brought us closer together. I learned that no matter what, everyone has a story and they deserve to have it heard. I think overall everyone had something new to say and everyone has a story. I learned something new about everyone.

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Our read-around was beautiful. We all got to celebrate the unique qualities of one another, and no one was left out. After our read-around, as we typed up our reflections, played some music, and munched on some celebratory doughnuts, I felt that our team was in place. In a perfect world, we would have launched into our co-designed project at this point. We did, however, have one huge hurdle to leap over together: the college application.

Figure 4.11 Home Page of Personality Profile Site (hthiclassof2013.weebly.com)

Staying Strong through College Applications

College is the word on every seniors lips. It is part of the American Dream. (Sizer, 2002, p. 78)

This is typically the time of year in which the tone changes. Students start to speak of college like its a beast poised to strikesometimes in harried whispers, other times in startling screams. Come October, everyone is living under the shadow of this beast. My hope for this year was that we could rally together and help each other remember to keep ourselves honest during this process. Who we are is good enough, and thats all we needed to share with the mysterious audience on the other side of the college application. I had made a promise to myself that I would work to make sure that my students maintained the high from their personality profiles. The profiles had been honest portrayals of who they were; this is what I hoped they reminded themselves as they began the application process. Too often, I have seen students compromise their own integrity when applying to schools, and it crushed me. Nancy Sizer captures this struggle perfectly: High school seniors are never sure they or their records are good enough. Lining up to be chosen, they become more realistic but are also terrified by the numbers, the newness, the arbitrariness of the system. The proudest and most impressive people 18

in their school, seniors are also at their most vulnerable. They are losing faith in who they really are, in what they have really done. And at the very time of their lives when they are most sensitive to hypocrisy they have come to believe that recasting oneself is a crucial part of playing the game. (Sizer, 2002, p. 77) I wanted to keep this newly-unified team from disbanding and playing the game of college. Other than simply reminding them through pep talks that they neednt compromise their identity, I wanted to give them a forum to express their concerns. As such, I decided that the best way to begin our new writing cycle would be through an honest discussion of their hopes and fears concerning the process. I opened the day by sharing a favorite poem: The Journey by Mary Oliver. I gave each student a copy and asked them to read through it silently, noting phrases that stood out to them. Next, I read it aloud and asked students to note new phrases that stood out to them. Afterward, we discussed the poem, and I asked students why they thought I had chosen to share this poem with them before we began to examine college applications and personal statements. Their responses varied, but many understood that this was, indeed, a journey that they were about to embark upon. They also understood that many others would try to influence them along the way and that they would have to stay true to who they were. I affirmed this and added that each of us would have to decide what was best for ourselves as put our names on those applications. I explained, as openly and honestly as I could, that I had seen many students worry too much about where others were applying, what their scores were, how they tried to calculate their odds of getting in. We cant do this, I explained. But, we can support one another in facing our fears. We could remain a team who supported one another s individual decisions. Yes, we might have different applications we needed to fill out, but we had similar hopes and fears for this process. We would go on this journey together. Next, we had an honest discussion of these hopes and fears. On the Friday before we began this process, I asked students to record in their blogs the answers to the following questions: 1) What are your hopes and fears for the college application process? 2) What would your dream school look like? Many simply hoped to be accepted. Jennifer wrote, I'm scared that I won't get accepted to any of the schools on my list. College is important to me and I just want to get the stressful part over with. Other students had very specific schools in mind and feared being rejected by them. I fear that my dream college wont accept me, wrote Tyler. Some feared rejection by all schools. Alan wrote that his biggest fear was that I get denied by all of them, and Drew wrote, My fear is that no schools will want me. Others feared the stress that accompanies the application itself. Melissa wrote, [My fear is] that I am going to stress out. It's just so daunting. This process is one that theyve heard tales of for years. Its almost mythical in its grandeur. They expect stress and uncertainty and consider it inevitable. Elle noted: Im already in the middle of the application process and it is not easy. Im stressed out all of the time; trying to find time for applications, school work, and a social life while competing with the three to four hours of travel time every single day is more than unpleasant. I fear that this is going to be how I am for the next couple of months and its just not healthy. I dont know what to do to remedy the situation but at this point I am trying my best to manage and navigate the complicated road to college.

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The Journey by Mary Oliver One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. Mend my life! each voice cried. But you didnt stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones.
Figure 4.12 The Journey (Oliver, 1986)

But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could dodetermined to save the only life that you could save.

process? 2) What would your dream school look like? Many simply hoped to be accepted. Jennifer wrote, I'm scared that I won't get accepted to any of the schools on my list. College is important to me and I just want to get the stressful part over with. Other students had very specific schools in mind and feared being rejected by them. I fear that my dream college wont accept me, wrote Tyler. Some feared rejection by all schools. Alan wrote that his biggest fear was that I get denied by all of them, and Drew wrote, My fear is that no schools will want me. Others feared the stress that accompanies the application itself. Melissa wrote, [My fear is] that I am going to stress out. It's just so daunting. This process is one that theyve heard tales of for years. Its almost mythical in its grandeur. They expect stress and uncertainty and consider it inevitable. Elle noted: Im already in the middle of the application process and it is not easy. Im stressed out all of the time; trying to find time for applications, school work, and a social life while competing with the three to four hours of travel time every single day is more than unpleasant. I fear that this is going to be how I am for the next couple of months and its just not healthy. I dont know what to do to remedy the situation but at this point I am trying my best to manage and navigate the complicated road to college.

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While Elle may have been one our exceptionally stressed, others echoed her fears in less dramatic ways, hoping to stay the course. Peyton wrote, My hopes are that it is not as stressful as I'm thinking it will be. Lauryn wrote, My hopes for the application process is that I don't stress out and that I don't mess up. Others hoped for a smooth process. Lance wrote: I just want the process to go smoothly. I want to finish them fast and not have to stress about not finishing them or forgetting some parts, and Dave noted, I hope that the app process isn't painful. I think my fear is becoming really overwhelmed with everything. I think there's so many things to do to get ready for it and I fear that I'll just put things off and then become really overwhelmed and stressed with everything. Others noted that they feared messing up the application or succumbing to procrastination: My fears for the application process are that I might have trouble with the applications, and I won't do it correctly. I'm only worried that I will forget some important thing that has a deadline, but I'll do everything in order to prevent that. A fear of mine for the college application is procrastinating and looking back to now in March and wishing I had worked on them earlier on. I'm afraid that I'll stress so much over it that I'll put it off and then it will be too late. One student summed this up well when she wrote: I'm really looking forward to going to college, but I think that the steps it takes to get there will set me back. There was so much fear of the process itself that I saw it as an opportunity for us to rally together and to support one another through it. Though many simply wanted to GET IT DONE without drowning, as one student wrote, I hoped that this would be an opportunity to face their fears of this process head-on, as a group. Clearly, students were fearful. Another student wrote: I hope it is easy and it ends fast because I am scared... They were scared of rejection, scared of letting themselves down by procrastinating, and scared to lose themselves in the process. Those who wrote that they hoped to remain true to themselves while applying made me suspect that our conversations about honesty and throughout the creation of our narratives and personality profiles had stuck with them. I was pleased

Figure 4.13 Students Hopes and Fears about Applying to College

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that this was on their radar because it meant that it was something we could work to maintain together. I hope that I am able to write a thoughtful and honest personal statement to add onto all my applications. My hopes for the college application process are that I apply to schools that I truly wish to attend. I fear that I will over think my personal statement and write something that isn't me or describes who I am. Most of these comments were in regards to the personal statement portion of the college application. Sizer notes that this aspect of the application process is one that students understand. Seniors see the purpose of the essay much more clearly than that of any other part of the application process she writes. The essay is the seniors chance to show themselves exactly as they want to be seen (Sizer, 2002, p. 105). My hope was that we could maintain the honesty from our profiles while writing our personal essays. We could support one another. Though they werent all applying to the same schools, they all had the common fear of the application itself. This, we determined in our Monday meeting, while perusing the statements recorded in the blog posts, was something we could support each other through. The College App/Scholarship Binder We would keep each other honest and on track and celebrate our successes. We would be a team that would ensure Section 1. The List. that each of us crossed the finish line of applying to college. Yes, there would be other decisions to be made later, but my students Section 2. The Calendar. feared the immediate, and I knew we could support each other Section 3. Transcripts/Test Scores through it. After our discussion that Monday, in which we pledged to Section 4. CSU App support each other and stay honest, we dove in. Each student received a white binder, and we created tabs Section 5. UC App out of manila folders [Figure 4.14]. We recorded the list of schools we would apply to, created a personal calendar to make Section 6. Common App. this happen, and collected hard copies of the University of Section 7. Supplements California, California State University, and Common Applications. We decorated the fronts of our binders, personalizing them, and Section 8. Scholarships. cleared a spot on my bookshelf where they would live until we finished this process. Figure 4.14 College Binder Sections College applications and scholarship applications held equal places of value during this process. I made it clear that those who planned to attend community colleges after graduation would work to apply for scholarships. I wanted to avoid what Sizer called status wars (p. 81), in which students begin to compare themselves based upon where they are applying. This was tough for some students. Drew blanched a little bit as he assembled his binder. I cant believe Im doing this. Its so weird Others recognized how much work they had ahead of them as they assemble their lists, replete with multiple
Figure 4.15 College/Scholarship List

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supplements. Some, like Tyler, learned what a supplement was. I have to write more for all of these?! he asked incredulously. Others, like Phoebe, who would be the first in her family to attend college, were eager for the support. Still others, like Nolan, asked if he could use his own binder that his tutor had assembled for him. Clearly, students were all over the place in terms of background knowledge of the application process. I had anticipated this, however, and hoped that by highlighting our common hopes and fears, we would remember that we all still had a lot in common. At the end of the day, we piled our binders back into the bookshelves. Students were abuzz with what was to come. The tone had changed. I just hoped that we would hold fast to the team we had built over the last month and a half.

Yes, its True I Applied to College!

On the following day, our college counselor joined us. Students pulled out their binders, logged into laptops, and were guided through their first application. All students were eligible for the California State University system, and so we decided to lead them through this application online. The information they entered here could easily be transferred to other applications. Our aim was to demystify the process and to complete this as a team. This was also the first time I had been able to team with another adult throughout the semester. Tony and I were able to support one another as he led the group, and I wandered around addressing individual questions. We traded jokes, played some good music, and tried to smooth out the crinkly lines forming on students foreheads. By the end of the day, several students had completed their first application and were able to remark that it wasnt so bad. We needed some way to celebrate this, I told Tony! I looked around the room and seized a roll of blue paper. I unrolled a wall-length size and tacked it up near the door. At the top, I scrawled the victory cry: Yes, its True I Applied to College! Over the upcoming days and weeks, students who completed an application signed their name and date to this wall. Tony would march students into my room, Sharpie in hand, during the middle of class, and we would applaud as a new student added herself to our growing collage of signatures. The wall offered a chance to express solidarity and pride. Students pulled their parents on to look at it. Their Instagram feeds were filled with new names on blue paper. It was the kind of camaraderie and celebration that I had hoped for. It was not all smooth sailing, however. The process of writing a personal statement may have echoed that of our previous writing pieces, but it was still loaded with pressure. This pressure seeped into our classroom at various points, in the form of restlessness, exclamations of writers block, and new forms of distracting one another as they fought to stay focused. At the end of our second week, I knew that this needed to be addressed. I asked students to come up with ideas and record them in their blogs. We began the class on the following Monday with a discussion of what students shared. Here are a few ideas that students recorded in response to the question I posed (below):

This has been a tiring week. How can we reset ourselves on Monday to make sure that we not only complete our applications and essays, but support each in doing so? What can you do for yourself? What can your classmates do for you? What can I do for you (and the class)?

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Ten students wrote that they needed to make sure they got more rest. Not only had they been busy working on personal statements, but other classes had quickened their pace. They had their first major math exam and many were studying for the SATs. It was helpful for me to remember this. Not every behavioral issue can be directly correlated to what is happening in my class alone. What was also telling about this weeks blog responses was that they were all over the place. There were a range of needs. Some wanted more quiet time, while others wanted a chance to interact with peers. For example, one student wrote: I think we should just have quiet work time. We should just go in and get right to work, while another requested, To help us, Id say take time to unwind in classes. Not jumping straight into work. I'd also say peer editing and just a more chill day on Monday. I wasnt sure what to do next, and I hoped that my students would have an idea when they reviewed on anothers responses on Monday. Fortunately, they did. They pinpointed the words support, and motivation, in the blog responses. The college application blues were getting to them, and they needed to bring a bit of levity to their daily work life. One student suggested beginning the class with a short game: I think we all just need a mental reset. The noise-making exercise was a good reset/preparation for what was ahead. We need some game that the whole class can get into and enjoy so we can all reset our minds. She was referring to a short, icebreaker game we had played before a read-around. Students echoed this request, insisting that short little games like this made their day seem less heavy. The next week continued with efforts to lighten the mood. However, it was still a struggle. Students agonized over their writing in different ways: some worked tirelessly on a single paragraph, while others did everything they could to avoid it. On the day of our read-around, students were less enthusiastic than usual. Although they had met our deadline, many still felt they had loose ends to tie up. Few felt they had a perfect statement. I flipped back to Sizers book at the end of the week and felt the resonance of this statement: The seniors come face-to-face with the factors that make them admissibleor inadmissible They have become words on a sheet. What will strangers think of these words? (Sizer, 2002, p. 88). Before we began our read-around, I reminded them of how far they had come in the last few weeks. Though they might feel unfinished, they should feel good about how far they have come in sharing their personal stories. Our read-around was rich, but different than in the previous few cycles. It was heavier. The tone had changed. After our customary celebratory doughnuts, students completed their end notes for their statements and recorded answers to the following questions in their blogs:

Look back to your blog post from week #5. Read what you wrote for your hopes and fears. Which of these still hold true? Which do you feel you have overcome?
Many students noted that they still feared being rejected from their top-choice schools; however, I was thrilled to see that most felt they had a much better understanding of the process of applying: I am still scared, probably will be till Jan.15, but till then just gotta keep my head up and keep working. I haven't really overcome those fears, I have just gained a better attitude. Haha that is definitely true, I did stress out. But now that more of it's done, and I know what to do I'm relaxing more. I feared the amount of work we had to do. Its not that bad. Im honestly not afraid of college any more... I feel like I really understand how it all works. Some simply expressed that they felt better or relieved: 24

It went just how I wanted it to go. I didnt stress when it came to the essays but I did stress on the apps because there was some information I couldnt get. Work from my other classes didnt get in my way. Im satisfied with how everything went. I feel like I have accomplished a lot, I have turned in two entire applications and written six essays. My hopes and fears still feel relevant to me, but I think that everyone worries about not getting in to their dream school. SO GREAT! I have most of it all done! I didn't procrastinate, which was my fear, and it take as much time as I thought it would. Still, there were others that felt they had lingering business to resolve: I'm still afraid that I'll look back to now and wish I had worked harder. I feel okay about my essays right now. I'm sure that after I take a longer time on them and keep going over them they will become a lot better. I'm not done yet. I've made an impact, but there is still some work for me to do. Others felt like they had expressed themselves fully in their personal statements. I considered this to be one of our greatest victories: I definitely don't fear that my essay doesn't portray who I am. I feel that I describe exactly who I am. I did have a hard time writing about myself, but in the last couple of weeks I have felt a little more confident. I successfully wrote my personal statements/essays thoughtfully, and made sure that my voice was heard. But I have let myself slack off in the process, but I am slowly overcoming that. We made progress, and we supported each other in the process. This year, more than any other year, I felt that student wrote honest personal statements. They were good enough as they were, and they bravely chose to share their stories to strangers and to a room full of their peers. As we wrapped up our study of the narrative genre in various forms, I had one last question for my students: What do you feel are your big takeaways from your work with this genre? Responses were overwhelmingly positive. Almost all students noted growth of some kind. Even those who didnt feel like it was suited to their tastes expressed growth. Paulo wrote: I honestly think that narrative writings are not my style, but at the same time I feel that I am improving on my narrative writing. Some realized that they enjoyed the genre: Yes, I'd never done personal narratives, I enjoy them a lot. I think it is probably one of my strongest styles of writing, I didn't know until now. I have not really done narrative work before, and I have realized that I really enjoy them I have the chance to express myself and write what I am always thinking about. It also gives me the chance to sit and think of times in my life I have not thought about in a while. I just love it. Some felt greater confidence in expressing their voice in their writing: My biggest takeaway is how to be descriptive with my work and just sounding like myself with my writing. I now am able to be satisfied with any writing I produce. Learning how to make my own voice heard. Before, when I would write, I would sound like a whole different person. But after doing various narratives I sound like myself and now have the ability to put detail throughout my writing. I am able to put myself in my writing much more now and I do not think it is awkward. 25

Still, others expressed a growth in their general writing skills: Wow. I feel that focusing on narratives really broadened my view on how you could capture a specific moment in so much detail. I learned that you can take an important memory of your life and really focus on it and in the end you have an outcome of a beautiful piece of writing that you can keep and means so much to you. I improved greatly with this genre because I barely had experience with it in the beginning of the year. I took away a lot, and it was interesting learning about each persons story. Others expressed that they learned about themselves and their peers: Yeah, I learn a lot of things about myself. I enjoy writing about my personal experiences. I feel that my biggest takeaway is my new skill of identifying strengths in myself or peers and being able to express these through writing. These different moments between my favorite mistake and the personal profile helped me learn about myself and about others writing. I definitely do think that I write differently, better even, and I would like to see how it affects the way I write other genres. There is a lot that I learned for the narrative writing. You can't lose yourself in the writing, and to not change who you are to sound like a different person. I was sad to bid adieu to this narrative genre when so many students noted growth in their writing, their ability to express who they are, and their ability to connect with one another. Sharing stories had provided a great foundation for our team.

Moving Toward Co-Designing a Project

My students and I wrote poetry, short and longer narratives, survived the college application process, and shared our writing (aloud) during and after each product. Because we were sharing stories about ourselves while building writing skills, most students seemed to feel connected. Students made decisions about how our class is run, how many books we should read, how we shared out reading, and CONSIDERED one another in the process. This gave me faith that they would feel be able to make stronger decisions about WHAT we would create in our next project.

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