My friend Cynthia asked me to do a presentation in her SCWriP workshop for teachers who work with students on their writing.  I knew none of the participants but they were all familiar–over the years I’ve taught with every one of them.  There was the enthusiastic English teacher who loves to write and is hungry for ways to pass that love along to her students.  There was the kindergarten teacher who is completely open trying out material that she could never use with her students; she’s smart enough to realize that she, too, is a writer and needs to tend to her craft.  And as always, there was the long-time teacher who had nothing to learn and worked on other things–he just wasn’t ready for anything new.   All of them were lucky enough to spend three days with Cynthia, a gifted writer who uses her love of words to help her students discover that they have something to say, and that writing is an essential and powerful tool.

After my presentation, I asked if there were any questions.  There were–frustrated inquiries about how to foster a love for creative and personal writing when our classrooms have been taken over by standardized tests and curriculum guides put together by people who have never met the kids who sit in front of us.  It’s easy for me to stand before these teachers and encourage them not to work in fear–I’m at the end of my career, and if push comes to shove, I’ll figure out how to get by.  But I encouraged them to teach from their passion, to pass on their love for learning to their students–to model the joy.  Attention must be paid to the requirements of the job, but teaching is too difficult to do day after day without a sense of excitement about what you’ll be sharing with your kids.  I know my students face a barrage of standardized tests, some of which will help them open doors to colleges and increase their opportunities later on.  I know that if my students fail these tests, my administrators and some of the parents will lose faith in me.  But I also know that the surest way to kill ideas and creativity is to shove them in boxes:  A, B, C, D, or all of the above.

So when a standardized test is on the horizon (and lately they just loom), I get my students to approach it like a battle.  We gear up for the fight and we will take no prisoners.  In my experience, kids’ test scores will go up automatically if they are motivated when they sit down to fill in the bubbles and the blanks.  My presentation started with a fun activity I share with my kids that generates journal writing, which can lead to creative writing, which can lead to a college-type personal statement, and can produce a thoughtful academic essay.  I teach my students “tricks” to jump-starting a timed essay, and I encourage them to concentrate on form rather than content for certain tests; for others, content matters far more than form.  Mostly, I tell my students that they need to become flexible writers–like the gears in a car–shift to the format that will get you where you want to go.  Same for us teachers.

Curriculum guides, Standards, workbooks are fine for beginning teachers or those who don’t really have a grasp on their subject.  But if you’re lucky enough to teach what you love, demonstrate to the students why you’ve given your life to this work.  Less is definitely more when creating teaching units.  Figure out those big ideas that will help the kids have choices and reach their goals.  Keep focusing on the fact that you’re teaching people, not subjects, so make the curriculum match their needs.  Some will need help with standardized tests.  Some will need help staying in school.  Some will need help seeing the point of what you teach.   All will need help to become life-long writers.

As I said goodbye to the teachers in Cynthia’s workshop, I encouraged them to trust their instincts and begged them not to give up.  We need teachers like these who care enough to work on their craft so they can inspire their students.  I’m honored to call them my colleagues.