Responses to Because Writing Matters

One passage that inspired me is on page 59, beginning with " Schools need to be places where teachers lead scholarly lives." and ending with "'Would you go to a doctor who doesn't keep up with the latest findings and techniques?'"

Wow. So true. I guess I am in this program for this very reason. I want to be at the top of my game and be able to offer my students the best and latest and greatest in instruction. I never really know quite what to make of my peers who are afraid of tackling technology or who want to teach the same way they did 20 years ago. As a parent, I would want my child to take classes from a teacher who constantly engages in professional development.

There is that horrible adage "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." I hate hearing that. I wonder how teachers got that reputation. What does that say about our professionalism?

Another section I really liked was on pages 62-63. This is a list of professional development activities that teachers can do at their own school. Many of the suggestions are terrific and, frankly, I would rather work closely on developing lessons or teaching techniques with my colleagues than sitting in a one-fits-all professional development that often occurs at the beginning of the school year. But I have also seen where teachers do not take this opportunity seriously when they are given the chance to work together. In some schools, everybody wants to do their own thing rather thna share, and I think that is detrimental to the atmostphere of learning and professionalsim.

The thrid passage I found intriguing was on page 69. The passage " Indeed, this practice of giving teachers firsthand experience with technology mirrors the writing projects practice of asking teachers to become writers themselves in order to become effective teachers of writing."

Such a simple and humble concept, yet ever so effective. Why didn't I think of it? I really often did not take the time to write what I was asking my students to write to see what difficulties or rewards lay in their path. I like that the NWP is asking me to write to become a better writing teacher. I thought I was a pretty good academic writer--able to put a research paper together pretty quickly and effectlvely. But today I discovered I can't write decent narrative--and I asked my kids to write tons of narratives last year. Did I write a single narrative? No, but I will from now on. Thanks for the epiphany.