Inside Out Chapters 2 and 3

James Miller uses a metaphor of colorful yarn to describe the inner language that is in all of us. As teachers (or coaches) of writing, our job is to help our students pull out their inner language and put it on the page. Writing is not always pleasant, and it doesn't always flow. The student cited in the article compares it to going through a maze. Elie Wiesel describes it as a "painful pleasure" and an "act of faith". I always carry the image of Lillian Hellman, played by Jane Fonda in the movie "Julia", throwing her typewriter out of the window in frustration.
One of my favorite authors, Truman Capote, didn't particularly enjoy the process of writing at all. These are people who choose to write. What is it like for our poor students ? We need to let
them know that the chaos that they experience when approaching writing is normal. Part of our job as coaches is to get out of the way when we need to and let them experience the process in a natural way. Writing is so scary for some of them, but we want to make it for them what it is for us, a sometimes maddening, but ultimately pleasurable form of self-expression. We need to let them know that in spite of our writing charts on the wall, writing does not always fit into neat little boxes. Letting them develop fluency, to get a feel and an appreciation for language in all of its forms is a good way to begin. Control and precision can come later. We want our students to have ownership of their writing. They need to read for models in their own writing. Writing is serious business, so certain protocols should be followed each step of the way. In coaching,
the student learning takes place while the student is learning or doing. In my own school experience, the teacher assigned the topic, sat at her desk, then wrote in red all over it when it was finished. Nobody ever looked at all that red writing anyway, so little was learned. How different to have the teacher/coach asking questions and exploring possibilities with the writer!
Talking is a good way to get the process started and to get ideas flowing(we Bluebonnets certainly do a lot of that!) Webbing, jotting, sharing with a partner are effective and
non-threatening ways of beginning to express ideas.
I have found over the years that students are only interested in seeing two things on my classroom walls: pictures of themselves and their own work. I try to put everyone's work up, because I think that the classroom should reflect everyone in it, not just the best writers.
The classroom environment is important. I have never had much to work with in the way of a room. I have studied the best configurations for a classroom, and I have decided for me that a fluid one is best. We move the furniture in my room a lot, and everyone understands what each configuration is for. Classes of writing have to be non-threatening. I believe that writing is a soul-baring enterprise, and you don't want to destroy the souls of your students. We, as teachers, have to nurture our students and choose our words carefully when critiquing. Knowing students , whether it's learning names quickly, or knowing something about them as people is
important because you have to let them know that you value them as people and that you and everyone else wants to know what they have to say. The Writer's Questionnaire and the Sentence Completion are good fast ways to get to know something about the student, and
they can be modified into ice breaker activities for the whole class. I don't like the Secret Telling, because I think it violates boundries. Nothing will scare a student out of becoming part of a writing community faster than feeling that his/her boundries are about to be violated.
The Coat of Arms, the Secret Box, the Road of Life, Behind the Mask, Creating Metaphors of Self and Wire Sculpture are all great activities of self-expression. I would have a problem in my class with the Impressions Word Game because my students love to ridicule one another. It's
always just in fun, according to them, but I have to constantly be aware of unflattering nicknames and jokes at others' expense. I don't allow it, and I have to be careful not to have them engaged in activities that encourage it. To me, the Walking Compositions are what it's all about. I always believe that if you can get students out of the classroom, they will learn more.
I have often used nature walks, ice skating trips, science field trips, and theater field trips as
a springboard for a writing project. The students were so excited to get out and go somewhere that the words flowed !