What a surreal time we are living in right now.
As I started to think about writing this first post, my thoughts kept getting pulled to everything that is going on in communities around the world as well as in my own school community.
And here I am charged with writing about creating a community of writers. I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head about creating writing communities within your school and creating a culture of writers.
Do you want to know the most amazing thought swirling in my head that we all need to hear right now?
Writing itself has the power to create community.
I see writing as a beautiful, messy, important, and necessary symbiotic relationship, one where both ‘communities’ benefit from each other.
As you create a community of writers, the writing and the writers will, in turn, create community.
And community is what we need today.
We may be forced to live in a foreign world of social distancing, but we have the power to transform this new experience into a world of creative connecting.
People that know me know that I am always focused on putting kids first. As a principal, I believe that schools need to be student-centered.
But when we are talking about building a community of writers and a culture of writing in our schools, it has to start with the adults.
Us lit-focused folks know that if we want a community of readers and a culture of reading, then we all need to be reading -- adults and kids.
If we think this for reading, then it only makes sense to apply the same thought to writing.
We need adults to write and be writers before we can expect our kids to write and be writers.
Whether you are an administrator, a teacher, or an aspiring educator, you have the ability to get more adults writing.
All it takes is one willing person.
Will it be you?
Liz Garden is a principal/lead learner in Massachusetts who believes in the power of a school of writers -- both students and teachers alike. She regularly shares her writing with others through blog posts, editorials, journal articles, and good old conversation. Liz plans to add the title of ‘author’ to her list of life experiences someday. Liz will share her thoughts about creating a school community centered around writing every month here on the Teach Write blog. You can connect with Liz on Twitter and on her blog.
At Teach Write, we believe that teachers who write make the best teachers of writers.
We provide professional development, workshops, and education to help teachers connect their writing life to their writing instruction.
Through this blog, we share ways to help both you and your students grow as writers.
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