What to Write?

Today's post is brought to you by Julie Schwartzbauer

The topic for this post was “Coaches Choice.”  That is exactly why it took me so long to write it! There are far too many things that I care about in the area of literacy to just pick one.  I put it off and put it off and then I attended the WSRA (Wisconsin State Reading Association) conference.

Wow!  Talk about information overload.  There were so many fabulous presenters there.  I think of many of the leading researchers in literacy as “Rock Stars,”  as I stand in line to get their autograph.   

I think the biggest “Rock Star” for me this year at the convention had to have been Lucy Calkins. It was the first time I had ever heard her present in person.  I truly felt honored.   

One of the main themes of the convention this year was students as writers.  I went to session after session gathering information on how to support my teachers in the teaching of writing. As I woke up Saturday morning, preparing to hear Lucy speak, I was feeling like I was ready to conquer writing.  I had a stack of new professional resources, and my brain was ready to explode with all of the new learning I had spent doing the last two days.

It was during Lucy’s presentation that I began to do some some self-reflection.  Lucy had us looking at various writing samples.  We were analyzing many of them and even verbally creating some of our own.  It was at this point that I realized I AM NOT A WRITER!  I went on to ponder that if I am not a writer, how am I supposed to teach a teacher or even a child how to write?  I walked away that day understanding the struggle our teachers go through when they are expected to teach children how to write and they themselves are not writers.  My goal, is to become a writer!  What’s your goal?