Writing With Kids

You teach. You know your kids respond more when you model what it is you want them to do. But you don’t have time to write. Write anyway. Park yourself at your desk, at the magic white board that displays your awful words on the wall, at that old overhead projector, or whatever you got in your classroom these days to display your own free-flowing meandering, your sloppy copy, your own scratchy scribbles, the line-outs, the arrowed-in additions, the stops by the roadside to play with words. Do it.

I found ways to not write for many years. I didn’t have time. I was on umpteen educational committees (some on teaching writing!), always taking classes (If I were more focused I could have a couple doctorates with the number of credits I’ve collected), teaching teachers about writing, and oh my, the best excuse ever — reading whatever I could about writing and how to teach it. It was partly pure selfishness that got me modeling the process. The need to write grew stronger than my no-time excuse, and I figured out where to find the time. I could write with my students! They loved seeing me squirm, reading my disjointed thoughts, snickering over misspellings, and giggling at the junk I gave myself permission to write. Think you can’t do it? Too hard to reveal all those awful flaws? What do you think it’s like for them to show you their work?

When I really didn’t have time to write was when I was 40 and pregnant. That’s when I realized I’d never have time, so that’s when I took my writing seriously.

List all your excuses. Find the fallacy in them. Cross them out. Read my writing blog along with this teaching blog. Write with your kids!