11. Discovering the Creative Writer Within
Becoming a Teacher Who Writes - Let Teaching be your Writing Muse - Nancy S. Gorrell
Nancy S. Gorrell [+]
English teacher and poet
Description
Chapter 11 describes how the author discovered the creative writer within. The moment of occasion is her grandfather’s 80th birthday when she wants to give him a present. She recalls a writing exercise she had taught to her students – memory association technique – and decides to try it herself. She prompts her memories with an object – the old nut bowl she played with as a child. She turns the key beneath the nut bowl and hears music. A chain of memories flows. The author writes several pages and then a poem comes to mind. The author drafts “Grandpa” and presents the poem to her grandfather on his birthday. In “What I have Learned,” she discusses how writing becomes a path to self-discovery. “Chaining memories” helped her write with a greater sense of personal authenticity. In Chapter 11 the author offers a model from plant ecologist, Steven N. Handel’s memoir, “Beginning at the End.” Teachers will find the model useful for students seeking their future path. Chapter 11 concludes with Interdisciplinary Applications for Teachers and Students and a “Returning to a Place” writing prompt. The author encourages all subject teachers as they are becoming writers to share their writings in progress with their students to further discipline-related writing in their classes.