TRWP Newsletter

7/29/2019 TRWP Newsletter

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Dec. 5, Teacher Inquiry Project session

Jan. 29-31, Leadership Team SpringVisioning Retreat

March 24-27, NWP Spring Meeting,Washington, D.C.

July 5-30, TRWP 4th Annual SummerInstitute

Fall 2009

Down by the River

The Newsletter of theTar River Writing Project East Carolina University

Volume 3, Issue 1

Upcoming EventsYou know when you see a picture of yourself, and you just don’t think it looks like you…You see it differently; you see yourself in those surroundings differently. Well, I recently saw a picture of me. I was tagged in it, if that means anything to you.

It meant something to me.

For one of the first times in a long while, I had no needs that hadto be met. I sat- rocked, rather- on a slanted, second-floor, south-ern sanctuary overlooking a sleepy one light town in the BlueRidge Mountains.

Dillsboro nestles among the whispering trees, but among thosetress, those short streets and dainty shops, and animated by (an)existential crisis, we talked.

We laughed; we listened, debated and gazed; daringly admired,shared, and planned or plotted. We delighted in theory and dedi-

cation, politics and principles, inquiry and definitions satiated bythe intoxication.

We wrote.

The ECU TRWP joined the UNC Charlotte WP in Dillsboro

for a weekend writing retreat, September 19-21, 2009.



Teachers Teaching Teachers Volume 3 | Issue 1 | Fall 2009

I won’t write a poem.

You can’t make me!

I won’t write a song-

Won’t let the music take me!

I won’t write a skit.

That’s just not my bag.

Teacher made me write an essay,

The miserable hag!

I refuse to pen a novel.

It takes too many words!

You say I should write a memoir?

Craziest thing I ever heard!

"Neither Man nor god is goingto tell me what to write"

- James T. Farrell

Don’t force me.

Don’t beg me.

Don’t cajole.

Don’t plead.

I’ll write when I’m ready!

I’ll write what I need.

For writing is a personal matter.

It eases my soul.

Words flowing through me like water

Filling me, making me whole.

I Won’t Write a Poem by Wendy Mumy




Upon Exiting the Temple

By Alicia DatzA tale of spiritual awakening

on my heart I bowed looking at him, with sincere gratitude.

He stepped around his table,walked toward me, and said inattempted English, “a rebirththrough the womb of Buddha.”

I again bowed and said thank you,walking away with tears in myeyes. I cannot pretend to knowwhy I was moved to tears.

It was an instant in which time,place, identity, and everythingthat I am vanished; I was thedarkness, reaching for meaning,then pushing to the surface of un-derstanding for a brief moment.

I knew a complete connectedness

to everything I want to be, havebeen, and am.

I stood on the porch of the Bud-dhist temple looking beyond thewooden structures, mountains,buildings, and city of Kyoto be-low, until they too began to block my view of whatever it was that Ihad seen.

As the people behind me reached

out for the stone, I was pushedthrough the final curve of the hall,and surfaced into the light.

Again, today I was moved by anexperience so beyond the finalityof language; it moved me deeply,and I emerged slightly changed. Iwill not forget the sensation of descending a staircase knowingthat in only moments, darknesswould consume me.

Passing through a soft fabric cur-tain, I walked barefoot on a coldstone floor, running my handsalong the smooth rounded walls,finger tips gracing the hard coolsurface. I was surrounded bycomplete and total blackness.

(Despite the presence of mypeers, I do not really rememberthem with me.) I drifted in the

current .The walls curved in such a waythat I was made to walk slowly,deliberately- without expectation.

A low yellow light shone upon amassive marbleized stone, an illu-sion? I reached out to the stone,praying silently, as I my fingersreached out, and each singularlybut together brushed the stone.

As I touched it, I could see thehand of a friend, but those fingersand palm did not belong to anyone person; they were like mine,searching intently.

As I ascended the staircase, I wasmoved to tears. A Japanese monk met me at the landing, and as Istood on the top step, with hand

News and Notes

We have several excited fourthgraders in my rural elementaryschool who are currently writingchildren's books and illustratingthem based on The Diary of aWimpy Kid. I think this is a result of the core classroom teacher's in-spired work and a couple of self-motivated kids, who are findingadditional support and guidancefrom the librarian and me. I think they would like to publish thesebooks!

-Jane Gardner

I have conducted four district writ-er's workshop trainings in Craven

County ( June 22, July 28, Oct. 12,Nov. 6) that serviced 104 teachers. Iam currently working with NCDPIon the English I Essential StandardsCommittee and continue to serve asa Writing Advisory Consultant withNCDPI. I have also been asked topresent at the Accountability Con-ference in Greensboro, on February17th.

-Mike Tart

After spending a summer in Japanunder the direction of John Tuckerof ECU's Asian studies program, Iparticipated in a continued Asian

studies program offered in conjunc-tion with NCTAN. Furthermore, Iparticipated in the 2009 TRWPSummer Institute. I attended anAVID conference in Dallas, Texas torefine AVID strategies, specificallyCritical Reading in the classroom.

-Ms. Alicia Anne Datz




Letter from a Spouse

The following is a letter exchangebetween a participant in the 2009TRWP Summer Institute, Nancy

West, and her significant other,Richard. Nancy’s excitement toshare her writing with someoneoutside the group and Richard’sresponse to Nancy, we feel, cap-tures what many have called the“transformational” process partic-ipants experience as they begin tocelebrate themselves not only asteachers of writing, but as writersthemselves.

Dear One,

I'm being off-task but was movedto share something I wrote thismorning, as a result of this morn-ing's homework. Another teach-er's [demonstration of writing in-struction] involved integratingscience and poetry, and the[homework] entailed readingabout a famous scientist and jot-

ting down 10-15 facts about her. Ichose Jane Goodall, and was most intrigued by what I found out about her. I will skip for you thevarious steps of the lesson, but it culminated in writing a free versepoem, which I decided to do in hervoice. So here it is.

“Jane Goodall”

by Nancy M. West

We are all animals, and I knew Iwas one, early on.

I didn't fit with my civilized par-entsMy hedge-lined surroundings of tame, tranquil Britain;I needed the wild to findMy toolsMy communityMy passion.

I owe a lot to the Leakeys, Louisand Mary:They saw something in the shy sec-

retaryThat led them to invite her on a digfor Origins in East Africa.

I fell in love and I never wanted tocome home.

And so, at 26, with no formal train-ing,My mother flitting nearby,I went back to Africa with the sav-ings I stuffed under the rugTo study Chimpanzees.

The first time, they wouldn't evenlet me close!

I had to go it alone, so I did.

I was the first to slowly gain ac-ceptance toTheir livesTheir communitiesWitness their passions.

My discoveries of our primate simi-

laritiesFamily bonding- tool using- eatingomnivorously,Catapulted me to a quiet fame,Drew Hugo, a National Geographicphotographer,To share that fame, that passion.

We became lovers, then husbandand wife,Had "Grub" (Hugo, Junior), our on-ly son.

Eventually, I received a PhD inCambridge for my work.

I found a voice to speak for Chim-panzees.

I use it, still.

Dear Flicka,

I think your hardy group has beentaken by the writing muse! After ob-serving you for the last few years, Ithink of teachers as dedicated, hardworking and serious about their craft.

It is a pleasing though to now alsopicture your group of teacher-writersdoing something for enjoyment andfulfillment. Of course, I realize that creative writing is part of the summerprogram, but still...it is fun, isn't it?

You positively glow each eveningwith the desire to share at least someof what you have written. You put your heart and all your feelings intoit, adding voice to the written work.You are always enthusiastic, but this

writing adventure has leveraged yourinterest and creativity to a higher lev-el.

If your writings are indicative of thevolume and variety coming out of thisclass, then I would say someone hasdone an admirable job of bringingopportunity together with motiva-tion. How long would it have takenyou to have done all this writing onyour own? You have inspiration andtime set aside to focus on the writing,plus the obvious benefit of peer re-view. I think you each encourage oneanother in a spirit of fun, sans possi-bility of rejection. A writer's para-dise! Well done, all.

I just wanted to offer praise wherepraise is due. I am proud of you, andimpressed with how you have spent this rather large block of your sum-mer "vacation". I believe the effect ismore lasting and more positive than a

perhaps more restful, but less pro-ductive, use of the time could everhave been. I think you will all leavethe class renewed, and I believe manyof you will try to stay in touch forsome time to come..

Love,Richard

“bringing opportunity together with motivation”




County Breakdownof SI Participation

“We'd love to see all

counties in our cover-age area represented inour Summer Institutes.

Let us know how wecan get the word out to

your district.”

Craven County Schools 9

Pitt County Schools 6

East Carolina University 6

Nash-Rocky Mount Schools 5

Martin County Schools 5

Greene County Schools 2

Hertford County Schools 2

Private Schools 1

Fayetteville State University 1

Wilson County Schools 1

Edgecombe County Schools 1

Beaufort County Schools 1

Carteret County Schools 0

Lenoir County Schools 0

Pamlico County Schools 0

Jones County Schools 0

Wayne County Schools 0

Halifax County Schools 0

Bertie County Schools 0

Washington County Schools 0

Community Colleges 0




REPRESENTING TRWP IN

WASHINGTON, D.C.

NWP SPRING MEETING REPORT

By Terri Van Sickle

Research Excerpts

Seated in a room of the Senatebuilding with hundreds of teachersrepresenting over 200 local writingproject sites from all 50 states, D.C.,Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Is-lands as members of the House and

Senate spoke passionately about their support of the NWP felt surre-al. How interesting it is to be a part of our nation’s legislative system at work!

Part of the work of the Tar RiverWP is to join with members of otherNWP sites from around the nationin Washington, D.C., each spring tolobby Congress for continued fund-ing for our work.

Over a three-day period in April,Todd Finley, Will Banks, JenniferSharpe, Jonathan Bartels, StephanieWest-Puckett, John Suralik, and Imet with Senator Kay Hagan’s of-fice, listened to research demon-strating the positive effects of NWPon teacher participants and theirstudents, and participated inroundtable discussions on topicssuch as Teacher Transformation,Online Collaborative Writing Spac-

es, Ethical Issues in Teacher In-quiry, Family Literacy Programs,Creating a Climate for Equity, Cul-turally Responsive Literacy Prac-tice, and NWP Teacher Leadership.

The weekend’s docket of speakersincluded Sharon J. Washington, Ex-ecutive Director of NWP, Dr. LeslieFenwick, Dean of the School of Edu-cation at Howard University, andJacqueline Jones Royster, professorof English at The Ohio State Univer-

sity, who spoke about thenection between literacy and thepublic good.

Prior to our visit, George Millerand Todd Platts, of the Commit-

tee on Education and Labor, cir-culated a “Dear Colleague” letterto fellow legislators, asking themto sign in support of continuedfunding for NWP in FY 2010.

In their letter, they argued per-suasively that “The NWP is theonly federal program that focus-es on the teaching of writing.NWP provides teachers withhigh-quality, ongoing school-based support to incorporate

technology into 21st centurylearning. Each NWP site leverag-es its federal contribution with acombination of state, local, andprivate funds, making it one of the most cost-effective programssupported by the U.S. Depart-ment of Education. The federalinvestment in the NWP has con-tributed to dramatic improve-ment in the writing skills of mil-lions of students.”

As for us, we needed no persuad-ing. We know fully the impact NWP has on teachers of writingand on our students. On the trainride home, we offered peer re-views of Todd’s in-process tech-nology article and put on an im-promptu writing sprint as wetook in the sights through ourAmtrak windows and reflectedon the work we accomplished onCapitol Hill.

• NWP was first authorized by Con-gress to receive federal funding in1991.

• Congress allocated $24.3 million

for NWP funding in FY 2009.• NWP sought $30 million in fund-ing for FY 2010.

• More than 100,000 individualeducators each year are reachedthrough NWP local professionaldevelopment.

• The NWP Legacy Study showsthat 98 percent of NWP SummerInstitute participants remain ineducation until they retire, with 70percent staying in the classroom

throughout their careers.

• Nine studies conducted from2004 to 2007 across NWP sites indiverse geographic regions of thecountry show statistically signifi-cant and greater gains in writingperformance for students whoseteachers participated in NWP pro-grams.

• Independent national scorings of student writing from the studiesshow that NWP students’ im-

provement outpaces that of stu-dents in carefully constructed com-parison groups.

• NWP provides the capacity—thepeople, skills and knowledge—that makes local improvement effortspossible. In 2007-08, NWP sitesraised $23.8 million in local funds.

• NC Republican, Senator RichardBurr, co-sponsored NWP reauthor-ization legislation in 2001 as amember of the House of Repre-

sentatives.• Former NC Senator Elizabeth Dole(R) signed the NWP Dear Colleagueletter in 2008.

• Representative Bob Etheridge (D)signed the NWP Dear Colleagueletter in 2008.




News & Notes

The Fall 2010 Technology Institute is a multi-dayopportunity for educators to investigate and apply

various technologies that reinforce 21st Centurylearning skills and Department of

Public Instruction-recognized digital illiteracies andstandards.

Although in the final stages of implementation, theSpring Institute offered by the ECU TRWP technolo-

gy team will address two aspects of technologicalneeds: web-based and computer-based applications.Web-based applications, the more advanced of thetwo strands, will focus on blogging, podcasting and

videocasting, using a wiki, social networking andweb evaluation and advocacy.

The computer-based strand willconcentrate on using Microsoft-based software:Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, Windows Movie Mak-er, and the intersection and use of these tools on the

web.

Participants can choose any combination of session for a flat fee of $25.00 per class, or a five-day

package is offered at a discounted rate of $100.

Fall 2010

Technology Institute Since TRWP, I've definitelyspiced up my classroom. Sincelast year, I've established wiki's

for my English classes! Thekids really enjoy it, and themajority of them did not knowwhat wikis were until I intro-duced them. The wiki's haveincreased class participationand collaboration. I've alsointegrated daybooks into theculture of my classroom. Manyof my students love them asmuch as I do! TRWP really left me with lots of ideas.

-Natasha Martin

I'm taking my students to theNasher Museum at Duke for aWriting Marathon using theirexhibit "Picasso and the Allureof Language" as inspiration thisFriday.-Jennifer Smythe

We’re in the process of using

the Multigenre Project. Stu-dents seem to enjoy research-ing and coming up with crea-tive ideas for the project. Pro-jects have not been turned in,but I'm excited about seeingthe products! :)-Melissa Denton

My students have worked tocreate Wiki book reports and tocreate an historical fiction civilwar journal entries on antiquedpaper.-Danielle Lewis Ange




Reflections on my summer trip to Japan Jane Gardner takes a look back at her trip to Japan with an eye for how

the experience can translate into the classroom

by Jane Gardner

Featured Author

Observing fifth graders in a Calligra-

phy class made me want to write.Writing itself appears to be an art form; I saw poetry in the way the Jap-anese characters relate to each other.The phrases students were copyingblended poetry and philosophy to-gether.

One topic had something to do withthe Moon and wind or earth—the ex-act words escape me. At one ZenTemple, over 200 matted calligraphy

pieces by second to seventh graderswas on display. At the Kyoto Museuma few days later, I saw calligraphycreated on beautifully handcraftedpaper by adults, the size of the framedpieces was enormous.

Sometimes the calligraphy looked likepoetry and sometimes it simplylooked like a bold work of art--Icouldn’t read a word of it. Upon myreturn from Japan, I presented a smallpackage of beautifully illustrated thinrice paper stationery to a friend whopromptly sent me a letter.

When I opened the delicate envelop, Icracked up laughing. The letter was

written in Japanese format: the

words moved from right to left andmoved vertically down the paper.The tone of the letter was totallyentertaining!

There were lots of white spacesinstead of indented paragraphs!This switch in format changed thelanguage patterns of the writer, as

well as the way I read the words.

Try cooking up a Japanese dishand then copy a Japanese recipeor a haiku with your students— and see what happens when yousimply change the format! Addsome classical Japanese music toinspire your students or a slideshow of a Japanese travel log or

Resources for teachers:

http://www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2217/

http://library.thinkquest.org/3614/drawing2.htm

mailto:[email protected]



East Carolina University

2210 Bate Bldg.

Greenville, NC 27858

Phone: 252.328.6674

Fax: 252.328.4489

Email: [email protected]

http://www.trwp.org

Tar River Writing Project Co-Directors

Will Banks & Todd Finley

Associate Director

Jennifer Sharpe-Slater

Jonathan Bartels

Terri Van Sickle

Teachers Teaching Teachers Volume 3, Issue 1 : Fall 2009

You’re Invited to Apply!

Summer Institute 2010

Any teacher, kindergarten to college, in any disci-

pline will find a rewarding experience at the TRWPSummer Institute! The more diverse the participants

and subject areas, the better the Institute.

If you care about student writing and you’re interest-

ed in spending 4 weeks with some of the best teach-

ers in Eastern North Carolina, then the TRWP Sum-

mer Institute is for you!

Apply Today!

http://ww.trwp.org

The TRWP Summer Institute is open to all teachers, K – Col-

lege, across all disciplines.

The Tar River Writing Project is part of a network of sites lo-

cated in universities around the U.S. Each site conducts a

Summer Institute and sponsors Professional Development

and Inservice Workshops during the school year. Sites also

design programs that address local issues and the particular

needs of schools, teachers, and students in their communi-

ties.

After the summer is over, participants stay active with theproject by returning to their classrooms and engaging in

their own teacher research, investigating problems they’ve

observed as seasoned teachers and considering possible so-

lutions, and by conducting Professional Development work-

shops for teachers in their area.

Documents

TRWP Newsletter