6/23/15

Top Ten Things I Have Learned from My Writing Class

Not sure all of you know, but I have been in a writing class the past few weeks.  It is called The Central Utah Writing Project Summer Institute.  It is aimed at teachers to become better writers themselves and to also help those teachers use writing more effectively in their classrooms.  I will be honest, I came to this class for very selfish reasons.  I am a writer(it is one of my big passions) and I wanted to get myself to be a better writer and in turn get closer to being a published writer.  Well, that is definitely happening, but I think that this class is making me more passionate about teaching and about getting my students to write better.  I think it is making me a better teacher.  Crazy!

I thought I would use today's Top Ten Tuesday to tell you all about what I have learned in this class.

Top Ten Things I have Learned in My Writing Class:

1.  I am a WRITER.  
I knew this before, but I really am becoming more confident in my writing and the passion for doing it has been ignited within me.  I used to be very afraid of sharing my writing, but now I am actually wanting to share it.

2.  I learn more about teaching from other teachers.
Teaching is an amazing profession.  It is a very hard profession, but it has the potential to change the world because we, as teachers, touch the future everyday though our students and what they can become. In class, we have had the opportunity to present a problem we have faced with writing in our classroom.  In each of those presentations, I have learned something about my own teaching and my classroom.  I thought I would leave with the answer to my big question about one of my writing assignments that I had presented in my demo less, but I have come away with so many more answers and ideas to use in my classroom.

3.  You can make friends at any time of your life.
Two weeks ago, these eighteen people were strangers, but now I consider all of them my friend. Lately, I have felt like I don't have a whole lot of friends that I hang out with and that may be true, but friendship is morphing as I get older and as I have different things going on in my life.  I need to realize that I need to reach out more and find ways to have more friends and have opportunities to interact with people.  People are awesome!

4.  We are writers.
If you speak, you are a writer.  Writing really is just talking to paper or to a computer screen.

5.  I am doing a good job at teaching.
We are all guilty of second guessing ourselves and I do this all the time as a teacher.  I feel like I am not good and that I am not teaching my students anything.  The truth is that I am doing a good job and need to get over my thoughts about my inadequacy.  I think one of the most important things about anything we do is that we are trying to get better and I am getting better year after year!

6.  Mr. Brewer was wrong.  Dead wrong(no pun intended)!
Mr. Brewer was my poetry teacher in college.  He ripped apart my poetry.  Those little red lines were like the blood of my heart flowing as he broke it.  I told myself that I sucked at writing and that I didn't have a knack for poetry.  That was wrong and I am rising above.  In fact, one of the pieces I am working on for this class is a poem.  Take that Mr. Brewer! (And seriously, I never was really mad at the man, he was only trying to help me be better.  He has my complete respect.  May he rest in peace!)

7. I need to write everyday.
In order to be a writer, you have to do it everyday.  That means I need to make time for it.  Just like I exercise my body(or need to more) I also need to exercise my writing muscles in order to become better at it!

8.  Writing is a BIG part of who I am.
Writing is passion to me.  It is a big part of who I am.  I am so glad this class ignited the fire inside me to be creative and working on getting better at writing.  I am so thankful for this!

9.  Revision is important and doesn't have to be punishment.
I think I have been afraid of revision in the past.  It really has felt like punishment to go back and re-read what I have written.  The best part about this is that when I do go back, I see that I have talent and there are always things to add and change to make my writing better.  GO!!! REVISION!!! GO!!!

10. I need to be a part of a writing community.  Networking is key.
I need to find ways to be around other writers on occasion.  It has been so helpful to have my little writing group in this class to help me with my writing.  They see things in my writing that I don't see.  They have suggestions that I would have never thought of.  I am definitely going to keep many of these people around to help me be motivated to write and to become a better writer.  I LOVE THIS!!!

So there you have it.  The past few weeks have been so big in my life.  Maybe you should think about what your passions are today.  What things makes you happy when you do them?  Think about it and then do it.  And do it everyday!  Do it multiple times a day!  This life is much too short to miss out on the things that make you truly happy.  I expect some comments about what you plan on doing today and what you love to do!  If you write it, it becomes reality!