Speak as the Spirit Moves You

We did. And it was beautiful!  I loved the way we just knew which words or lines to say and when to say them during the Quaker readings with Lil in the morning.  I think my favorite part of the reading was the repetition.  I never realized how powerful it could be in poetry,  or even in life.  Sometimes we have a morning mantra we repeat to ourselves.  Sometimes, we have a childhood story we love to hear over and over again.  Sometimes, we're reminding our children not to forget to brush their teeth.  And sometimes, we have to remind ourselves that we ARE writers.  I think that is why it is so powerful.  Bomer says that one of the reasons we write memoir is "to record what must never be forgotten."  So, we have permission to say things over and over again- in our speaking, writing, and living.

So what do we do when our students tell us that they have nothing to write(which will happen with at least one of your students)?  They say they just can't remember?  According to my newest friend Bomer, a memoir guru, there are three tips we can follow:(1) Trust in the process you've set up using mentor text, storytelling, and great activities which recall memories.  (2) Set up conferences with your students in order to talk more personally about their lists, sketches, etc.  Remind them to talk about what makes them feel safe and that everyday happenings can have great writing potential.  (3) Accept where they are at that time.  We don't want to put them in a place where they are terrified about writing.  They may not be ready to take the plunge.  I think we can all relate to this because memoir is so personal and there are always some memories we choose to keep buried. 

I am happy, though, that I am finding the courage to write and share.  This is why I can see why the writing group is such a very essential piece of the SI experience.  I received some wonderful feedback about my piece and I was actually excited to revise today!  Can you believe that Tonya?  Excited about revision?  What has come over me?  Oh, these sneaky, sneaky people...they really know what they're doing!

Now, on to the Socratic Seminar.  I really enjoyed myself!  This was the first time that I was able to be the participant in this process and I learned so much about how I can improve this strategy in my own classroom.  It was very cool to see how Sally mapped the conversation we had during the Bacon piece.  As for the piece itself, now that is a different story!  My initial reaction was "Ugghhh!"  It was too academic and almost like another language.  It felt so foreign to me.  Then, we started to take a crack at it in spurts by highlighting key ideas.  That help me to zoom in on the most important words, very similar to what Lil did.  Although the text wasn't as personally stimulating and enjoyable as a fictional piece, I still walked away with great information.  Discussing the piece with peers made it so much less threatening!