Explaining Things

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I have had the awesome privilege of working with and beside teachers of writing this year. It continually amazed me at what they are willing to do for their students to bring out the writer wrapped up inside each of them. Imagine my joy at hearing my name being called out by Mrs. Bronson's second graders, papers waving in the air, anxious to share what they had done since my last visit with their poetry writing. Or the fifth grader in Mrs. Kalantzis's class who asked on the last day of school if I had received his poem and did I like it (I did and I do!). Still, while I know that this is the true test of a teacher of writing, to create a love for writing with their students, we will all - students and teachers alike - be assessed on our success as it is determined by the writing portion of the state's standardized test, the ISAT.

While I wait for the scores to arrive, I am going to remind myself that children often know more than we adults do when it comes to writing.

Jack, the Kindergarten son of a colleague of mine, said it best. He continued his love of writing into his first digital story. He recently started a new a notebook on the birds he sees in his yard initiated for him by a grown-up neighbor. Jack and his mom will also keep a digital writing notebook this summer. I would say that this writer is well on his way.

Do you think students will ever write; "In November, my favorite Kindergarten activity was ISAT Prep"? No...I didn't think so.