Scribble Scribble Joy Joy! (apologies to Ren and Stimpy)

   Being last to blog on a topic is tough stuff.  Everyone has said what I was going to say, and all my reasons sound incredibly selfish.

   Hang in there with me.

    Writing is where I find my joy. I am never so happy as when I am in the "zone," writing away, forgetting where I am. (Conversely, I am never so miserable as when I am stuck in a world of my own creation, trying to write my way out without a map.)

    Many of my students come in the door loving writing.

    And a lot of them don't. Parents no longer mistake my writing camps for an ESOL class or remedial grammar.  What I do get are kids who are afraid to put a complete sentence together. Thanks to the "testing" system of "teaching" writing, students are terrified to take chances. Maybe they'll make a mistake. Maybe they'll spell something wrong. Maybe they don't know the right word in English for what they want to say. Their regular year teachers are focused on the five paragraph essay, because that is what is tested.

     There is no test for creativity.

     What I try to give my students is the joy of writing. The rules for writing a five paragraph essay are not the "rules" of creative writing. There are no "rules." (There really are a few, but I sneak them in as creative "suggestions" during revision.)

      I give them "permission' to write whatever they want (barring the obscene or racist). Someone always tries to test me.

     "So I can write about zombies?"

     "Sure, just so long as you aren't re-writing an episode of The Living Dead. I will know." (And I will, too. I don't watch TLD, but my daughter does.)

     "I can write about soccer?  Hockey?"

     "Why not?"

     Once they are "permitted" to use their imaginations, I try to give them the Joy of Discovering Just the Right Word."  English is a difficult language to learn, but the vocabulary...so many words, so little time. (By the way, we never use the word "vocabulary."  We talk about finding "better words.") Why use a worn-to-the-ground word that doesn't really say what you mean, when you can find a ripe, plump, juicy one that is EXACTLY what you are trying to say.  The thesaurus (which I can never say without stuttering, lisping or both) becomes their best friend. I discourage them from using the thesaurus from whatever writing program they on their home computers. They offer a paltry selection, usually of the overused variety. Think the McDonald's Dollar Menu vs the one at The Cheesecake Factory. (If you aren't familiar with CF's menu, the last time I was there it was 32 pages of small print. Plus inserts. And specials. And of course....cheesecake.)

Desperately seeking the right word in thesaurus. 

Scribble, scribble, joy, joy!

 Kids who were stuck in a six word/noun/verb sentence pattern, branch out into other ways of writing. Sentence fragments. Run-ons. Single words. Made-up words (as long as you know what they mean, and so will the reader). It's all creative. Creative writing and a five paragraph essay have one thing in common: they use  words.

    So what do I like best about teaching--sharing the joy.  Watching their faces take on that other-worldly look as they scribble in their notebooks....putting the "right" words together, building their own special world.

    Because their joy rekindles mine. Teaching refreshes my own writing soul. Their enthusiasm and love reminds me of why I choose to write for and work with children.

    See, I told you. Purely selfish reasons.

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

  

To Catch the Magic

I so loved April’s discussion, using listening to learn the art of language, rhythm and pacing. April reminds us “to catch the magic.”

The process of listening gives us access not only to the word but to the substance of the word.



Listening to stories is more than just about the craft, or the illustrations that embellish the craft. It’s about learning to engage the imagination. As Nigel Sivey (How Art Made the World, 2005), “… the art of humans consists in our singular capacity to use our imaginations. “

We know stories are the oldest invitations to the human experience. Humans have told stories for over 100,000 years. Every culture in the history of the world has created and told stories. While not every culture has codified laws or a written language, all of them have told stories.

Some researchers suggest that stories predate language (Kendall Haven's Story Proof, 2007).  That is to say, language was created after the story was imagined in order to give the story a voice. The power of the imagination is uniquely human. Birds sing, and some can even dance. But naturalists know that it is not their imaginations at work.

Rather, it’s their energetic rites of spring. Some gorillas have been taught sign language. But it was human imagination that created the language.

Albert Einstein used mathematics to develop a model for understanding the nature of physical science. But he used his imagination – using his famous thought experiments -- to make the leap to his breakthrough thinking about the space-time continuum and the nature of light.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” --Albert Einstein

Imagination is key to innovation. Not just in creating elaborate theories that explain gravitational waves. Imagination creates empathy, allowing one to connect emotionally to someone's experience. It helps find creative solutions to stubborn problems. It broadens our perspectives about our own limited reality. Imagination allows us to look beyond ourselves.

Listening, especially active listening in which one accesses and evaluates the sounds, taps directly into and engages the imagination. And like any muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

As we celebrate World Read Aloud Day this week, choose your favorite read aloud and exercise your imagination!

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“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” -- W.B. Yeats

 Bobbi Miller

(ps. All photos provided by Morguefile.com!)