Summer Institute Reflection

I always look forward to participating in some way during the summer with the GVWP  Summer Institute and enjoy being able to coach and touch base again with the group.  This year, however, was especially rewarding because I was able to participate fully in the 3 week Summer Institute.

The opportunity to collaborate and share experiences with like-minded teachers is perhaps the best part of the experience for me.  While I work closely with my colleagues in the Creative Writing Department, there are few opportunities during the school year to really share with many of my other colleagues at School of the Arts.  The Summer Institute also provides an opportunity for me  to  learn about some of the challenges other teachers face at different grade levels and in different districts.  

This summer also provided a great deal of writing time which, at first, was daunting for me.  I found myself simply playing around with some poems I had written during the past year, but really not getting anywhere at first.  After hearing Melissa read the beginning of her short story and seeing how the group enthusiastically gave her feedback and encouragement, the idea of trying to write a short story became less intimidating for me.  So I sat down, gave myself a “Natalie Goldberg” ten minute writing prompt and began a short story that I would become obsessed with for the next three days.  I guess that’s how the writing process works sometimes…and  I  actually enjoyed the process so much that one morning , on the “long walk” from Park Lot, I was so absorbed with a particular aspect of the story that I didn’t even remember how I managed to arrive at LeChase.  I was just walking on autopilot, lost in the paragraph I was writing in my head.

So I am grateful  for the time to share and the time to write.  Grateful  for delicious morning treats and super salad luncheons. Grateful  for “put-ups” and “treasure chests.” Grateful  for Kseniya Simonova’s sand animation, Stephen Fry’s  kinetic typography, Scary Mary and the Piano .  Grateful  for another morning stop at Freedom School to share in Harambee and to remember why I have taught in the same urban school for 25 years and can’t wait to go back in the fall.

Thanks for morning reflections, module-making, tips and tools, resources, open mike, and so much inspiration!