Dialogue Fall 2007

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ollaborations piritual ractice

By Susan Spiers Minnicks, SDAWP 1997

Relevance: Voices from the Classroom

Collaboration stems from a willingness to go beyond the limits and capacities of self; itrequires humility and a desire to explore beyond what is known or possible. When westay within the (restricted and restricting) limits of our own resources, our own imagina-tions, our own moral vision, we’ll only go as far as our self-devised goals will take us.However, when we collaborate, negotiation and communication necessarily enter the pic-ture. Shifts in perspective occur, new information is sought and added, others bring detailsand observations, questions and insights we don’t ourselves have. Classroom teaching,paradoxically, is notoriously lonely, unless we create collaborative relationships.

A teacher, solo in his or her classroom, works furiously to create connections daily. Weestablish social and intellectual connections by building community, a safe place to shareand develop ideas, take risks, make mistakes and learn and celebrate learning. We buildnetworks with school staff, so practical needs run smoothly. We cultivate positive rela-tionships with parents, learning more about our students and their contexts so we can

be informed, fluid and resourceful as teachers—and hopefully coach parents so they canhelp their children be effective students. With the exception of mandatory meetings withgrade levels, departments, professional associations and administrators, some teachersmay stop at this point. Not all do though, and their students reap the deep and enduringbenefits of extended collaboration. By cultivating collaborative relationships, pushingthem with intentionality and focus, powerful insights and transformed learning occur, forthe teacher and for our students.

We typically think of ‘collaboration’ as explicit shared work or tasks, classroom actionresearch or deliberate focused curriculum development, instruction or projects. When

we are open to thinking differently, whenever we invite others’ thinking to challengeours, we are adapting a collaborative stance. And whenever we step outside of selftoward something larger or unknown, for purposes of pushing student learning, forconnecting students with the world and their place in it, which gives voice to students’

enduring learning and teachers’ reflective practice, it is spiritual and not just pedagogi-cal. ‘Spiritual,’ "pertaining to the spirit, of higher moral qualities" (OED). This qualitypertains when there is a deeply human, experienced and creative sharing, a synthesis, aconnecting, not a mere division of work so as to get the task done. Possible collaborativerelationships include:

• Teacher to teacher• Teacher to teacher to groups or teams of teachers• Teacher to parent(s)• Teacher to student• Teacher to groups of students• Student to student• Student to student to groups of students• Teacher to students to world…

Dialog



did was “pushed” in the contexts ofpeer revision, collaborative projectsbook clubs and a level of discussionI never would have thought pos-sible. Building a classroom com-munity where it was safe to give andreceive honest feedback is alwaysa goal; now I understood how itcould be developed and sustained.It became the culture of the class-

room, not an epiphenomenon of atemporary protocol such as SocraticSeminar.

“Collaboration in education isthe recognition that someonecan see what you cannot. Often

we are too close to our own work, our own students, andcan lose our way without oth-ers beside us to point out thesometimes obvious or obscure.It is the most humanizing andrigorous of actions and there-fore the most fitting of our pro-fession.”

—Tiffiny Shockley-Jackson, Peer Coach, Teacher

SDAWP 2004 It was through my invitation torespond, “Tell me what you see.Tell me what you think,” that myunderstanding was deepened and

empowered; collegial collaborationhelped create a spiritually groundedclassroom. I began to understandhow students were becoming writ-ers through this practice; it was

erminating and being nurturedhere, not from other aspects of myteaching or the curriculum. This

was feeding that. Collegial examination of student

work is a natural step to teacheinquiry. By looking at student writ-

2

In Possible Lives: The Promise of

Public Education in America, Mike

Rose works against the negative

view of teachers and U.S. public

schools that Hirsch offers. Rose

does this largely by changing theparameters of the discussion. While

he also uses anecdotal evidence, he

is careful not to universalize the sto-

ries he tells. He uses specific exam-

ples of teaching practices that work

only to suggest possibilities, not to

universalize these anecdotes, and

not to claim universal excellence.

Hirsch, on the other hand, uses

anecdotal stories to claim universal

decline in U.S. public schools; this

may be compelling to some, but it

makes for sloppy and irresponsible

arguments. We need to find more

ways to understand and expose this

kind of argumentation. This is not

to say that what Rose is doing is

not valuable and responsibly devel-

oped--I think it is; it is, however,

to say that we need to broaden the

kinds of responses made to such

arguments. how much it relies on

e s e a

l

Pu is e t e

an e o rear ng ro ec a

e

-

-

: crea e.ucs .e u s aw

Dialogue, Fall 2007

One form of collaboration is throughthe examination of student work.By systematically examining stu-dent writing, in a reflective con-

versation with other teachers, wenotice not only evidence of what

we’ve been teaching, but what nextsteps we could take with instruc-tion. By inviting others to help uslook at student work, we’re asking

for fresh eyes, for other ways of see-ing and thinking, for an objectivearticulation of what’s being taughtand demonstrably learned. A fur-ther benefit is that by engaging inthis practice on a regular basis, webecome adept at naming what wesee, at confirming what studentsare doing (or not,) and posing deep-er questions about instruction. Thispushes our conversation away fromStudent X and what we know abouther, the stories we could tell abouther, her family, her circumstances,and helps us develop clarity about

what she’s doing as a writer. Wedevelop insight toward what’s beingtaught, how it’s being learned, whatnext steps are and/or how we mightintervene or mediate. Collegialcollaboration in examining stu-dent work keeps our focus on the

writing, not the content, anecdotesof efforts, cuteness, or the storybehind the text; it forces objectivityand clear, intentional conversationsfocused on instruction.

Last year I asked our peer coach, who is also a Writing Project Fellow,to observe students describing theirindependent vocabulary work. This

is an evolving classroom practice where students are responsible for(a) choosing 10-15 words which arechallenging or unknown to them,(2) composing a piece in any genre,and (c) presenting it to the classon the document camera. After afew weeks of observing them and

watching an informal demo, shehanded me a little diagram. “Susan,this is the center of your classroom,look!”

She handed me a scrap of paper where she’d written ‘word-defini-tion, spelling, grammar/syntax,usage’ in the center, and then con-nected the following with radiatinglines:

1. Understanding the process:personal, individual process andtopic, genres to publish;

2. Understanding genres: the pur-pose, context, structure and usesof different genres;

3. Technology: using the Internetfor words, images, fonts, graph-ics and information, becomingadept at computer graphics, and

4. Self-identity and reflection:students seek and develop con-cerns, construct a social identityand authorial persona throughtheir writing.

It took me a few weeks to under-stand this as more than just a cur-ricular map of sorts. I knew she

was showing me what she’d seen,a gestalt. I had to stop seeing itmy way, which had been historical,and see it from her perspective,

which came from our shared ques-tion: How can the study of words,the vocabulary component of anEnglish classroom, be somethingmore? Once I understood how thispractice created a room of purpose-ful writers, I could then understandhow to finesse it further towardan ambition we all dream about:a responsible literary community.The skills and cohesiveness thesestudents developed unintentionallythrough the vocabulary work we

We develop

nsight

toward what's

being taught,

how it is being

earned,

what next steps

are and/or how we

might intervene

or mediate.



Dialogue, Fall 2007

ing, conducting observational dis-cussions, suggesting and explor-ing new instructional strategiesbecomes the next, natural step. Trialand error as part of our belief sys-tem, based on research, observationand collaboration, serves to improveinstruction. This doesn’t have to bea formalized plan, either. This canarise naturally from observing stu-

dent work in other classrooms andasking about it. “What were they working on? Did you model first?How many times/ways? How muchtime did they have for this? Did you

practice, it becomes intentional,supportive, powerful. It needs tobe acknowledged and sustained;teachers need time to confer witheach other.

Reflective inquiry can lead to col-laborative work as well. Just lis-tening to teachers talk about their

work, the objectives and their strat-egies, can be inspiring. Sometimes

we’ll see just one detail, hear just afew words, and we’ll “click” with anidea we’ve been incubating or real-ize why something we’d tried didn’t

work as well as we’d liked. Open,safe exploration of an idea; it’s asthreatening as a walk through agarden with a friend. It’s a friend-ly discourse of teaching we shareeasily and comfortably with manyother arts: cooking, child rearing,

quently. My reassurance that whatthey had to say was consistentlythoughtful and provocative, “yourcomments and questions are really

what keep this class advancing,seemed to be the confidence boosterand moral impetus perhaps they’dneeded. The girls were shy nomore. The observations and ques-tions of the observing colleague

though, were priceless, and helpedme establish a new level of responseand participation in the classroom.

They started talking about theirtalking, and attempted to draw outother girls. Their spirits grew, werestrengthened—and so were mine.

Student collaboration in the analy-sis and discussion of student work

enerates a meta-narrative that’scritical to a learning community. By

teaching the vocabulary required todescribe academic and rhetoricalcontext and the text structures of

various genres or assignments, weask our students to begin to takea step back. By collaborating withus, initially, we look at mentor textand determine what the author isdoing. Here they begin to learn the

whys and hows of developing richtalk about writing. In combination

with evaluative rubrics, studentlearn to talk objectively and criti-

healthcare, why not teaching? Theconversations at lunch and in theparking lot filter back to the class-room…if we let them. Professionalsin other fields observe and queryeach other regularly; one would be afool not to keep abreast of the latestin medicine, law, dentistry, fashion,cooking, painting…it behooves us tobe aware of the community we’re

part of and co-create. Isolation canonly breed ignorance, obsolescenceand drudgery. Professional ethicsrequire critical self-reflection. In casual conversation with m col-

Samuel pointed out, “It’s not thatthey’re not prepared, and it’s notthat they’re not engaged…have youasked them?” Oh, those “a-duh” moments I socherish. No, I hadn’t asked them.And I’d had multiple opportunities,

as most of the girls met me early atmy door and hung out there sociallybefore school started. They had noproblem talking then. So I askedthem.

We don’t talk?” “Really?” “I nevernoticed…we talk when you call onus, don’t we?”

And so I told them what I’d observed, what Mr. C had observed, and why I wanted them to speak up more fre-

They started



cally about the writing (vs. the con-tent of the writing) begin to learnand transfer learning of the meta-skills of writing, and take owner-ship of their own writing and theirdeveloping skills. A classroom thathas learned to share and discuss

writing, to respectfully and objec-tively give and receive formativesuggestions and comments, is price-

less. More importantly, students areempowered beyond the classroom.As they learn to be critical readers,of their own and others’ writing,they take wider risks, experiment-ing with words and forms of writing.A collaborative classroom can fosteridentities as writers, create thought-ful readers as genuine audiences foreach other.

One final tale to illustrate student col-laboration: When we returned from

Winter Break in January 2005, stu-dents were distraught and anxiousabout the suffering and crisis fol-lowing the tsunami in Indonesia. Atone student’s suggestion, we beganto collect money. I used a coffee can.After a week, casually reminding mytwo sixth-grade classes and my sev-enth grade class, we had about sixtydollars. A parent sent the message

she’d match our first $100. They didthe math and came up with $40 bythat next Monday. Another offer tomatch followed the next week, andthe excitement of being able to dosomething “big” caught on quickly.

Within three weeks they’d raised$2000, and we realized we’d haveto be responsibly thoughtful withthis money. This meant more thanstoring it with the bookkeeper; wehad to figure out what to do with it.Money is money; I decided to take a

business approach.

First I asked each student, in allthree classes, to research the non-profits they thought were appropri-ate. We discussed the names thatkept coming up, and the media wasdoing something similar, givingconsumers warnings about fraudu-lent charities. One student showed

us websites to check their admin-istrative/program ratios, and I setthem to task: write a proposal forhow you think we ought to spendthe money. They had a serious

weekend to develop their proposals.The next week I set up the tablesfor groups of six, so each proposal

was heard and evaluated by a com-mittee of five. They created a matrixto evaluate the proposals, and webegan to winnow the agenciesdown to a shorter list. “Let’s just

vote!” They cried in exasperation.But how would that work, we havethree classes, two grades, maybe wecould come to a consensus?” (Thisitself is a collaborative procedureI’d learned from Carol Schrammel,here at SDAWP!) And we did. Using charts to recordour ideas and rationale, informingeach class what the other classes’thinking was, we pushed againsttears and loyalties, struggled withemotions and rationale, and came up

with a three-way allocation, includ-ing one fund which would matchour contribution 50:50. We sent thechecks off and went home exhaustedbut fulfilled. One student’s proposal

was adopted by our district as abenchmark for the persuasive writ-ing requirement. I hadn’t explic-itly “taught” persuasive writing, butthe exigency was urgent and real,and we “discovered” the rhetoricalneeds of authentic writing.

If we believe as teachers we havenothing more to learn, and aremeeting all our students’ needs,

we are cynical and closed in spir-it. Thoughtful collaboration, suchas occurs each summer in NWPSummer Institutes, and what devel-ops in relationships across a mul-titude of diverse classrooms, is anecessary component in the pro-cess of developing the highest qual-ity education—and educators—eachstudent deserves. Amen.

Dialogue, Fall 20074

f we believe

as teachers

we have nothing

more to learn,

and are

meeting all our

students’ needs,

we are cynical and closed

in spirit.

PROJECT

NOTES

The Writing Project wouldlike to remember Dr. Sid For-

man, long time teacher at San Diegoity Co ege w o passe away

his past spring. He was an English

eacher who spent his later years shar-

ing his expertise in computer technol-

gy and photography. Friend Anne

von der Mehden remembers him as

good storyteller, an astute observer

nd the backbone of the GSDCTE’s

Lake Arrowhead retreat. We extend

ur sympathy to his wife, Pauline.

Congratulations o Mai LonWong Gittelsohn (SDAWP ????) who

was featured as a teacher and writer

in the March 1, 2007 issue of the

Carmel Valley News/Del Mar Village

Voice. You can find the article by

searc ing t e arc ives at: ttp:

www.sdranchcoastnews.com/

MV%20Pages/CMVarchives.html.

Kudos to Dialogue editor, Stacey

oldblatt (SDAWP 1999). DelacortePress has publiished her first young

dult novel, Stray They have also

ptioned Stacey's next book, which

she is currently in the process of

revising.

Good Luck to Sam Patterson

(SDAWP 1998) who has accepted a

eaching position at a private Jewish

high school in Palo Alto. Sam has

served us in many leadership roles,

including positions as Young Writer'samp Coordinator and San Diego

Area Writing Project Director.

Please welcome Becky Gemmell

(SDAWP 2000) to her new role as

he San Diego Area Writing Project's

Secondary Professional Development

oordinator.



Quarrelsand GHOSTS

J. Cost,

SDAWP 2005﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋

Dialogue, Fall 2007 5

“If you think that I’m going to cut mypaper up, you’re crazy! Do you know how much time I’ve spent on this?I’m done.” Frank’s desk scrapedsharply against the classroom flooras he shot up, marched to my desk,slapped down the first draft of hisfinal research essay, and stormedout into the December morning. Ilooked sheepishly at the rest of theclass—most were round-eyed andquiet. Then they began their cut-and-paste workshop: sounds of snip-ping and paper sliding on desks filledthe room. The revision process hadbegun. I made a note to myself thatI needed to warn students aheadof time what exactly cut-and-pastemeant: scissors, cutting ten pages of hard writing and research work intoparagraphs to challenge focus, orga-nization, and the myth of the perfectfirst draft.

In my role as a writing teacher, nota day goes by that I don’t think abouthow to demystify writing, and lately,I’ve been thinking about the dichot-omies and myths I’ve heard about

writing: The process of writing vs.the final product; the individual tal-ent vs. a community’s collectiveand collaborative voice; the mythof characters knocking on the doorof the writer’s head, asking to be letrun wild on paper, emerging fullydeveloped and engaging as simply as

the author’s pen flows across the pa-per. I realize now that these seemingcontradictions have to be reconciled,the myths dispelled to teach compo-

sition.In bringing together these seemingcontradictions, I ask more questions.

What is the role of the individual au-thor in a piece of writing? To whatdegree does one’s community shapethe individual voice? What functiondoes the composition classroom com-munity have in shaping this voice?

What product emerges from this pro-cess? What is my role in facilitatingor mediating this classroom process

and assessing the final draft? Whereis revision in this process?

I started thinking about these ques-tions after one of my most terriblebut important teaching moments. Six

years ago, I was assigned to teach abasic/developmental business writ-ing class at Southwestern College.These mostly working-class, Latinostudents came to the class resignedto learn how to write memos, e-mails, business letters and otherdead language forms. These were

students that didn’t know any joy inlanguage; most believed that theycouldn’t write, and in the stratifica-tion of language usage and power,they saw themselves at the bottom.They weren’t transferring to a four-

year school; they wanted to get intothe workplace as quickly as pos-sible.

So I wanted to subvert the troublingassumptions built into the coursecurriculum and give these students a

chance to find their voices and writeabout a personal experience thathad changed them in some way.

wanted them to forget for a momenthe mind-numbing writing tasksproposed in their text book, and beseduced into writing about a trans-formative experience or person intheir lives.

When I collected this first assignment, the one I remember most was written by a soft-spoken, doe-eyedstudent named Angel. He wroteabout growing up in Los Angeles

with a single mother who used hechild support money to buy drugsHe wrote about joining a gang tofind real family, and then about thedisillusionment that came when hisbrothers” wanted him to do awful

things. He wrote with a clear andpoetic voice about such a compel-ling coming-of-age experience—hisessay sang. His piece was a song

a blues. But it was written withoupunctuation as one long paragraphHad he been in a creative writingclass, he would have earned an Abut based on the technical criteria othe assignment, I couldn’t give hima passing grade. I conferenced withhim and told him that it was a beautifully written piece, but that it neededconventional punctuation, sentences

and paragraphs. I gave him back hisessay for revision. I worried thenthat I wasn’t asking to read his wordsin his voice, but for a significantly al-tered version, not really his voiceSo I returned to the question of howone teaches writing, and had the pit-of-the-stomach, bad-teacher feelingthat I missed an opportunity to reallyteach Angel the revision part of the

writing process—his first draft hadbegun successfully. I was caught upin encouraging “true expression.”

I wanted them toforget for a moment

the mind-numbingwriting tasksproposed in their textbook, and be seduced

into writing abouta transformative

experience or personin their lives.

He wrote aboutjoining a gang tofi nd real family,

and then about thedisillusionment that

came when hisbrothers” wanted

him to doawful things.

I started thinkingabout these

questions after oneof my most terrible

but important

teaching moments.




began to wonder what true expres-sion was, or what I thought it was.I knew too late that revision was acrucial part of expression.

After thinking about voice and whatI’ve seen come out of having stu-dents work with their writing, I real-ize that part of me had been operat-ing under the assumption that there

is one true form, that true expressioncame from individual talent, not revision, re-seeing and re-thinkingone’s writing from different angles,styles, emphases. As much as I tellmy students all the time that theyneed to “free themselves from thefirst draft,” that their writing shouldhave stripes where before it hadspots (just to see what it looks like asa zebra instead of a leopard), I hadbeen mired down in the muckishmyth of true expression. I hadn’t fa-cilitated the creative work that goesinto revising, but had hoped that thismessy process would happen out of the classroom. Old ghosts of formerteachers exclaiming talent or stu-pidity at my first and only drafts of papers still haunted my teaching.

No wonder my students resistedrevision—I resisted it too. Now Iknow it’s time to roll up my sleevesand plunge into the work of teach-ing revision; I had talked about it

and listed things students could doto revise, but had never truly invit-ed revision to class to sit down andcommune through the students. If I believe that good writing can belearned—and I do, having learnedthis myself, sometimes painfully,—then my practice as a compositionteacher must reflect my belief.

If I believe thatgood writing can belearned—and I do,having learned this

myself, sometimespainfully—then mypractice as a

composition teachermust refl ect my belief.

emembering the Little Rock Nine, 50 Years Later

Fifty years after nine courageous students integrated one of Little Rock Arkansas’s high-

est-achieving high schools, the issue of school segregation is both remote-seeming andstill relevant. High school students today can’t fathom the notion of being officially

barred from school on the basis of skin color. Yet the Supreme Court ruled as recentlyas June on a Seattle case regarding segregation and districts continue to grapple with

issues of diversity on campuses. In September, the Social Studies Department, Navy

Junior ROTC Program and Administration at Coronado High School collaborated onan activity meant to commemorate and bring to life the events at Little Rock’s Cen-

tral High School in fall 1957. During Coronado High School’s mid-morning nutritionbreak, a group of redheaded students, under the “protection” of NJROTC cadets, made

its away across the school’s crowded quad in a metaphoric reenactment of the rolesof students and federal troops in desegregating Central High School. The experience

sparked curiosity, questions and discussions throughout the day, and in history classes

students engaged in lessons and presentations on desegregation and the state and federal government’s response to the Supreme Court order. In an announcement after the

event, CHS Principal Karl Mueller encouraged students to recognize some of the de facto segregation that occurs on campus in groups and cliques. The following poem

was written by CHS sophomore Angela Lanphear in response to the experience and the

discussion that ensued in teacher Davin Heaphy’s World History class.

6 eet n er

classicfantasticscarstoo farawaytoday

you lay6 feet underunder the covershide your facechange your racecolorsand wordscourageous

powers to the thirddirtand ground

when you lookit’s what you’ve foundexcitingentlighteningspeak, spoke

voted, quotedpaper and pensare you real,behind the lens?skateboardssurfboards

roups chosenactions to ridetoo bad

when your race has liedto hidebeneath your skincliques pick

who is inhistory, imageryneighborhoodnot too goodissues, tissuescry, don’t diebecause

you’re uncomfortablelet’s wipe those tearsconsolableschool’s pretty coolemail and free faildoesn’t take muchall about usto hide your racefind your placesickening face!don’t speaknot with wordsare you a boy?are you a girl?

videos movies watch the t.v.it’s all about

you and metry to flysay goodbye

white, blackbrown, red

you lived your lifeand now you’re deadthinkdrinkring the bellracism smells

fake, rakesing somethinglike that

when you’re flat“the homeof the brave”let’s be equal!no one’s a slaveparticularlypast will lastspeeches, pictureshold on tightit’s moving fastprevent drugs

murder, horrordrive for hoursgo farther

you’re old now you know what to show everydayback thencourage to livelet live, and givepush the doorare you poor?are you rich?dig your grave

let’s get savedfrom sicknessfrom healthfrom death

you left your words were sharpsing like an angel

with a harpgoodbye for now I swear, I vow

we all will:pledge allegianceto OUR flag

you pushed life too far

you took a dragand judgedand criticizedand tried notto show itlife happens onceLIVE ITlive freedomand truthand words won’t liebefore you diesay what you believelive free now and be.



7Dialogue, Fall 2007

Dog-eared and held together by cel-lophane tape, my copy of The House

on Mango Street shows my lovefor Sandra Cisneros’ first novel andmost famous work. When I intro-duce the book to my students, I holdup my well-worn copy and slowlyflip through the pages as I whisper,“This is the best book. It is the one I

want to buried with,” which alwaysmakes their eyes widen and theirmouths form little O’s.

Although I love The House on MangoStreet , it is not my favorite story bythis award-winning author. Thestory I find most meaningful is thestory she tells about how she foundher writer’s voice.

While working on her M.F.A. inCreative Writing at the University

of Iowa, a world away from herown multi-ethnic neighborhood inChicago, Cisneros discovered thatshe was distinctly different from herclassmates. She didn’t look likethem, think like them, or sound likethem.

Nor should she. Cisneros embracedher differences and vowed to writethe book that no one but she could

write. She found her voice and wrote The House on Mango Street.

In her essay, “On Writing The Houseon Mango Street,” she explains:

The voice on Mango Street and ll my work was born at one

moment, when I realized I wasifferent… When I recognized

the places where I departed

from my neighbors, my class-mates, my family, my town, my

brothers, when I discovered what I knew that no one else

in that room knew, and then

spoke in a voice I used when I was sitting in the kitchen,

ressed in my pajamas, talk-ing over a table littered with

cups and dishes, when I could give myself permission

to speak from that intimate

space, then I could talk and sound like myself, not like me

trying to sound like someone I wasn’t.

In Iowa, Cisneros learned to valueher own life and her own story even

though it was different from the“mainstream.” Her anecdote aboutembracing her uniqueness and find-ing her writer’s voice is a lesson forus all.

It is a lesson she repeated whenshe spoke on the morning of March22, 2007 to a group of middle andhigh school students and teachersat the California Center for the Arts,Escondido as part of the EscondidoReads One Book program sponsoredby the City of Escondido.

How can a writer find his or her voiceas Cisneros did? She suggested: “List10 things that make you different,things you’ve lived, things you’d liketo forget.” She went on to explain anexercise, which she called “10x10.”It goes something like this:If you’rea boy, list 10 things that make youdifferent from other boys. If you’rea girl, list 10 things that make youdifferent from other girls. List 10things that make you different from

your family members, from youmom and dad, aunts and uncles, sib-lings, grandparents, cousins. List 10things that make you different frompeople in your school, your churchand your neighborhood. List 10things that make you different fromother peop e your age, your ethnic ity, and so on.

Cisneros, like many writers, talked about the importance of writing what you know, but she stresse writing about the difficult time what she called “shrapnel,” as welas happier events, or “flowers.” Shesaid, “Write the thing you can’t showThat’s your real voice…”

So how can we, as writing teachershelp our students find their voices?Having students complete writing

assignments and activities, like theone Cisneros described, is a startHowever, it goes beyond that.

Our classrooms need to be safe plac-es where children can tell theirstories and relate their unique per-spectives. We need to encouragestudents to, as Cisneros said, “honorthe stories your life gives you.”Teachers also need to honor theirown stories by writing with theirstudents and sharing their work.

And most importantly, we need toteach students to “write from theheart.” They need to see writing asa form of expression, not a formulaBecause if a child’s piece of writinglooks like and sounds like everyoneelse’s work, how can it ever truly betheirs? We need to encourage ourstudents to write the book that onlythey can write, just like Cisnerosdid.

eachers also

need to honor

their own

stories bywriting

with their

students

and sharing

their work.

Rebecca Gemmell with Sandra

Cisneros at the California Center

for the Arts, Escondido.

CISNEROS SHARES

ER SECRETSebecca Gemmell

SDAWP 2001



SDAWP: A Moment in Time 30t Anniversary Ce e ration

On March 3, 2007, SDAWP fellows from 1977 through 2006

convened to share wonderful food, reflections, and writing

time together. The following pieces emerged that day,

and underscore the importance of the Writing Project in the

lives and careers of so many San Diego Fellows.


What I’d like to offer up for your consideration is not my moment, but the

moment, the moment we’ve each experienced: the moment your demo is

done. All our moments. You’ve offered up some of your best and then let

g

e

It

T

c

t

i

t

J

f

i

p

c

a

Through collaboration, reflective discussions, multiple and extended op-portunities for writing, new fellows emerge. Self-reliant, they harden their

wings and “return.” They return resilient, responsible, empowered, insight-

ful, inspired and energized. They go back in the fall, not the same teacher

with a binder full of new stuff, but transformed and transformative. Thus

their moment endures, a heroic continuous moment of change.

To be part of this process is truly an honor. Thank you.

—Susan Minnicks, SDAWP 1997

y mother died that winter.

She had been sick for a year includ-

ng the entire time I was attending

he Institute. There was much on my

ind beyond learning how to improve

eaching writing in my classroom. The

ealization of my mother’s waning life

orce intensified everything I did. Even

so, she fired me to press on, work

ard, and do well. Her greatest hope

or me had always been to become a

eacher of English. Before she died, I

ad become the English Department

Chair at my school—a knowledge that

oyfully completed her. I had much fuel

or my fire but the ink for my pen was

ittersweet. I was happy with my writ-

We wi answer t e ca

Again, we will find ourselves

Surrounded by teachers. In a

Room so full of experience

We always leave this circle

Smarter than when we arrived.

—Sam Patterson

SDAWP 1998




I first became involved with SDAWP

when Mary Barr encouraged me to

apply for the new program that was

being initiated at UCSD. I had no

idea what it was all about, but being

thirsty for knowledge of any kind, I

eagerly applied. I also respected Mary

Barr as an educational leader in San

Diego City Schools, so I knew it had to

be beneficial. I walked on Cloud Nine

when I learned that I had been accept-

ed as one of the Vanguard 25 from the

hundreds of applicants.

That summer became a dream. I learned through writing, reading, pre-

sentations and dining from our lunch

bags and drinking “summer wine" (a

drink I never drank or liked before).

The opportunity to hobnob with giants

such as Cooper, Britton, and Squire,

among others, boosted my role as

teacher to the height of career

importance. I knew I could never

leave the profession after that, al-though early in my career I had plans

to move on to the field of psychology.

In the classroom, I used the knowledge

I gleaned to do ethnographic research.

I learned what worked and what did

not. I taught students to become writ-

ers and thinkers.—Louise J. Prewit

SDAWP 1977

Pictured at the 30th Anniversary Celebration fromleft to right: Jan Hamilton (1997), SDAWP Director

Kim Doullaird (1992) and Lesly Easson (2005).

Karen Wroblewski (????)and Gilbert Mendez (1989)stand in front of a timelineof Fellowsduring the

0th AnnviersaryCelebrationheld onMarch 3, 2007.



10 Dialogue, Fall 2007

“I like to cause trouble and I’ll getin your face if you yell at me so just back off,” “…don’t mess withme or get in my face and we’ll bealright…you don’t know my thuglife.” These two statements arean example of the “welcome” let-

ters I received from my soon-to-bestudents. I was replacing a well-liked teacher in the middle of the

year at a high school where manyof the students had given up onthemselves. The teacher I wasreplacing was told not to give meany information about the studentsso I could develop my own under-standing of who they were, but hedid ask them to write a letter tellingme what they think I should know about them.

The tone of the letters made it appar-ent that they had already developedstrong negative feelings towardsme without even having met me.On my first day with them I walkedinto an environment where the stu-dents had preconceived ideas of

what I would be like. It made methink about how they must have felt

when some of their past teachershave had negative feelings aboutthem or showed no interest at allbefore getting to know who they

were as individual people.

I’ll never forget how I felt thatfirst day because I know my stu-dents often have the same fear of the unexpected, of failing, and of not being accepted. My goal wasto show these students that I amreally passionate about touchingthe lives of people in a way that

will promote positive and lifelongchange. I wanted to show themthat I respect and admire them for

facing life every day and I don’tbelieve my life is more difficult ormore important than any of theirs.This was a philosophy that I gainedthrough a personal experience witha teacher that changed my life.By the time I entered my junior year

in high school I had already beenlabeled as an unreachable student

who was destined to end up a drop-out, but there was one teacher whosaw my future in a very different

way. Mrs. Paige believed in me andeventually helped me to believe inmyself. She welcomed me eachday with a smile on her face and inher voice. She spent time getting toknow me and helped me set goals

while encouraging me to see mystrengths and work on my weak-

nesses. At first my grades werecoming up because I worked hard

to make her happy, but eventually I was getting good grades because itmade me happy. She is the reason

I graduated from high school, she’sthe reason I began to see that mylife mattered, and she is the reasonI’m teaching today.

One teacher believed in me. Mrs.Paige knew she was helping meto graduate, but she had no ideathat she was forming my philoso-phy on teaching. She showed methe value in connecting with mystudents in a personal way so I canencourage them to recognize their

strengths and become confidentin themselves. In order to createtrust and personal relationshipss Ibegan writing friendly letters withmy students. Some of their first let-ters were very artificial, but whenthey began to see that I was spend-ing time reading and respondingto the things that mattered to themthey started to open up.

We began writing letters arounthe time of the immigration reformprotests and many of my students

voiced their concerns, fears, anopinions about this time. Otherletters included their personal feel-ings about their relationships withfriends and foes, what they foundfrustrating about school, and feel-ings of inadequacy or not belong-ing. I wrote every letter back andaddressed everything they wroteabout. I quickly realized that I hadcreated a safe forum for students touse their voice. They started takingrisks and writing about things theyfelt passionate toward. I felt likethe weights had been lifted. Once I

began making connections with mystudents, motivation and success

followed.

We ask our students to make con-

nections with the text, to makeconnections with images, and tomake connections with their thesisbut how much time do we utilizein class to make connections withour students? Making connectionsis what teaching is all about and itis vital for teachers to take the timenecessary to connect with studentson a personal level. We need tohope that they have people thatinspire, encourage, and believe inthem, but we need to realize some

At first my grades were coming up becasue Iworked hard to make her happy, buteventually I was gettting good grades

because it made me happy.

By the time I entered my junior year in highschool I had already been labeled

as a student who was destinedto end u a dro out...

Making Connections: uilding NITY throug

Kelly Carr,DAWP 2006 ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞




of them don’t and we need to rec-ognize that they all need someone

who does.

This means authentically caringand establishing an emotionally safeenvironment by validating our stu-dents’ diversity, encouraging themto think critically and form opinions,and giving them affirmation that

their voice is an essential part of the

collective whole. Creating an emo-tionally safe environment providesfreedom to grow, where studentsfeel comfortable taking risks; onlythen can we expect our high expec-tations to be reached. They need toknow that we’re listening and whatthey have to say is worth our atten-tion.

One thing we can all agree on is theimportance of modeling our expec-tations in the classroom. This goesbeyond modeling assignments, but

must also include modeling the lifeskills students will need in theirfuture personal and professionalrelationships. One of these skills islistening. Someone once said thatlistening is not the same as waitingto speak. Listening involves morethan hearing what a person is say-ing. It isn’t an automatic responseto noise, but rather it is a skill thatinvolves higher thinking and pro-cessing.

If my teacher had believed all of

the negative things I had said aboutmyself because that’s what she heardthen she would’ve believed that I wasgoing to become one of the drop-outstatistics. She listened to a girl whohad begun to believe in the words of others and she knew that what I wassaying came from pain, anger, anddesperation, so she didn’t give up onme. Students need to know we arethere to support them and providecomfort; only then will they feellike we are listening and not just

waiting to speak.” Model the expec-tations and they will exceed them.Teachers who are making connec-tions when someone is watching willimpress others, but those who makeconnections when no one is watch-ing will make an impression that

will last a lifetime. Thomas Mertonsaid that “pride makes us artificialand humility makes us real.” We

need to acknowledge when we makemistakes and allow our students tosee that we aren’t perfect. Themore human we become the morecomfortable they become with being

who they are without fear of failureor rejection.

We all know about community-building activities and the impor-tance of having a classroom culture.However, I don’t believe the activi-

ties create the culture and climate;I truly believe that it is nurturingthe human spirit that creates the

environment. The only way this canbe achieved is by realizing that weare all human; we all have feelings,

we all want to belong, we all wantto be accepted, and we all want tosucceed. These are human quali-ties that we all share regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status,our background, or our vision of the future. These human qualitiesare what make connecting with ourstudents possible, but making con-nections with our students make thepossibilities endless.

Bibliography:Bluestein, Jane. Creating

Emotionally Safe Schools: A Guide

for Educators and Parents.Deerfield Beach: HC, 2001.

McCutcheon, Randall, and TommieLindsey. It Doesn’t Take a Genius:

Five Truths to Inspire Success In Every Student. New York: MH, 2006.

MUSE BOX

In her book, A Backward

Glance: An Autobiography ,Edith Wharton wrote, “In spite

of illness, in spite even of the

rchenemy sorrow, one can

remain alive long past the usual

ate of disintegration if one is

unafraid of change, insatiable in

intellectual curiosity, and happy

in small ways.”

Barbara Ann Kipfer’s book

14,000 Things to Be Happy

About includes everyday joys

like "yellow flannel sheets,"

Milwaukee milkshakes," "gar-

en gnomes" and "enlighten-

ment unconfined."

Take a moment to celebrate all

he simple delights and ordinary

reasures that make your life

rewwarding. Remember too the

arefree pleasures of your child-

hood. Think about how you are

happy in small ways." Create a

list of the little things in life that

you enjoy and appreciate.

Spend some time on one

happiness and explore it; write

nostalgically, write appreciative-

ly; write happily; write an ode to

“deep-dish pies”!

One thingwe can

all agree on ishe importance o

modeling ourexpectations

in the classroom. ...we all have

eelings,e all want to

elong,e all want to be

accepted, and we allwant to succeed.



12 Dia ogue, Fa 2007

ture, where this year 97% of seniorspresented projects on June 8th to apanel of teachers, community mem-bers, and junior students.

Seniors arrive in the fall expect-ed to devise a year-long endeav-or that meets one of three projecttypes: academic major, communitycontributor, or career/avocation.

Students write formal proposals andsecure acceptance in their social

science classes. In English seniors write resumes and cover letters, which will later introduce them to apanel of evaluators as the front piec-es of their final portfolio. Probablythe most important part of the pro-cess is finding a mentor. Zack,

who built a guitar from scratch,advises juniors to “find a mentorthat suits the project well. Try tobuild a relationship with that men-tor to ensure a comfortable workingenvironment” and to “always stay incontact.” Mentors offer knowledgeand support, foster an adult workingrelationship, and provide real-world

job performance evaluations twiceduring the year.

Students go on to conduct academicresearch into essential issues sur-rounding their topics, and to devote

over forty hours beyond classroomassignments to complete observa-tions and field work while accom-plishing the personal goals they setup in their proposals. Ultimatelydressed in professional attire, theypresent their efforts and findingsin formal, twenty-minute presenta-tions. Finally, before graduation, weask the students to complete their

real-world experience by evaluat-ing and reflecting on the value ofthis self-designed component oftheir senior year. We know thatthey have hit many reading, writing,listening and speaking standardsand that they have worked collab-oratively with teachers, mentorspartners, and family, but they arethe ones who confess the intangiblelife lessons they glean from theprojects.

The project is valuable on a broadereducational plane as well. TheNational Commission on the HighSchool Senior Year, in its FinalReport (2001) asserted that “the pri-mary goal of high schools should be

raduating students who are ready(and eager) to learn more, capableof thinking critically, and comfort-able with the ambiguities of theproblem-solving process.” It rec-ognized the futility of more seattime and recommended “a capstoneproject…internship…research proj-ect…community service...” The

year-long Senior Project touchemany of the domains outlined byBenjamin Bloom and other educa-tion gurus. Depending on the topicthe project could engage the psy-chomotor domain if a senior teach-

Four seventeen-year-old high schoolirls form a corporation, woo corpo-

rate and media sponsorship, securea popular venue and hold a fund-raiser that nets sixty thousand dol-lars for Children’s Hospital…Acrosstown a trio of boys sell enoughsnacks at ball games to house threefamilies in the Sudan…Another

young lady tries her teacher wings

in a kindergarten classroom…Another young man designs and

markets a custom website. Onelearns a new instrument; anotherdirects a play, and on and on. How is this possible, you ask? How is itthat when national reports and highschool teachers across the countryare bemoaning the fact that seniorsare “done” with school (usually byNovember) but not ready for lifebeyond high school, twelfth grad-ers all over Poway are learning,planning, growing, working, andcontributing? The answer is two

words: Senior Project.

Twelve years ago in 1994 four teach-ers from Poway sensed their stu-dents needed more than the tradi-tional curriculum with government,economics, and literature. That

year seniors presented a portfolio of reflections on how they reached thebenchmarks the school set for themas Learning Results. They presentedin the evening to a panel of teachersand brought with them physicalevidence of their growth. From thatsemester showcase a Senior Projecthas grown to become an integralpart of the Poway High school cul-

Get t ing R eal: Projects that Tra nsform the Senior Year

ation,Finally, before grad we ask the studentsrld eto complete their real-w perience by evaluating

valueand reflecting on the of this self-designedf theircomponent senior year.

the project could engage theDepending on the topic,if a s nior teaches dance,psychomotor domain

he ca eer of physical therapy,learns to surf, explores t p where middle schoolersor runs a football caompl x plays.practice

Divona Roy, SDAWP ???? Erika Webb, SDAWP 1989

Poway High School



On Writinga Poem

Tweezing images from

a drowsing mind

pluck and groom eachverbal snapshot

ntil the words fit

ike cogs and wheel

o drive the poem

orward

As each metaphor

climbs

ike

a multi-

colored

ego

ower

Syllables to symbols

Bricks to breath

ach figurative configuration

Cunning confection

Swirls

A vortex of cotton candy

emories

and fears

Tending this garden

embraced by the two

ebble-pocked journal covers

prune and praise

ncourage and worship

ach word

hat blossoms up to speak for me

with a voice

of color

and fragrance.

—Erika Webb

SD WP 1989


es dance, learns to surf, exploresthe career of physical therapy, orruns a football camp where middleschoolers practice complex plays.

When seniors apply MLA formatto a paper, practice effective publicspeaking, or write monthly reflec-tions on their progress, they areanalyzing, synthesizing, and evalu-ating. The Senior Project engages

the affective domain by focusing thestudents on receiving and respond-

ing to interpersonal signals, valu-ing their own opinions and thoseof their peers through thesis-based

writing. Responsibility and valuesalso play a key role in the SeniorProject. Derek, who designed a“green” building, preached againstprocrastination himself when hereflected, “ I wish I just would havebusted out some of those assign-ments on time, rather that put themoff to the last minute.” And Casey

who ran a toy drive for FatherJoe shines with one of the collegereadiness skills outlined by DavidConley with her epiphany: “At manypoints I wanted to just throw in thetowel and figure out a new projectbecause it seemed like nothing was

working quite right, but I stuck withit and am very satisfied with theresults.”

The shared responsibility of thesocial science and English depart-ments speaks to its interdisciplinary

subject matter, and because stu-dents design their own projects, the“stress is on problem solving, notmastering organized subject matter”(Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004). TheSenior Project has challenged theidea that standards should be par-celed out to separate departmentsand that students learn enough tobecome contributing members of the community through gaining thehead knowledge that standardizedtests can measure. Its content is

beyond the information they havebeen learning for their academiccourses throughout their educa-tional careers. It is open content,as it relates to the learner and hisor her concerns. Seniors becomeactive learners who must employcritical thinking in order to propose,analyze, revise, and anticipate as

well as be flexible about possible

roadblocks on their way through asuccessful learning experience. Itcelebrates the ideas that “knowl-edge is a process in which realityis constantly changing” (Ornstein &Hunkins), and that students need totest out their plans not only againstfacts, but also against experiencein the real world. The aim of thisculture-changing experience is toreform the senior year, making itmore satisfying to students and

more consistent with their inter-ests” (Ornstein & Hunkins).

Ornstein and Hunkins reminded usthat “no two students construct theirknowledge in the same ways andthus their resulting knowledge isunique to each.” Students valuechoice, and by designing equitablelearning experiences, we addressedthe needs and abilities of a diversepopulation. We stressed integra-tion as we discussed the horizontalrelationships of the content amongthe various courses we teach. Wealso highlighted the balance amongpersonal, social, and intellectual

oals, such as fostering flexibilityand perseverance, allowing morestakeholders to take part in the pro-cess, and creating opportunities forstudents to think outside the box.

It would be easy to assert that theSenior Project with its pie-in-the-skyaims of metamorphosing the senior

year fits the critical emancipatorymodel that desires curriculum tofree oppressed students. This philo-sophical stance is at its roots, and

At the end of anotherschool year, hot off the

most recent roundf Senior Project

presentations, we

ontinue to see thisiberating curriculum as a

work in progress.

The aim of thisulture-changing

xperience is to reformthe senior year,making it “more

satisfying to studentsand more consistent

with their interests”



Paulo Freire would be proud. He reminds usthat freedom is not just freedom “from,” but it is“freedom to create and to construct, to wonderand to venture.”

At the end of another school year, hot off the most recent round of Senior Project pre-sentations, we continue to see this liberatingcurriculum as a work in progress. As such,it requires some fine-tuning, yet already par-

ents, panelists, and staff are calling it thebest ever for organization, content, consistency,and execution. In their final reflections, stu-dents assessed their own progress, the processand the concept. Their feedback addressesthe work, their feelings, and the amount andnature of the support they received. All agreethey would not have grown in so many ways

without having the Senior Project in their lives;many report to juniors that designing the rightproject, one they are passionate about, is thekey to fulfillment.

In 1936 John Dewey insisted that “education[be] understood as a unified process” (Englund,2001). The whole child, the whole school, the

whole learning community: the Senior Projectis Poway High’s foray into rethinking educationas a unified experience. We have answeredthe call made by the National Commission onthe High School Senior Year, which holds that“National Life and the economy are changingmuch faster than our schools… the nation facesa deeply troubling future unless we transformthe lost opportunity of the senior year into anintegral part of the students’ preparation forlife, citizenship, work, and further education.”Poway High School has identified the standardsand skills that will help our students to be suc-

cessful and has rolled them into a challengingrite of passage called the Senior Project.

References:Englund, J. (2001). Bringing secondary educa-tion into the information age: universal college

preparation. The Education Commision of the States. Retrieved October 12, 2005, fromhttp://ecs.org/clearinghouse/26/54/2654.htm.

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30 anv. sub edition). New York: ContinuumInternational Publishing Group.

National Commission on the Senior Year, FinalReport (2001, October). Raising our sights:

no high school senior left behind. RetrievedOctober 12, 2005, from http://www.woodrow.org/CommissionOnTheSeniorYear/Report/ FINAL_PDF_REPORT.pdf.

Ornstein, A.C. and Hunkins, F.P. (2004).Curriculum: foundations, principles, and issues(4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

14 Dialogue, Fall 2007



Classroom Noteslus NCTE

instructional, and/or assessmentcrossroads have you and your stu-dents faced? Which path did youtake? What did you learn along the

way?

For submission guidelines visit:www.ncte.org/pubs/

journals/vm/write/110485.htm


DIALOGUE

Call foranuscripts

Spring 2008 IssueSubmission Deadline:

arch 6, 2008

Purposeful Writing

Writing daily, or almost daily,

no matter what comes out,

makes me feel whole, purpose-

ful, balanced, scrubbed clean.

There is so much about the

process of writing that is myste-

rious to me, but this one thing

I’ve found to be true: Writing

begets writing.”

—Dorianne Laux, poet

With the demands of writingcurriculum, sometimes what

we ask our students to writeisn’t necessarily what they’dconsider “purposeful” or “fun.”The classroom is never withoutthe students who raise theirhands in query: “Why do wehave to do this?” “What’s thepoint?” How do you embraceand execute the challengeof creating purposeful writ-ing experiences from manda-

tory writing? What are yourhooks and points of entry? In

what ways do creative writ-ing assignments beget enthusi-asm toward structured writingassignments?

Dialogue would like to receive your work or the work of yourstudents. Submit a story of student success, a strategy forimplementation, or a personalessay on your teaching experi-ence.

Send all manuscript submis-sions, suggestions, letters to theeditor and Project Notes to:

Dialogue UCSD/SDAWP9500 Gilman Drive, 0036La Jolla, CA 92093 - 0036

Email:[email protected]

[email protected]

PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES

Seeking manuscripts on any aspectof English language arts teachingin secondary schools. Writers maydescribe new ideas or innovativepractices, discuss an issue, or arguefor a particular point of view aboutthe teaching of English languagearts.

We prefer manuscripts with a con- versational tone that place class-rooms and classroom practices inthe foreground while acknowledg-ing the relationship of relevanttheory and research in providingcontext for action and reflection.

We also seek manuscripts that dis-cuss single works of literature orfilms that may be taught in a middleschool, junior high school, or seniorhigh school class. Such manuscriptsshould address ways that the par-ticular work could be relevant tothe students and English languagearts instruction.

In general, manuscripts for articlesshould be no more than ten to fif-teen double-spaced, typed pages

in length (approximately 2,500 to3,750 words). Longer manuscriptsare discouraged; shorter ones maybe acceptable.

For submission guidelines visit:www.englishjournal.colostate.edu/ infoforauthors.htm#articles

English JournalNCTE

Voices from theMiddle

In each issue, we will feature a finalpage called “In Closing . . . .” This isa one-page format (750-word maxi-mum) that could take the form of apoem, essay, conversation, journalentry, short story, or visual art with

caption.

The focus is on the voices of educa-tors who have recognized a shift inperspective, perception, or prac-tice—in their school, their district,or themselves.

We hope that readers will lookforward to this feature because itprompts them to remember andrethink.

For submission guidelines visit:

www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/ write/109012.htm

Language ArtsNCTE

At the Crossroads: Decision Makingfor Literacy DevelopmentDeadline: December 1, 2007

Many journeys require travelers tomake major decisions when theyapproach a crossroad. In our class-rooms, we sometimes find ourselvesat crossroads in terms of what pathsto take to help students move for-

ward in their literacy development.

For example, what curricular,

Classroom Notes Plus, NCTE’s quar-terly newsletter of practical teach-ing ideas for the middle and second-ary school level, invites descriptionsof teaching practices for consider-ation.

We ask that submissions be originaland previously unpublished and,in the case of an adapted idea, that

you clearly identify any sources thatdeserve mention. Please be awarethat any student work needs to beaccompanied by statements of con-sent by the student and his or herparents.

For submission guidelines visit:www.ncte.org/pubs/publish/

journals/109277.htm



ExtendedCoversations

about Writing:Grades 1-6

San Diego CountyOffice of Education

10/30, 12/4, 1/8, 2/194:00 - 7:00 p.m.

PromisingPractices

Spring Conference

April 19, 2008Marina Village Resort

San Diego, CA8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

For more informationregarding SDAWP programs,

visit our website at http://create.ucsd.edu/sdawp/

or call the SDAWP office

at 858-534-2576.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDan Diego, C

Permit No. 1909LA JOLLA, CA

San Diego Area Writing Project University of California, San Diego9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0036La Jolla, CA 92093-0036

Calendar of Events

Process andProduct

Workshop Series:Grades 6-12

UCSD Cross Cultural Center10/24, 11/28, 1/9, 3/5

5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

2008 SummerInstitute

Attention Fellows!

Please considernominating a colleague. Applications will be

available in November

Spring WritingMarathonSAVE THE DATE

Balboa ParkMay 3, 2008

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Documents

Dialogue Fall 2007