Blog
The following pieces of writing were created by Teacher Consultants, who were all participants in the Summer Institute.
Waterfalls Poem
by Cristi Julsrud, teacher in Alexander County Schools, NC
Some days it feels effortless to
Slip back into this version of me.
The one who is comfortable in her skin
Companionable with silence
Feels little need to chase the chaos
The roiling tumult of life
Funneled crashing through the rocks of another year.
I am older
More reflective
But wiser? Maybe–
Learning to navigate the quick currents of expectation into
The calmer, flat pool of satisfaction,
But knowing the the calm is deceiving,
And currents just beneath the surface wait
To pull me back into the river’s flow.
For now, I’ll take a moment to pause
Think about the sun’s warmth
The way it feels different now- softer somehow
The way the light hits with fewer bright glints but more
Soft twinklings somehow enhanced by the darker shadows.
Maybe I’m different now, or just accustomed to
The play of sun and shadow-
Maybe I’m more still. A moment
To see the way tree roots offer a seat for my
Limbs, a prop for my back, and time enough
To notice the dappled mirror-reflections on the leaf canopy
Overhead.
I’m content on this rocky shore-
Away from the rapids.
Here the waters don’t crash, but ripple
Don’t erode, but lap gently at the banks.
Perhaps I disturbed the universe.
Perhaps I’ve grown old.
Nevertheless, in this moment
There is time.
Pressure
Sept. 12, 2022
This summer, I felt renewed. I had found my love of writing and teaching again through the National Writing Project. We shared experiences and ideas. We were introduced to new strategies and ways to spark a love of writing in our students. It was wonderful.
Now, here I sit preparing for week three of the new school year. Like most teachers, I find my self pulled in 17 directions. Running this committee, leading that club, helping former students, learning the new influx of student names and rules the administration has decided to implement this year. Oh. And teaching. I do that too.
More and more I find myself relating to Louisa from Disney’s Encanto.
“Give it to your sister, your sister’s stronger
See if she can hold on a little longer
Who am I if I can’t carry it all?
If I falter…”
Too often as teachers, we have fabulous ideas of how to change our teaching, how to grow our students as writers and as humans but lose sight of that as soon as the day to day of school starts weighing us down. It is easy to fall back on our old way of doing things. The path of least resistance if you will. I challenge you as teachers and as individuals to force yourself into implementing one, just one of those wonderful ideas you had in your classroom. Have you students free write in nature. Let your class listen to an instrumental piece and create a story to complement it! Make sure you do it too! Find a way to release that growing pressure and free some room up for joy!
-Laura Haney,
Teacher Consultant
AMWP Summer Institute 22
Reset
Aug. 29, 2022
I challenged myself to come up with one word to describe my experience with the Summer Institute. There were several good candidates including friendship, reflection and joy. But I have settled on "reset" as the best description. After 22 years of teaching English and history at the middle and high school levels, I had a serious case of burnout. When I headed up the mountain, I was also carrying some grief, exhaustion and malaise. I expected to be able to get “lost in the crowd” as we sometimes do during professional development. That didn’t happen!
The “crowd” ended up being three of the most inspiring, intelligent and caring educators that I have ever met! The format allowed for a personal and professional reset that was beyond what I could have imagined. It has been quite a while since I felt the creative energy that I had as a youth. I had forgotten the joy I feel when I write. It had been many years since I had the time to focus on reflection and myself. I have changed for the better, because now I am more of my authentic self.
I have incorporated many of the things I “remembered” matter to me! I have been writing, reflecting, and painting more. I stop to consider the necessity of tasks and have quit succumbing to high levels of stress. That treadmill I have been running on at work doesn’t serve anyone well. The dogs and I start every morning with a walk--today we encountered two deer! I am eating better, having more fun and enjoying my life more. Will this transformation help my students this year? I certainly hope so!
-Karen Squiric,
Teacher Consultant
AMWP Summer Institute 22
Summer Love
Aug. 12, 2022
As the days of summer begin to wane, I am enjoying reflecting on the amazing, inaugural Summer Institute that took place during July. This first SI had three, incredible teacher participants, all of whom were from different parts of our service area. They each made the long trek (2 hours in some cases) from their hometown up the mountain to Boone. Together, we laughed and cried, listened intently to each other, and developed a tight bond as fellow writers and teachers of writing.
On the first day of the SI, I worried that only three participants (and me!) would not be enough critical mass to make the SI viable or interesting. Boy, was I wrong! These brave souls shared their hearts as we crafted memoirs and writing that sought to heal us. The greatest healing gift I received was the offer of friendship from these incredible teachers.
We all agreed that it has been a long and terrible 2 1/2 years for teachers, students, and schools. We have endured school shutdowns, teaching online, widespread absences, book bans, and school shootings. Yet, the teacher leaders in our SI remain committed to the profession. They reminded me that we are resilient. We will happily shoulder the responsibility of educating young people in the midst of a dangerous and challenging world--as long as we all stick together.
So, I send each of you headed back into the trenches my heartfelt gratitude for all you do and all you will do. Stay connected to each other and never forget that your work matters.
-Clarice Moran, site director
Healing Through Writing
June 1, 2022
This year's inaugural Summer Institute (July 11-29) will focus on the idea of "healing" and how we can emerge from the difficulties of the last two years. We will use Koch's Mindful Writing Workshop and Aronie's Memoirs as Medicine to help fuel our discussions. We also will focus on self-care, healing practices, and ways to protect our hearts.
We hope this summer will provide a respite from the daily grind of life and the classroom and offer you a chance to explore your own writing at your own pace. We will hear from guest speakers who will help inform our practice and our lived experiences as writers. We also will question, collaborate, and create--and in the process, we hope to find a deep sense of what it means to write about our lives, communities, and ourselves.
Each of us is on a unique journey as a writer and a teacher. Only through the exploration of spaces outside the classroom walls can we find inspiration for writing. No one has ever written a Pulitzer Prize winning five-paragraph essay. We know this, yet this tired formula has become the go-to for so many of us. What other ideas are out there? How can we inspire our students to write an authentic piece that actually means something to them? And, just as importantly, how can we inspire ourselves to tap into our own potential as writers?
We hope to think about these questions collectively and individually this summer. We invite you to join us.
-Clarice Moran, site director