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Writer’s Workshop: A true story
An excerpt from the course: Writer’s Workshop:
Writing Means Taking Risks
Spring 1988, Junior Year of High School
I was a bit jaded… “Senioritis” kicked in early for me. In fact, I think it started around 9th grade. With one year left and the end in sight, the impending writing assignment that was recently dropped on my desk was the latest event to kick start my procrastinating nature. I never was a good writer. How do I know? My grades told me so. Plus, I just didn’t like to write. So, I cracked my gum, exhaled with perfect drama and allowed my eyes to roll around before setting them down on the paper in front of me. As I begrudgingly began to take it all in, I remember hearing something different… I distinctly remember the word “choice” peppered throughout the assignment explanation. The idea manifested into something that might resemble joy followed shortly by impatience. I had a choice in what I could write! For the first time in my life, I wanted to write and I had to get started immediately.
My Inspiration
The discovery of the ill-fated Titanic had just been made a few years earlier, in the north Atlantic Ocean by Dr. Robert Ballard. I only know this because the National Geographic that was recently delivered to my home was sitting on the kitchen counter, luring me in with ghostly images of the deep sea. I was instantly drawn to the history, the characters, and of course the underwater images of everyday trinkets preserved in a saltwater grave for almost a hundred years. I read and re-read the article about 20 times. I’ll never forget the photograph of an empty pair of shoes resting on the ocean floor, marking the site of where a mother, father or child had fallen. I was captivated.
Two whole days before the due date, I turned in my Titanic research paper. It sat in the teacher’s bin until the end of the week. On Friday afternoon, he finally gathered up all of the assignments and took them home to mark over the weekend. My imagination turned to an acceptance of the “Classroom Pulitzer Prize” being awarded to me. Maybe I would become a journalist or a reporter? Maybe I could work with scientists that study shipwrecks! Dreams like this ran wild all weekend and euphoric thoughts cracked open a world ahead that I had never imagined.
Didn’t see THAT coming!
I waited 12 whole days before my teacher finally passed out the graded papers and praised the class for our effort…
“I am very proud of this class. Almost everyone did exceptionally well.”
He stopped at my desk and glared down at me. I looked back at him with a huge smile – completely confused at his glaring face but more than ready to receive my A. He slammed my Titanic research paper down on my desk so hard, it made me jump.
“Only one F in the whole class.”
He continued to glare at me, pausing a few seconds after the slam, leaving his heavy hand on top of my paper for dramatic effect. He was talking to the whole class but still staring at me, “I can tell who worked hard on the project, and who could not understand simple directions.”
An F? Wait, what? He finally walked away and I slowly lifted the edge of my paper. There, in the darkest, blood red ink I had ever seen, was a giant letter F. He had written a bunch of notes too, but I could not bear to read them. The whole class stared at me and a lump grew in my throat.
No way, I would not cry. I looked down at my desk, and at my awful paper, desperately fighting back tears. They started to fall, despite my best efforts.
Shattered Dreams and New Beginnings
As you can imagine, my dreams of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning author were short-lived. I cried for a good 15 minutes or so, and then moved on with my life…
A few years later, I was attending a local community college, majoring in business. I was told to set up another meeting with my counselor to discuss my 3rd attempt at passing Accounting. My counselor concluded that changing majors, again, was probably the best option. During the conversation, I began to feel overwhelmed. Honestly, every time I looked at a balance sheet I felt sick. I knew it wasn’t for me, but what choice did I have? That was when she said something profound.
“Well, you are a very good writer and that can help in many different types of careers. Maybe journalism or editing. We could look into Marketing?”
“What?” I was speechless. “I’m a terrible writer. Who told you I was a good writer?”
She stared blankly back at me. “Your poetry is on display in the library. The tag lines you came up with for the pictures in art class are hilarious. Who told you that you were a terrible writer?”
Oh my gosh. I thought in my head, I’m not a terrible writer! One person, one time, three years earlier, stopped me in my tracks.
“I am NOT a business major!” I yelled. “I HATE accounting, please get me out of this!”
I could breathe again. I had potential. And yes, I was a terrible student, but that was good for one thing, becoming a great teacher.
I hope you enjoyed my story! It is a true story and the reason I became a teacher.
This is how our awesome course, Writer’s Workshop begins! We take teachers on a literary journey of their own to discover new joy (or overcoming fear) through writing. Teachers will also understand how writing skills are crucial to our students’ future success and how simple it can be to implement quick, ENJOYABLE, writing activities within their current curriculum.
Learn more About Us! Teachers can earn 18 professional development hours or points towards the renewal of their teaching licenses by completing Writer’s Workshop from home in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Phoenix, etc., you get the picture… Choose 3, 6, 15 and 18-hour courses, depending on the professional development hourly requirements you need. Click our course catalog for additional courses in wellness, technology, major subjects, educational resources, etc. Contact us for more information.
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