{"id":4828,"date":"2014-09-26T03:21:07","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T03:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/?p=4828"},"modified":"2014-09-26T08:24:53","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T08:24:53","slug":"teachers-as-students-chuck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/2014\/09\/26\/teachers-as-students-chuck\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachers As Students – Chuck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning To Play: \u00a0A Writing Lesson
\nLearned Late – Chuck Sandy<\/h2>\n

\"Chuck<\/p>\n

Not long ago, I was agonizing over my inability to make progress on a writing project when I had to stop agonizing long enough to attend a meeting at the local international school. \u00a0Still, even during that meeting my mind remained busy with worry. As others discussed serious matters I thought: Why can\u2019t I make headway on this project? What is it that\u2019s blocking up my writing? Why can\u2019t I stop thinking about this? \u00a0What\u2019s wrong with me? What am I missing?<\/i><\/p>\n

I excused myself, went out into the hallway to clear my head, and was looking at this display of work done by some primary school students when it hit me.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Playfulness. That\u2019s what\u2019s missing. Playfulness. How do I become playful and become – even at 55 \u2013 like a little child again? I got a drink of water, went back inside, and enjoyed the rest of the meeting. A little light had come on.<\/p>\n

Later, a comment my university writing teacher, Winston Fuller, had made about my writing long ago floated up through my mind. He\u2019d written something about playfulness, but what? I dug out the folder of writing that his comment was written in and read what Winston had written to me almost 35 years ago.\u00a0 He wrote\u00a0 \u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

\u201cAn intentional person is too effective to be a good guide in the tentative activity of writing. It takes a certain amount of irresponsibility to create. I think now that you have begun to take yourself seriously, you should also begin to take yourself playfully. What you need now is to play, to write for the joy of writing. You need to permit yourself to write foolish, insipid, revealing, and unoriginal junk. Stacks of it. For this very good reason: there is no way to get to the good stuff except by wading through mounds and mounds of the bad stuff.\u00a0 At this point, Charles, if you\u2019re not writing a lot of junk, you\u2019re not doing your job.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Why did it take almost 35 years to come back to this comment, and why did this all come together on an agonizing evening during my 55th<\/sup> year? \u00a0Well, maybe it\u2019s because I haven\u2019t been doing my job, have gotten even more serious than I was back then, and having reached a crisis in my writing am finally ready to learn this lesson. I could say more about all this, but instead of digging deeper and getting all serious again, I\u2019ll show you the notebook I got started playfully writing in, share some writing activities I\u2019ve been doing, recommend a few books, and tell you a story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ten Playful Writing Activities\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

For each of these activities you\u2019ll need a notebook, a pen, and 10 minutes. \u00a0Do them alone, with friends, or with students.\u00a0 The mission is to write for 10 minutes without stopping, erasing, or crossing out. Don\u2019t worry about being original, clever, or correct. Just write. No one\u2019s going to see what you write unless you want to share it.\u00a0 This writing is yours and it\u2019s just for fun. If you\u2019re still having fun after 10 minutes, skip a few lines in your notebook, and do another 10-minute writing activity. Ready?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Write these words in your notebook: \u201cI\u2019m thinking of \u2026\u201d and then give yourself a moment to think. What is it you\u2019re thinking about? Go!<\/li>\n
  2. Begin like this: \u201cI\u2019m looking at \u2026\u201d and then have a look around where ever it is you are. What captures your attention? Focus on that.\u00a0 Look some more. Then, start writing. 10 minutes. Go!<\/li>\n
  3. Try beginning with either \u201cI remember \u2026\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t remember \u2026\u201d and see where this gets you. If you get stuck along the way, start again with \u201cI remember\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t remember\u201d and keep writing. Don\u2019t stop. 10 minutes!<\/li>\n
  4. Paint a word picture of an elementary school teacher you had. Use this person\u2019s name. Start with \u201cI remember\u201d as in \u201cI remember that Mr. Denz smelled like a campfire and I yet I never understood why until \u2026\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. When was the last time you were really happy? Or afraid? Or embarrassed? Or angry? Or in love? 10 minutes. Get your pen moving.<\/li>\n
  6. Write about coffee, ice cream, peanut butter, cheese, or oranges. Feel free to start with \u201cI\u2019m thinking about\u201d or \u201cI remember\u201d but if you\u2019re tired of those prompts try \u201cI\u2019ll never forget \u2026\u201d or \u201cI can\u2019t live without \u2026<\/li>\n
  7. Now that you\u2019ve gotten used to 10-minute writing sessions, try reducing the time and see what happens. Is five minutes enough? How about three? Try both and see what works for you. Write about a song you can\u2019t get out of your head, something you can\u2019t forgive, a scar you have, a difficult student, something you can\u2019t give up, somewhere you always wanted to go but didn\u2019t.<\/li>\n
  8. Write a 10-line poem. Begin with \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll never forget _______\u201d <\/i>or \u201cI wish I could forget _________ <\/i>or \u201cI try not to remember ______ \u201d <\/i>or \u201cWho can forget _______?\u201d <\/i>Don\u2019t think too much. Just write. You\u2019ve got 5 minutes. Go<\/li>\n
  9. Write a 12-line poem in which each line begins with \u201cI used to _______<\/i> and ends with \u201cbut now I _________.\u201d <\/i>Take 10 minutes if you\u2019ve got 10 minutes. If not, five is enough. \u00a0<\/i>If that\u2019s enjoyable for you and you\u2019ve got some more time, try again but this time change the pronoun to we, they, she, he<\/i>, or it<\/i>.<\/li>\n
  10. You\u2019re standing in a hallway. You\u2019re looking at the top of a dresser. You\u2019re sitting at the kitchen table. You\u2019re looking up at the sky.\u00a0 Chose one. Prose or poem. It\u2019s up to you. 10 minutes. Get started and see where you wind up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A Few Good Books On Learning to Write Playfully<\/b><\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll surely come up with some writing prompts of your own, and if you\u2019re doing this work<\/i> with friends or students, they\u2019ll have ideas, too. \u00a0For dry times, though, I\u2019ve found these books to be great sources of ideas, activities, and advice.<\/p>\n

    Writing Alone and With Others<\/a> by Pat Schneider<\/a> is a marvel.<\/p>\n

    Old Friend From Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir<\/a> by Natalie Goldberg<\/a> is full of writing prompts, common sense, and playful writing practice.<\/p>\n

    Although Rose Where Did you Get That Red<\/a> by Kenneth Koch<\/a> is really about teaching children how to read and write poetry, it\u2019s also about how to teach yourself to do these very things. It\u2019s fun, full of great ideas and rich with poetry.<\/p>\n

    My latest favorite is The Year of Writing Dangerously: 365 Days of Inspiration and Encouragement<\/a> by Barbara Abercrombie<\/a> which not only inspires and encourages, it also provides 365 mostly wonderful writing prompts.<\/p>\n

    Whether you\u2019re interested in learning to write playfully yourself or wanting to incorporate fun writing activities into your classes, any or all of these books are worth exploring. They provide me with hours of fun, and I think that fun is helping me become a better writer.\u00a0 I\u2019m certainly writing a lot and finally doing my job.<\/p>\n

    A Way Forward and A Story About Beginnings<\/b><\/p>\n

    Once you\u2019ve done enough playful writing that you\u2019ve got a stack of it done, start going through what you\u2019ve written and pull out a few pieces you\u2019d like to either develop further or edit down. \u00a0I took one 3-page-10-minute-writing activity I wrote some time ago, cleaned it up, and edited it down to about 10 lines I posted on Facebook a while ago. \u00a0Today I edited it down a bit more. It\u2019s not a particularly good piece of writing, yet, but it\u2019s true and it launched me into who I\u2019m now becoming as a writer, a teacher, and a person: A beginner again who\u2019s still learning his lessons:<\/p>\n

    “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning,” writes Meister Eckhardt. I underlined that line in the book I was reading. Then I thought, \u201cHah! How\u2019s that supposed to work? I mean I’m 55 years old. Begin again? Doing what?\u201d I set the book aside and busied myself in the garden. I trimmed branches. I cleaned out muck. I raked and bagged leaves. Ideas started coming. I sat down and made a list. Then, looking out I noticed a tiny bit of green coming up from under a dead plant in a cheap pot. I cut off what had died, set the pot on my table, and wondered what this little bit of green would become if I nurtured it. Would if flower? Would it even bear fruit? No telling, really. Not yet, anyway. I opened the book I’d set aside and found Meister Eckhardt saying \u201cand suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.\u201d I laughed and underlined that, too. OK, I get it. New beginnings. I’m ready and I\u2019m willing.<\/i><\/p>\n

    How about you?<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

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    \nYour support makes a difference.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Learning To Play: \u00a0A Writing Lesson Learned Late – Chuck Sandy Not long ago, I was agonizing over my inability to make progress on a writing project when I had to stop agonizing long enough to attend a meeting at the local international school. \u00a0Still, even during that meeting my mind remained busy with worry. … Continue reading Teachers As Students – Chuck<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-teachers-as-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}