Writer-in-Residence

School started up on the 8th of October, and luckily this start was much smoother! There was less of reinventing the wheel, and more confidence. We also were lucky to have a writer-in-residence for all 10th grade classes! Mimi Herman came to the school and lead a week-long workshop on poetry. The focus was on describing the experience of an immigrant in 1901. All tenth graders participated, and even us teachers were involved! I've always enjoyed writing poetry, so it was great to be able to write poetry and not be the one leading. It was amazing to see all the students get into their characters and become this immigrant (some students were even cross-gender!). Families were formed, and it was an interesting experience for me to be the child of some of my students. I think it really engaged my students on a whole new level. Students who normally wouldn't write at all were writing three poems in four days! It was a nice way to ease in the new quarter, and I wish we had more opportunities like this. I'm really glad that I work in a school that helps students attain experiences like the one they had that week; it changes the face of education!