Small things are not always small. A microscopic virus can close down airports, schools and businesses. An invisible atom can be made into the most destructive weapon. A tiny seed grows into a towering tree. The examples could go on.

And yet, the tiniest things get underestimated, overlooked, or trampled.

In this post, I invite you to look at a small bit of information, a relatively short article, about an educator whom you’ve probably never heard of.

When you are finished reading, I invite you to take an extra two minutes to consider the far reaching power this “small bit of information” could have on the entire field of education. What would happen if this idea was to spread and be put into practice? What effect would it have on student learning? Student engagement? Curriculum design? Academic achievement? Teacher evaluation criteria? Graduation rates? College and career readiness?

Then, please post a comment with your thoughts. Is it really a small idea?

Here’s the article link.

Fordham Foundation recently sponsored a writing contest ( a “Wonkathon”) with the following prompt: How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?

The following is my entry.

The idea I bring to the table isn’t an add-on to the academic day. It is an academic subject that is full of potential for human connection and has been used as a vehicle for healing in mental health for many years. That subject is Writing.

Maybe the “missing R” (as it has been called for lack of attention in schools), is an important key to healing isolation, trauma, anxiety, and grief.

Writing stands out from the other 2 “R”’s (Reading and ‘Rithmatic), because it is also an art form and a powerful form of communication. When we read, we take in ideas, information, world views and artistic expression of others. When we write, we can bring others into our world.

In traditional learning, writing is done for the teacher and for a grade. It often becomes an isolating activity rather than a connecting one. In my view, writing (regardless of the subject area) offers a fantastic opportunity tobreak through isolation. When four conditions are present, writing can lead to connection and healing. These conditions are: safety, meaningful content to respond to, skills to succeed in writing, and positive feedback and connection with peers.

Chimere Hackney, a friend of mine who teaches high school English in Tacoma, Washington, fostered these conditions for her 10^th grade students in collaboration with a school counselor. Several years ago, they designed a poetry unit called “The Power of Words” that would both raise students’ awareness of cultural biases and increase reading and writing skills. This project, highlighted in the following sections, demonstrates how writing can be harnessed as a tool to build empathy, self-awareness, and resilience. 

 As we return to school after the Covid experience, these four conditions and a project like this could be instrumental in healing and connection.

Safety

A safe climate is the foundation for mental health in any school. It’s not only about what we say (i.e. “Everyone is welcome here”) but about the actions in a school or classroom that create safety. Because written expression leaves us vulnerable to criticism, it’s essential for students to feel they can express themselves in a respectful environment.

Chimere starts the year with a presentation on “who I am, where I’m from, my trials and traumas, my champions, where I went to school, my resilience, my faith, the fact that I’m queer, and what I’m trying to get better at.” She goes on to have students list “what they need to thrive in a learning community”. She takes her time at the beginning of the year to help students look in depth at the list, what might be hard about it, and what they will do if it is difficult. The result is the beginning of a class community.

Meaningful context

Powerful writing is born from new, exciting, and interesting experiences. I love this quote attributed to author Justine Musk: “Reading is the inhale; writing is the exhale.” If the inhale is stale or boring (i.e. a history textbook) the exhale will be short and without substance. If the inhale is exciting and relevant      (i.e. a class visitor who fought in Vietnam, stories about the effect on his life, along with statistics about the war) the exhale will more likely be robust.

Chimere, along with Mary Graham, the counselor, provided real frameworks about how oppression works and how it becomes internalized. They included studies, models, and real life examples. Students analyzed the words in popular music and spoken word performances.

What new information do students need to learn about their mental health, post-Covid? Through collaboration with a mental health practitioner, teachers can supply information to students on the topics of: 1) understanding normal responses to extended isolation, 2) the grieving process, 3) common and normal causes of anxiety.  Students need age-appropriate information about all of these things as well as other topics that a counselor might be able to provide.

Skills

Students who aren’t taught basic skills will remember writing in school as embarrassing and traumatic. Teaching writing skills will open a world of possibilities to students – academically and creatively.

In recent years, explicit instruction programs such as Judith Hochman’s Writing Revolution have gained      popularity and highlighted the need for better writing instruction. My own program, Growing Writers, fills the need for explicit writing instruction in grades K-2.

Chimere taught many reading and writing skills during her project. Students learned to analyze poems for 18 different poetic devices. Students did close reading, learning the definitions of words they didn’t know. She taught lessons on 16 different Common Core standards during the unit. She did a pre- and post– assessment of figurative language tools (such as simile, allusion, metaphor, pun, etc.) and saw huge growth.

A meaningful post-Covid writing project can potentially include huge gains in reading and writing. Readings could include the history of past pandemics, novels with the themes of love and loss, and real-life stories of hardship and endurance, such as young people who survived harrowing experiences. Still, the objective here is to go beyond the typical personal narrative (i.e responding to a prompt such as “How the pandemic affected me”). The objective would be to use the pandemic experience and relevant class reading to deepen understanding. Perhaps there could be an online site where teachers contribute in-depth lesson plans and ideas for stories for various grade levels.

Positive feedback and connection with peers

The healing effects of writing become most apparent at this stage, when students can share honest, heartfelt, well-written pieces they are proud of and that reflect their learning. This is where silence is broken through, students understand each other better, and the feeling of loneliness is alleviated. This is where our common humanity becomes the healer.

Chimere recalls: “Students were very willing to share some deep stuff. They cared about it. Usually it’s hard to get students to do editing and revising but this time they all wanted me to look at their work. There was a strong community feeling and everyone wanted to share. Some kids wanted to write another poem. One of my white boys who thought he never experienced any bias realized that he was judged for the clothing he chose and certain things about his family. One girl wrote about the trauma she had endured about being molested. For her to share that with the whole class made me amazed at what we had built together.”

It’s not just counselors and mental health providers that can help students heal post-Covid. It is students themselves, and teachers who can powerfully connect them with the words they need.

In closing, I want to add that teachers who don’t feel skilled enough to do a big writing project can still use writing as a tool to stay in touch with their students. They can create a class community by sharing authentically who they are and helping every student feel accepted. Then they can allow for opportunities for students to write them a note (even just 3 minutes once a week at the end of a lesson works). The note can be about something a student wants you to know about their life, feedback about your teaching, or a thank-you to a classmate which you will pass along. This simple invitation to write a note can help to identify students in crisis who may be invisible.

Here’s to the power of writing!

Here is more info on Chimere and Mary’s project:

In the K and 1 Teacher’s Guides, I have asked teachers to do something superhuman. What’s the impossible task? To get around to every child in the class with feedback AND to make sure each of them has perfectly completed the conventions page, every single lesson. I know it isn’t possible, because I have taught all of these lessons myself with class sizes ranging from 20 to 28. Even with a smaller group, some sloppy writing, missing punctuation, and incomplete work gets overlooked. We just don’t see everything in 45 minutes.

So, how to maintain the high standard even after the lesson is over? It wasn’t until last year, working with second graders, that a good solution emerged. I named it “Fix-It-Up” Days. It’s basically giving you the time you (and your students) deserve to re-teach, where needed.

Before I tried Fix-It-Up days, I would go through the workbooks to write comments before sending them home and think “How did I miss that?” Now I always feel good about the quality of work that is going home.

Until I write a new edition, the Teacher’s Guides for Levels K and 1 don’t have these extra support days built in. But, here is how to add them in yourself!

Fix-It-Up Days basics:

1. Preparation:

About halfway through a workbook, and when it is almost finished, take some time to go over each child’s work and underline (with a colored pen) work that needs to be re-done. I’m talking ONLY about the conventions page. This is where you really get to emphasize that high standard. Even though it will be mostly handwriting and simple words that students are fixing, they are learning the basic principle of editing and revising, which is “look for what could be better”. I do try to be sensitive to students who are really struggling with fine motor skills and only ask them to fix up what is do-able in the time of one writing period, and without creating frustration and discouragement.

2. Group Lesson:

Explain that you have looked at all the workbooks and that you are proud of all the hard work everyone has done. And, that great writers are always looking for even more they could do better. Even the very, very best writers in the world have other people read their work and make suggestions for fixing things. These people are called “editors”. Editors go through a writer’s work and correct words, make suggestions, and mark it up with a pen (or on a computer with colored underlining!) Explain that you have been their editor! Show several workbook examples with your markings. Emphasize that every page should be checked and fixed before they say “I’m done”. Tell everyone that editing isn’t always the most fun part of writing, but writers know how proud they will be to show their very best fixed up work to their readers. You can get students excited about how they will feel when they take their workbooks home to show their families (or you may want to do this at conference time to make sure it is celebrated with parents!) It is important that everyone understands they need to check all the lessons you have marked before they are finished. If it is the beginning of the year, emphasize that no one is allowed to work ahead in the workbook.

3. Independent Work:

Some students will need much more help than others. If you have a trusted volunteer, it would be great to have that person work closely with your highest need students. Or, have that person roam and help the large group while you give intensive help to those who need it. Students who finish quickly can add to workbook drawings, work on a page they missed due to an absence, or write/draw on a separate piece of paper which includes lines for writing. You can also choose to have experienced writers add some words to a picture in their workbooks. Everyone should be doing some kind of writing. Don’t allow some children to play or have an alternative “fun” activity instead of regular writing as this could be construed as “missing out” or punishment by children who have a lot to fix. Make sure that students have done all the fix-up pages and not skipped any.

4. The Rewards

For you: Knowing that no student is falling through the cracks. Seeing your high standards bring pride and satisfaction over the course of the year.

For your novice writers: Extra support. Not falling through the cracks or being allowed to fail. They will be better prepared for the next workbook.

For your experienced writers: Time to catch up on a missed lesson or to do some writing that can go home that day.

If someone in your building is teaching Level 2, you may want to check out what the Fix-It-Up Day lesson looks like in the teacher’s guide.

5. This should go without saying…

But just in case you are tempted to take a little teacher “down time” while your kids are writing, the Fix-It-Up days are meant to be extra, not in place of trying to get around to everyone each day. Of course, I know you would not be tempted to quickly get on social media for a minute while the room is quiet. But another teacher might, so this is for that OTHER teacher.

Timing suggestions for Fix-It-Up Days

Level K: Book 1 – No Fix-It-Up Days yet; Book 2 after Lesson 9 (correcting Lessons 6-9 only) and after Lesson 15 (correcting Lessons 12-15 only); Book 3 after Lesson 6 (correcting Lessons 1-6) and after Lesson 12 (correcting Lessons 7-12); Book 4 Lesson 7 (already designed as a kind of Fix-It-Up day, correcting Lessons 1-6) and after Lesson 13 (correcting Lessons 8-13); Book 5 after Lessons 6 and 12; Book 6 after Lessons 6 and 12.

Level 1: Book 1 after Lesson 10 (for Lessons 7-10 only) and after Lesson 15 (for Lessons 11-15); Book 2 after Lessons 7 and 14; Book 3 after Lessons 7 and 14; Book 4 after Lessons 7 and 14; Book 5 after Lessons 7 and 15; Book 6 after Lessons 6 and 13; Book 7 optional.

Questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact me!