The time I thought I couldn't...

My EMWP colleague, Erin Umpstead, wrote this amazing piece about how writing is like hula-hooping.

I have never been able to hula-hoop in my life. As a child I would put the object around my waist,

The hula hoop, it mocks me.

start moving my hips, and immediately it was on the ground. To help inspire her writing, Erin brought in her own hula-hoop to the summer institute for inspiration and it has remained in room 320, mocking me.

So as others in the summer institute were looking for writing inspiration, they would grab the hula hoop and go to town. I, however, looked at the object with great disdain and envied all my colleagues who could actually keep the hula hoop around their waist as they gyrated their hips.

But apparently a proper hula-hoop needs to be weighted. And it should come up to your belly-button as it rests on the ground and stands on end. These two things make all the difference and can change you from a hula-hooping failure (me) to a hula-hooping master.

At first I was dubious of this idea that weights and proper height could transform my hula-hooping ability (or lack thereof), but I decided to, in the spirit of the Writing Project, make myself vulnerable and give it a go.

And before I knew it...

I WAS HULA-HOOPING!!!

I feel as if I must add a reason to Erin's piece for why writing is like hula-hooping and it's true of what I've experienced here at the summer institute...

...because even if you think you can't do it, you really can!! 

EMWP Demonstration Lesson: Plagiarism, Emulation, and Originality

For the Eastern Michigan Writing Project summer institute this year, participants created a demonstration lesson in pairs rather than as an individual. At first I was a bit dubious about this idea, thinking that I would prefer to work on my own, but it actually turned out to be a really enjoyable experience. Since my partner Michael and I had completed projects on similar topics in another graduate class we had taken together (his project was on plagiarism, mine was on emulation), we decided to put those two ideas together and create this demonstration on Plagiarism, Emulation, and Originality.

The lesson starts off by looking at the famous William Carlos Williams poem "This is Just to Say" and then asking participants to emulate this poem. We then go into sharing an example of an emulation I came up with -- except I only changed one word from the original Williams poem. Then we shared the next slide in which I've only changed two words, and so on. This leads to a rich discussion about "OK, when is it emulation and when is it plagiarism?"

From there, the discussion moves on to emulation and theft in other art forms such as visual art and music, and then we talk about how having students emulate other writers can help lead them into their own original creations.

It was a pleasure to present with my partner Michael and I hope we have the chance to do it again sometime, either at another EMWP meeting or at a conference.

Plagiarism, Emulation, and Originality from Beth Shaum

See our annotated bibliography.

You are enough.

The day I was tasked with assigning the daily writing prompt during my time at the Eastern Michigan Writing Project summer institute, I decided to read the picture book Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison. The first time I read this book, I was so moved that I began to weep when I reached the last page. The message of Extraordinary Jane speaks to so many of us, and I think it speaks to all of the Writing Project participants. We compare themselves to others and feel like we don't belong among our brilliant colleagues. But we do belong. I do belong. And so after reading Extraordinary Jane to my colleagues, the writing prompt I chose was just three simple words:

You are enough. 

To talk back to that prompt, I decided to emulate the style of Harrison's text in her book, Extraordinary Jane.



*~*~*~*~*~*

Beth was ordinary
in a class of extraordinary writers.

She couldn't turn an everyday object
into a brilliant metaphor
like Bill
or weave a beautiful poem
like Lorena.

She didn't blow people's minds
like Michael
or make people laugh
like Amy.

Beth was just
Beth.

She tried to find her writing niche
but poetry was a struggle
crot essays didn't make sense
(how can you write an essay with no transitions?!)
op eds made her brain hurt
and then there was that disaster of a novel
she tried to write once.

Beth was just
Beth.

A solid, capable, all-around
writer.

And that was is enough.

A letter to my students

I wrote this letter on the second day of the 2014 Eastern Michigan Writing Project. We went on a writing marathon to various locations in the area and this piece came out of our first stop, which was at Whole Foods of all places. Now that I'm coming back into the classroom in the fall, I felt the need to let my students know just how much they mean to me. I don't think this is the final version, but I do want to read this to them on the first week of school.


To my students:

I want you to know that I believe in you. There are innumerable messages coming at you these days from people telling you that you CAN'T:

These students can't even identify what a verb is.
These students can't write.
These students just can't learn.

But through the sea of voices telling you what you can't do, I want you to listen for my voice across the din and hear me saying that you can. Let me be your beacon, a respite from the storm because you, too, serve as my guidepost, a constant reminder for why I continue to weather this storm. I hear the same discouraging messages, telling me that I'm not doing enough to make you "college and career ready." While you are being called "these students" I am being called "you people" and in one reductive swoop, informed that I want too much despite never doing enough.

But to me, you are enough. You keep me passionate and excited to come to work everyday even when all the other noise that surrounds me (testing, teacher evaluation, politicians, scripted curricula...) is telling me I want to quit. I did, in fact, quit for a year. But do you know what ultimately called me back? Each and every one of you. 

You make me happy.
You make me fullfilled.
You matter.
I believe in you.

The nErDcamp Revolution

Logo designed by Laurie Keller

"Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”  - John Green

When most teachers think of professional development, what usually comes to mind is soul-sucking, district-mandated drivel that doesn't really develop anything other than the desire to gouge out your eyes with a paperclip if it will get you out of having to sit through another mind-numbing in-service led by an "expert" who has never taught a day in her life.

But the encouraging news is that teachers are starting to take their professional development back in the form for Edcamps. An Edcamp is what is known as an unconference. Instead of writing proposals and having a committee of people to read through and decide months in advance who will present, Edcamps have no set schedule until the day of the conference.What makes Edcamps so revolutionary is that this is a small but mighty step in proving to the establishment that we're tired of being told how to do our jobs by people who aren't in the classroom. So instead of waiting for administrators to realize the necessity of teachers learning from each other, teachers have decided to stop waiting and just do it themselves. We're taking our profession back and telling the doubters, "Don't you worry; we got this."

nErDcamp is a spinoff of the Edcamp model with a literacy focus. The name nErDcamp comes from Nerdy Book Club co-founder Colby Sharp who, along with his wife Alaina and a slew of Nerdy planners and volunteers, began the first nErDcamp last year. This year's nErDcamp was even bigger and better, with two days of learning rather than one.

• Day one comprised of planned sessions, ending with a keynote by Donalyn Miller. In the evening there was also a Nerd Run 5K.
• Day two involved the main part of nErDcamp which were the unplanned sessions, followed by Nerd Camp Jr. in the evening.

I could only attend day one since I am currently participating in the Eastern Michigan Writing Project, but even that was enough to make me realize what a powerful force this new model of professional learning has become. Teachers from all over the country (and even Canada), descended upon Western High School in Parma, Michigan to learn from each other and to celebrate what it means to be a nerd. Nerdy teachers, as John Green pointed out in the quote above, are wholeheartedly and unabashedly enthusiastic. We don't hold back our love of learning. When you release us from our cages of stifling, dispassionate bureaucracy and place us in a setting with other Nerds, an explosion of Nerdtastic fervor happens. As evidenced by the fact that #nErDcampMI was a #1 trending topic on Twitter last weekend:

Photo credit: Dan Spencer

As Colby Sharp pointed out in this tweet:

It feels it little bit like #nErDcampMI is currently the center of the literacy universe.
— Colby Sharp (@colbysharp) July 8, 2014

It's hard to believe the small town of Parma, Michigan could be the center of the universe, but for the 300+ teachers that came to nErDcamp and the people on Twitter who weren't there but wished they could be, so it was. If only for a couple days.

Mark your calendars because on July 6 & 7, 2015 nErDcamp will return for year three. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Cindy Minnich and her son Bryson came to Michigan from Pennsylvania

There were pins from all over the U.S. and even Canada!

Just a small sample of the generosity of publishers who provided books for the swag bags

Colby Sharp introduces Donalyn Miller's keynote to a full auditorium

Nerd Run 5K awards

Love these ladies! me with Cindy Minnich, Donalyn Miller, Niki Barnes and Kristin McIlhagga

Linda Urban talks about how to add detail to your writing to the kids at Nerd Camp Jr.

To see all I learned from Nerd Camp, check out my Storify:
#nErDcampMI 2014: Tweeting My Learning

EMWP: A day in the life

One of the things we are tasked with as participants in the Eastern Michigan Writing Project Summer Institute is to create a daily log for each day. Individuals sign up for a day and find a way to present their "day in the life" creations. Here is my daily log for July 9, 2014:

National Writing Project: See What Everybody's Talking About

This week I started the Eastern Michigan Writing Project Summer Institute. Reflecting on my first week, I now understand why I have heard teachers speak of it in only positive and superlative ways. Since the institute is only three weeks this summer, I actually feel kind of cheated out of that fourth week now. I don't think I'm going to want it to be over after only three weeks. I have driven home from Eastern Michigan University each day this week feeling empowered and energized. Teachers, if you've never done the Writing Project before, put it on your bucket list. And don't assume that it's only for English teachers. Educators of all subject-areas and backgrounds participate. What we all have in common is a passion for our students and a need to better ourselves by continually learning and growing.

To learn more about the National Writing Project or to locate a site in your area, visit the NWP website.