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| Author: Ashley Felder Petal High School |
Promptly at 9, we began our Writing into the Day. Today’s inspiration came from John Donne’s poem “No Man is an Island.” We spent a few minutes silently reading and adding comments to the poem on a shared Google Doc before Robin directed us to begin writing our responses. The question that drove our writing pulled a specific phrase from the poem for our contemplation: what does it mean to be “involved in mankind”? As we shared out when our writing time was up, it became clear that for many of us, this poem and that particular phrase drew our thoughts to recent events. These writings have been essential ways for many of us to process some of the situations taking place in our country at the moment.
After taking our first scheduled five-minute break, we returned to participate in an article discussion led by Catherine Williams about the Preface and Introduction of They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. The protocol for this discussion is a hybrid of two protocols that many of us have used separately before: Two-Column Notes and Finding the Takeaway. We first spent several minutes choosing several quotes from the text and writing brief responses to them individually. We then went into Zoom breakout groups of two to discuss our thoughts with a partner and to come up with an overall takeaway from the reading. I personally enjoyed having the rare one-on-one conversation, since it allowed for both of us to be able to speak and share easily, in addition to letting me talk to someone with whom I had not previously had much direct conversation. When we came back to the whole group, we shared out and discussed our takeaways together. Overall, we agreed that the text was offering tools to help students better engage in the ongoing conversations taking place in our world and that these tools were essential to giving students proper access to academic discourse. After providing feedback on the protocol, which worked beautifully to deepen our understanding and develop our discussion, we took another short (and much needed) break.
Next up on the agenda was a discussion of the Birkenstein and Graff article “In Teaching Composition, ‘Formulaic’ is Not a Four-Letter Word,” led by yours truly. This article is clearly set up as an argument, so I chose a protocol that required a look at two sides of that argument: reasons for using formulas in writing instruction and reasons against using them. We spent some individual time looking back at the article and taking notes on the reasons presented for each side of the argument. Then we broke off into two breakout groups, each group tasked with listing out points for one side of the argument as discussed in the article. Adding their ideas to a t-chart on a shared Google Doc, all participants could see ideas for each side as they were added. Then, we came back together as a whole group to share out. Finally, we ended the discussion by making connections between points on both sides, concluding that formulas in writing instruction in and of themselves are not good or bad. It depends on the formulas chosen and the instruction that accompanies them; teachers have to ensure that a formula is a tool that allows students to enter a conversation, rather than a requirement that isolates them from it.
Ending the day, I am struck by how much of our normal Summer Institute routines and dynamics we have been able to retain in this digital setting that current circumstances force us to utilize. Even though I still miss the easy connections made in the between moments, the conversations during break times and the breakfasts or lunches spent together, I am amazed at the quality of our discussions in spite of distance and distraction (as I write this, I am fighting to focus over the banging of the construction zone that is the house next door). We are still finding ways to challenge each other and help fellow teachers, erring on the side of simplicity wherever possible, trying to keep the multitudes of digital resources from drowning us in possibilities. We are turning our newest difficulty into a focus of inquiry, seeking solutions to benefit our students and other teachers in our service area. This year’s Summer Institute might be unlike anything that we have experienced or imagined, but in the true spirit of the best teachers, we are making it work despite all obstacles in our path.
Ashley Felder taught ninth and tenth grade ELA at Petal High School during the 2019-20 school year. She will be teaching tenth grade ELA, creative writing, and journalism. Ashley also continues to serve as a teacher consultant for South Mississippi Writing Project.
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