Spread the (Written) Word

Summer’s the best time to avoid burnout. Right? Write!

Students who first enter your class probably have only a dim notion of what journalism is, but they do know somewhat more assuredly that they like to write. That’s what I find with most of the kids who fill the seats in my room. If they like writing, at registration time they look over the electives choices and see Creative Writing or Journalism and then go eeny-meeny.

That’s what happened to me as a teen. I’ve loved to write since before I could actually write. As a tot, I scribbled in imitation of the hand motions of people writing in cursive. Later on, my favorite toy was an old, clunky manual typewriter. This led me to journalism in high school. I still have this love of writing, and I know it’s important to share it with my students – not just the writing, but the LOVE of it.

Sometimes we get so bogged down in teaching or the daily slosh through life that we forget the little things that give us joy. Putting words on a page is one of those things for me. As teachers, we may assume that our students know how we feel: Well, of course I love writing! But they don’t know that. They don’t know that we want so much for them to succeed and to develop the same love we have for our subject. I believe this applies to every area of teaching. Math teachers should tell their students: I love math! Science teachers: Experiments and research make my toes tingle!

As busy adults who get long summer vacations, we teachers have the best opportunity to reconnect with the activities we love. Summer is my time to play writer again, to tappity-type on my computer keyboard and let the words that get clogged up during the school year come rolling out. It works for reading, too. Proofreading students’ stories eats up a lot of eyeball for me most of the year, but in the summer, give me a novel or three. And, I get to read my two local professional newspapers all the way through most days in the summer. What luxury!

It’s important to use the summers to keep from burning out. And then it’s equally important to make sure your students know that you’re not burned out. Tell them: I’m here because I like it, and I know you will, too.