The word is lonely, but to name it makes me feel sad. 

I am currently teaching Expository Writing II, completely online, this summer and the kids are not just not okay.  I am sure many educators have been realizing this as the 2020-2021 school year unfolded in all of shifts and changes and tragedies, but this summer is when I was able to see the effects of COVID on many students in black and white, in the writing they shared. 

We open the year with a unit on narrative and students read many short pieces and are prompted to write about a variety of topics, but they choose what they want to write about.  So many students shared how their lives changed completely this year, how their mental health is declining, how their schoolwork is suffering, how their parents have lost their jobs, how their family members have passed away-all related to COVID.  

These students are revealing their emotions to me and to their classmates, but in some instances, also to themselves.  And, this revelatory act of writing is what may also lead to healing.  

One student thanked me for this unit and for pushing him to consider his essay more carefully.  He wrote about how much football means to his life and how that ritual was taken from him suddenly.  He outlines how he was hopeful the season would resume, but how over time, he realized it would not.  Originally, he simply said how much it “sucked”.  I asked him to add more description and suggested that he describe what it felt like, sounded like, looked like when he was training. And, he did.  He wrote beautifully about the new form of training he took up at home: yoga, and equally as beautifully about what it felt like to train in the weight room, with his team, who he so desperately missed.  His revised essay was so much better, but it was the note at the bottom of it that will stay with me forever. 

He thanked me for the feedback because it allowed him to see that the way he actually felt was lonely.  He wrote that he originally thought it was anger, but after writing this essay, he can see that it is loneliness he felt.  He wrote that it even makes him sad to write the word lonely, but that is the feeling.  

This is the reason why writing instruction matters.  It allows us to process our thoughts and feelings and eventually name them.  Writing is not the end, but instead the beginning of our journey.  Naming is the first step in healing and understanding.  We can acknowledge where we are and what our story is when we write the words down, even if those words make us sad.

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I have always loved reading and talking about what I am reading.  Books have been an ever present part of my life and as I look back, it is strange to notice that I do not have many memories of reading in or for school.  I remember reading with my family, reading in my bedroom, in the car, at the beach.  I remember going to the library and bookstores with excitment.  And, although I do have fond memories of school, my love of reading was most certainly cultivated outside of the school day.  
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Also, as I look back on my school age years, I am struck by how much more I remember about my summer and after school programs than my traditional school days.  I remember taking improvisational acting classes and participating in a summer journalism group.  I remember going to summer camp and creating art and performing in talent shows. I remember endless hours rereading scripts and analyzing characters to perform in school plays through after school programing beginning in elementary school and running through high school.  

And, when I do think of my school days, lessons that stand out are when we read our local newspapers and learned how they were structured before creating our own newspaper, when we wrote and illustrated books (with actual hard covers!), when we researched different states and presented our findings to the class, and when I chose to create a diary for one the main character of the Joyce Carol Oates story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?".  

​These moments all nurtured a love of literacy in my soul and a deep confidence that I am a strong reader, writer, and performer.  I was privileged with consistent exposure to all forms of literacy blended with joy. 

So, now, as an educator, I ask: what made those experiences joyful? 
 
I believe a big part of it was choice.  I chose which programs I wanted to participate in and which books I wanted to read.  Entering a bookstore was exciting and magical because I knew that I could choose one (or sometimes two) books to take home.  It's funny how now, as I reread books that were assigned to me in high school and college, I enjoy them so much more than when they were assigned.  Perhaps I have matured and am now ready for books such as Camus' The Stranger, but I suspect the joy comes more in the ability to choose what and when I read.

Part of my work this year is to create opportunities for ALL students to have these choices.  As part of our Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant, we are developing after school and summer programs for students who have not yet found the joy in literacy.  Instead of reserving enrichment programming for students who are excelling, we are offering these workshops and classes to students who are struggling.  At one elementary school, students can choose from Reader's Theater, Creative Writing, Poetry Writing, Rap Sessions. or a Book Club after school.  The students will be recommended for the program because they may need extra support in literacy, but instead of trying to remediate them, we are going to try and build their confidence and perhaps a love of reading, writing, or the spoken word.

Another undeniable factor in the happiness spurred by literacy is being part of a community.  Even in elementary school, I remember being part of something bigger as we worked as a team to develop a newspaper or put on a play.  I loved talking about the books I was reading with my family and friends.  

Community is also something we can build both in school and out of school, even in virtual settings.  We will begin with Book Clubs and Family Events by bringing in authors and providing students and families with both the books, but also the space, to read, discuss, and explore.  Our hope is that students will begin to see reading, or writing, as part of their identity, and that they are part of a community of readers and writers.  

The final product of these events is perhaps the most important of all, and what sustained my love of all things literacy through the years: confidence.  If we can nurture confidence in our students, they will grow in ways we cannot imagine.  Confidence will cause them to pick up a new book, or write testimony on an upcoming legislative bill, or apply for a new job.  Confidence will allow them to join a group that interests them, or become a reader at their local church. 

Choice will empower students to be in control of their futures. Community will develop empathy and shared purpose in our learners. Confidence will create life long learners, who take risks and are willing to share their ideas.  And, the sum of these three C's will cultivate a more just and literate society, where perhaps there is a little more joy for us all.

Come check us out at 10:00 am on Monday and 10:45 am on Tuesday!!!!  Post a comment below to let us know your thoughts on our presentation!