Viewing entries tagged
creative education

Comment

SPOTLIGHT! WORDS OF WISDOM FROM INSTRUCTOR Q!

We've been talking to our instructors about what makes them tick - as teachers, as writers and as language lovers! Enjoy learning a little more about Northern Virginia instructor Qinglan "Q" Wang.

What do you learn from your students? I love learning how my students see the world as a place full of color and endless possibilities!
 
How has teaching impacted your craft? Teaching has brought the art of improvisation and sharpening of writing technique to my personal writing.

What is a favorite word of yours? Use it in a sentence!  Mesmerize -- The glint of sun from the pond mesmerized the girl.
 
Share with us a quote or a poem that has been meaningful to you.

Porcupines by Marilyn Singer

Hugging you takes some practice.

So I'll start out with a cactus.

Comment

Comment

SPOTLIGHT! WORDS OF WISDOM FROM INSTRUCTOR EMILY PHILLIPS

We've been talking to our instructors about what makes them tick - as teachers, as writers and as language lovers! Enjoy learning a little more about longtime Bay Area instructor Emily Phillips.

What do you learn from your students? So many things! How to be brave, how to be silly, how to let go, how to be a better teacher, a better person...and the list goes on.
 
How has teaching impacted your craft? It has prompted me to follow the advice I give them: don't take my first drafts too seriously, take risks, think of the 5 senses and use strong active verbs. Be brave and have fun!

What is a favorite word of yours? Use it in a sentence!  What a preposterous question! All words are my favorite.
 
Share with us a quote or a poem that has been meaningful to you.

The Black Snake
by Mary Oliver

When the black snake
flashed onto the morning road,
and the truck could not swerve--
death, that is how it happens.

Now he lies looped and useless
as an old bicycle tire.
I stop the car
and carry him into the bushes.

He is as cool and gleaming
as a braided whip, he is as beautiful and quiet
as a dead brother.
I leave him under the leaves

and drive on, thinking
about death: its suddenness,
its terrible weight,
its certain coming. Yet under

reason burns a brighter fire, which the bones
have always preferred.
It is the story of endless good fortune.
It says to oblivion: not me!

It is the light at the center of every cell.
It is what sent the snake coiling and flowing forward
happily all spring through the green leaves before
he came to the road.
 

Comment

Comment

Read It Here First! A Potpourri of Writing from Benito Juarez Elementary

Over the past few months, our 3rd, 4th & 5th graders at Benito Juarez Elementary in Richmond, California took their inspiration from letter writing (to their future selves), Mad Libs, portraiture and more! Sample some of their work below!

Students wrote from a prompt: "When I woke up this morning..." (work from Alondra, Chris D. & Abdiel)

Students "painted a portrait" - with words AND drawing! (Work from Ximena, Nataly & Rem)

Students wrote letters to themselves - in the future. (Work from Victor, Eli, Diego & Celeste)

Students wrote 10 interesting things about themselves, then chose one to turn into a story (Work from Shanae, Supreet & Itzel - 2 parts)

Students explored "Things I Know to Be True" (Work from Miguel & Christopher C.)

Comment

Comment

Read It Here First! Taking flight with our John Muir Young Writers

For the past few months at John Muir Elementary in Berkeley, our third and fourth grader writers have focused on flight. They’ve learned about Amelia Earhart, bees, Daedalus and Icarus, and more. Explorations have included making movies in their minds of what it would be like to fly and imagining themselves up high in the blue sky, buzzing around as bees, airplanes and more.

Enjoy a sample of their work - get ready for take off! (Pictures are enlarged so you can read the work in the writer's own hand.)

Crash Landing!
Paloma imagined she was Amelia Earhart and wrote a letter to her sister as her plane crashed to earth.

The Phoenix

Aeris wrote a poem describing the flight of the phoenix featured in the Harry Potter series.

Where’d Everybody Go?

Nohelia wrote a story about a bee who woke up one morning to find that his friends had left him behind.

DEAR PLANE

Simon imagined he was Amelia Earhart and wrote a letter of appreciation to his plane.

How Do They Do it?

During a free write period (when writers may choose to write about anything s/he wishes), Sophie wrote about the power the color pink has over some people.

Choose Your Own Adventure

T.J. wrote about a bee who wakes up to find all the other bees are gone!

Bees!

After learning about bumblebees, Bodi explored the world outside the hive.

The Wonders of Childhood

Gavi wrote about why she loves childhood so, so much.

I love being a kid. Maybe its that bouncey feeling where you feel like jumping of the walls. Or maybe it's hearing your parents complaining about stuff you don't have to worry about. But I think its the wild, out of control way of living. Just runing and breathing in the fresh air.

No limits. No one to draw the line. No rules. But most of all no rages.

Comment

Comment

TMWFI! After School: Brave Writers at Bret Harte

This year "Take My Word For It!" began a partnership with Oakland Leaf to create an After School Writers' Workshop for Bret Harte students. The students are embracing their creativity, taking some risks with their writing and writing here, there and everywhere.

To learn more about Oakland Leaf and their important community work check out their website.

 

Comment

Comment

Spotlight! Words of Wisdom from Instructor Vanessa Flores

We've been talking to our instructors about what makes them tick - as teachers, as writers and as language lovers! Enjoy learning a little more about the Bay Area's Vanessa Flores, first in our Instructor Spotlight Series.

What do you learn from your students? Of course we all use our imaginations when we write, but TMWFI students are the best teachers when it comes to really allowing the imagination to run wild and free. Go ahead and let popsicles fall from the sky while your character is having an argument about pancakes with their little brother. The narrative can grow in big, magical ways when we let our imaginations not only lead us but push us toward the strange.

How has teaching impacted your craft? My students remind me to play. Graduate school can be very serious -- but one of the reasons I started writing in the first place was because it was a way to play and let go!

What is a favorite word of yours? Use it in a sentence! Rutabaga!  I'm not sure if I love the way rutabaga tastes, but I'm sure I love the way it sounds. 

Share with us a quote or a poem that has been meaningful to you. "You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself." Ethel Barrymore

Comment