Letter to Teacher

Dear Penny Kittle,

            I have thoroughly enjoyed reading chapter 6 The Opportunities in a Writer’s Workshop of your book Write Beside Them. The vulnerability that you describe in the opening of this chapter about the many emotions and fears that were affecting your own writing process is admirable.  In the beginning of this chapter you state, “There is a deep connection between art and fear” (Kittle 63). I agree with this statement, because just as you have shown in your opening writing is a process of putting fears and anxieties into words. I also have a question about demonstrating vulnerability to your students as a teacher. Do you share your vulnerability with your students? If so, how do you determine what is appropriate to share? I have always connected to a teacher if they were real and honest with the class, but I also understand that there are boundaries on what is appropriate or beneficial to share with students.

            While it was not clear to me from the chapter on whether or not you share your own fears with your classes it was apparent that your classroom is a safe space. I like that you exhibit all of your expectations in a clear and concise way for the students to understand what is expected of them on the first day. You also inform the students of what they can expect from the teacher in the classroom which I think is very important. In the student guide for the first day you clearly tell the students that you will always write with them, and that as a writing community you expect trust and respect (Kittle 65). I found the informational guides for students and for parents to be helpful in understanding how to include everyone in the classroom. As a future teacher this is an aspect of teaching that weighs heavy on my mind, and the informational guides that you have provided are amazing examples of how to do this.

            As a future writing teacher it was also beneficial to read your personal experiences and challenges of teaching the writing process. It was interesting to see the rehearsal, rereading, and revision process that you outline for your class. As a prospective teacher it was important to see the process and what works for you as a teacher, but I found it very beneficial to read the challenges you faced with meeting the needs of individual students. The excerpt about Kayla was insightful to see a student struggling with the editing process of her paper, because you found that she was attached to the words she had created (Kittle 79).  This was a big help to me in understanding that as a teacher we are going to have students that exceed in some areas of the writing process and that struggle in others.

I have enjoyed this chapter of your book, and I look forward to reading and learning more from you.

Sincerely a future writing teacher,

MeKay Mitchem

Works Cited

Kittle, Penny. “The Opportunities in a Writer’s Workshop.” Write beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing, Heinemann, 2008, pp. 62–95.