Topic: Teachers as Writers

10-second review: Teachers in a graduate course learn to write editorials to be published as guest editorials in local newspapers.

Title: “Writing for the Public: Teacher Editorializing as a Pathway to Professional Development.” Jonna Perrillo. English Education (October 2010), 10-32.

Quote: “…this article will focus on what I have come to call the Editorial Project, a project in which I mentored more than 30 teachers/graduate students across three summer institutes to write 600-word editorial guest columns for submission to our local newspaper.”

Quote: “Writing Prompts to Prepare to Write Editorials on Education Issues

. Write your first thoughts on a question that is important to you as a teacher right now.

. Tell the story of how this question lives in your classroom. Create a vivid scene.

. What misconceptions or lies have you been told about this question or in response to this question?

. Explain this question’s importance to someone who is not an educator. You can choose who that person might be (a student, a parent, a school board member).”

Comment: Now that is what a call a summer writing institute. The writing is challenging, the ideas are provocative, the audience is real and the goal is publication. What a great idea. RayS.