Public Teaching

Even though I had vowed to not buy any books at Heinemann's Boothbay Literacy retreat because I have been trying to have a little bit more control in purchasing books all the time when I already have so many that I can't wait to read on my bookshelf, I could not resist buying more Penny Kittle books after she read aloud to us on the first night of the retreat. Because of my summer school classes, I have not been able to read through them as fast as I typically would have, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading her Public Teaching: One Kid at a Time every chance I got.

While I was reading her memoirs, I was reflecting on my own teaching experience. The set-up of the book was perfect for only being able to read a bit here and there. I was able to read a chapter/experience each sitting. They always left me wanting to read the rest of the book, yet there was a good sense of closure that facilitated not being able to read it all quickly. Instead I was able to linger with her thoughts, which often tied in well with the discussions we were having in my doctoral coursework.

The book also had me grabbing my own writer's notebook to record memorable teaching experiences. The final assignment for one of my summer school courses was to write an educational memoir, so I was able to start writing about some of my own experiences. However, they were rushed. Though I had been writing/listing in my writer's notebook, I did not actually start drafting until the week it was due. I ended up with 25 pages. As I was writing, I was realizing how much certain students, colleagues and experiences had impacted who I am as an educator. Some I had already thought about in depth before, but others were aha moments. Because of the time crunch, I ended up cutting out a lot of what I was going to write and did not feel like I had a polished product at the end.

Reading her book and having this assignment made me realize how enjoyable it is to go back and revisit different experiences. With my assignment, I chose to write in chronological order with reflections from different phases in my teaching journey. I see it very much so as a work in progress. There were some moments where I felt like my voice was shining through and that I was creating images of what was happening, while in others it was too much of explaining (back to the concept of show vs. tell). I considered Public Teaching as a mentor text for my own writing, and Kylene Beers' letters to George in her When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do also inspired the format of my memoir. I am glad that I have the document that I will be able to revisit later to craft and revise. When I revisit it, rather than trying to have it be a chronological order account, I would probably just organize different snapshots.

In addition, I have realized the joys of writer's notebook entries to capture moments. I know that this year I will not have a lot of time to dedicate to writing memoirs related to my teaching experience, but I want to increase the amount of writer's notebook entries to sharpen my memory for when I have more time in the future.