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I have taken a few art classes. In art, perspective is important and obvious to the eye. One of my favorite artists is Georgia O’Keefe. A series of her paintings focuses in on the center of a flower. Looking closely changes the perspective. Seeing the center without white space to guide your eye makes the image more focused.
wikiart.com
My school year ended ten days ago. This period of time I have worked hard to relax and be present. I have actually avoided thinking at all about school. However, teaching is never far from my radar.
Today, I can see more clearly the white space. I understand the structure of my year and have some perspective on things.
At the center of focus is always literacy. Writing is an important component in my class. We wrote daily about our lives, about our reading, sprinkled with poetry.
But as I look forward and begin to shift my perspective to the horizon line, I see where my focus should be next year. I will have the same students. In many ways this makes the transition to a new grade level much smoother. They know what to expect. They know me.
Because of this, I will have to be intentional about changes and make them happen early on. I am reading Katherine Bomer’s book, The Journey is Everything. The intended audience is teachers of middle grades 6-8. The highest grade I teach is 6th, but I can see ways to incorporate her ideas in my lower grades as well.
While we need to pay attention to structure in the essay, that is not the purpose. I will continue using blogs as the main format for writing. A few points of perspective their writing will take are 1. writing to discover and 2. writing to explore language.
I want to be more aware of my students’ perspectives and allow them to discover them safely in our classroom. When we focus on the single poppy in the field, we can see more clearly the unique individual. We can honor their voices and work toward developing authentic, valuable writing.
In order to prepare to teach essay differently, I am experimenting with my own writing. I am trying out “writing for discovery” and “exploring language” with more intention in my blogging.
Perspective as a writer gives me a clearer lens for teaching writing.
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Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret, as we write we grow in perspective if we are truly reflective. I think your students will benefit from your direction to explore “writing for discovery” and “exploring language” with more intention. The word intention is a strong one that is needed if we are to make a difference in our students’ lives. Thank you for opening this space for us to reflect on our perspectives.
I anticipate that Katherine’s book will change my perspective not only in my teaching of writers, but in my own writing as well. I think I am going to need more than 10 weeks of summer to get everything done I want to learn and to accomplish!
I connected with the idea of narrowing the focus. I think that is something I need to be doing better. I thank you for inviting us to share on perspective today! You always pick great topics.
You nailed this post. Your journey through art and back to your students’ literacy lives is brilliant. And, while it is smoother to have the same students next year, you’ll have to refocus them a bit in order to do the work you are growing toward. Love this perspective.
I’m glad that you get this struggle. If I am to move forward, things will have to grow and change. I feel this essay study will help me move forward with them in a meaningful way. Thanks.
I loved the way you structured this – intentional, and yet exploratory. A beautiful essay, Margaret!
[…] post is part of “DigiLit Sunday,” hosted by Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche. This week’s topic is […]
Katherine Bomer’s book is an eye-opener, isn’t it? I love how your thoughts meandered from art to teaching to writing. Thank you for bringing us along with you!
I wish blogs had existed when I was a teacher. I know you must be an amazing digital mentor to so many teachers, Margaret!
Thanks for stopping by today. You are such a great mentor to many teachers.
Margaret, this is a lovely, reflective blog post/essay! I think an essay study will be the perfect way to deepen relationships, language, and writing to think and discover when you and your 6th graders unite in the fall. Please let me know how it goes! PS. I’ve worked with many teachers, grades 3-12 on essay. It seems to work, even with the young ones because it IS about writing to think and discover, and to find structures that fit the content and tone of the writing, not writing to fit a formula. I can’t wait to hear about your study!
Katherine, you have given me such a positive outlook on the essay. I am in the process now of looking at blog posts from my students to see if they are already doing some of these things and where we can jump off from in the fall. Let’s talk soon about a Twitter chat.