Category: Teaching

The Journey – A Creative Writing Exercise

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This is the first day of me running a creative writing class for secondary students after school. At present there are two of us in the classroom. It was originally intended to be a Future Problem Solving class. I ran this last year for the first time and really enjoyed it. I started this year with 8 students and it has very quickly whittled itself down to one. Although not impossible, I’m afraid that running an extra curricular activity designed as participation in a four person team competition with one person is more difficult than I would like to take on at present. So here we are. Creative writing. Today’s task: Journeys.

We’ve chosen today to simply begin writing with a stimulus. In the upcoming weeks we will undertake skill builders and apply them to our work. So, today the stimulus comes in the form of travel brochures. Choose one that you like the look of, then flick through and find an interesting picture which sparks your interest. This is the stimulus for your journey writing. It can be any sort of writing: narrative (by far the easiest, I believe); essay; report; analytical. However, I find narrative easiest, so that’s what I’m going to do. 



The view was gorgeous. The approach to the castle was a breathtaking sight. Perhaps she would have been breathless regardless because of the steep incline of the winding ascent, but she had always like to put a positive spin on things, so she would be breathless from the view. Behind the castle, the mountains were gently fleeced with white mist that echoed the clouds of forced breath she did take. As she followed the broad, square shoulders and tugged the hand cart behind her, she knew that whatever occurred in the next few weeks was likely to be difficult, but already, her imagination was caught.

Julia needed refreshment and reinvigorating. She was bored at home and knew she needed to jumpstart her life. Writing had always been her passion, but she hadn’t written in a number of years. Well, nothing worth keeping, anyway. She’d been so caught up in her day to day dreary getting by that she’d let her passion slip away. So here she was, almost at the base of a Rhenish castle, ready to switch on senses long dormant. Fifteen days is all her current budget would allow and she was easy to make the most of them. Firstly, by exploring the dream setting she was slowly approaching. The slowness was her own fault. She had chosen to….

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Time is up! Now to move on to the next exercise. I’ve found a 12 Day Plan of Simple Writing Exercises over at “The Writer’s Dig” and so we are going to start there. Thanks, Brian.

Write 10 potential book titles of books you’d like to write:

  1. Close to Home – A love story. Isabel and Adam
  2. ‘Scuse Me, Miss! – A teacher’s view of the class room
  3. Toddlers, Teens and Tweens – A ‘How I did it’ parenting book
  4. Capturing my Family – Family Anecdotes
  5. God Stuff – devotional
  6. {Insert Book Title Here}

I found this far more difficult than I thought it would be! Will have to complete it for homework. In the meantime, why not comment below with a favourite sentence written by you? Mine is in bold above. 

Get creative!

Eski 🐛

I’ve created a monster!

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I have literally created a monster. With $3 worth of material; two hours and one small boys epic imagination, I have created “Theo Hulk Smash!”

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You may now applaud. Thank you.

When we were at Spotlight today, Theo chose some green fabric. When I asked what it was for, he said it was so he could be Hulk.

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He then asked the assistant, “Lady, you have purple Hulk shorts, please?” Thankfully, she did.

I spent a fun two hours this afternoon making it up as I went along and I am really pleased with it, especially how the green legs bubble out beneath the shorts.

Goodnight!

Eski 🐛

‘Scuse me, Miss!

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It’s only been about 6 weeks since I last stood in front of a class and (hopefully) taught. It’s been less than 48 hours since I sat in someone else’s. And today, it begins again. And I’m scared.

Yes, scared. I know it seems unreasonable, because I love the school I’m at. I love the kids (most of them – veritas serum again). I love to teach. I love the connections; momentary or long lasting. I love the lightbulb moments. I love surprising the teenagers by knowing about the latest apps, games and songs. I love the reactions I see when they realise that I’m a person and I have a home. I believe the generally accepted school of thought is that teachers live in a box under their desk. I love to throw lesson plans out the window and ride the wave of a valuable tangent. I love it when a lesson plan and said lesson actually are the same. So why am I scared?

I’m scared because every ‘night before’ I fear being found out. I fear that someone, somewhere, somehow will discover that I’m actually not very good at this. I’m scared that I actually won’t be. I’m scared they won’t like me. I’m scared that despite my planning and best efforts, the whole thing goes pear shaped.

This is unfounded. In almost 7 years of teaching so far, none of this has proven true.

Oh, there have some pretty spectacular muck-ups; by no means has perfection taken up residence. Some days, I’m actually not very good at it. Some days only I know that. Some days I’m sure I’m the only one who doesn’t. But some days, I’m brilliant! Some days, they don’t like me. Some days I don’t like them all that much either. But some days I’m the ‘best teacher ever!’ I have it on the authority of a coffee mug. Some days pear shaped would be a bonus. But some days, we are the whole fruit salad!

I could cheerfully forget the times I’ve been taken to task for not following guidelines. I could be okay without memories of 6 dismal months of ‘that class’ in Year 10 History. If I never melt a plastic box on a hot plate in the Home Ec kitchen again, I’ll die content. Broken bones, cut fingers, burns and seizures; you can keep them.

But there are jewels too. The consistent C- who got a B. The sudden, and totally unexpected, discovery of a student’s flair for writing flowery Shakespearean prose. The spark of understanding.

If you’re a teacher, you’ll know both sides of that battered, but still valuable, coin. You’ll know the highs and the lows. You’ll understand the billions of possible reactions you might have to the simple phrase, “Scuse me, Miss?”

And you’ll be scared. And you’ll love it. All at the same time.

Veritas,

Eski 🐛