Nearly eight years ago, I heard Rebekah O’Dell speak at a conference here in Los Angeles, and I was immediately struck by something. She didn’t sound like most keynote speakers. Instead of staging some sort of expertise, she was sharing her enthusiasm. As she talked about the possibilities that could be found with bursts of classroom notebook time, she celebrated examples of student writing and gave kudos to the writers that inspired her. And I felt like someone had stealthily rotated a kaleidoscope tube in front of my eyes, adding new arrangements to objects I see all the time.
You see, like many educators, I’ve fallen victim to the “one more thing” syndrome. Saying “yes” to just one more thing, to help nourish the school ecosystem, not fully aware of how much I was depleting myself as I put one more thing on my plate. As a result, I approach professional development opportunities warily, alert for signs of danger. “What will they ask me to do next?” I wonder.
But what Rebekah was modeling was something else altogether. An invitation to try something out in my classroom, as I saw fit, when it suited my schedule. Instead of creating conditions for greater fatigue, she was offering lesson design possibilities that I could unfold when I felt moved to do so, when the timing was right for me.
I ordered a book she had mentioned (Katherine Bomer’s The Journey Is Everything). I devoured it and scrapped an existing unit plan on essay writing, open to rethinking the fairly narrow way I had been teaching the genre. And I had the realization that the frustration I sometimes associate with our profession is that it doesn’t feel like I have the breathing room to tinker with my lesson design, to remix old impressions with new inklings.
Just like my students, I bristle against tight confines and long for opportunities to be playful.
That’s why I’m so excited I get to be a “camp counselor” for Camp Rewrite 2024. As someone who attended as a “camper” last summer, I can tell you firsthand how this professional development learning series served my teaching practice throughout this school year. Angela Stockman, Matthew Johnson, and I can’t wait to share new PD and interview offerings with campers this summer, with educators who seek the same breathing room for ideas and experimentation.
Here’s what I’m excited to share with you!
- Revising Our Approaches to Teaching the Essay
- New Possibilities for Teaching with Flash Fiction
- Creating Classroom Conditions for Inquiry/PBL
These topic choices arise from my own teaching remix in recent years–reworking familiar lesson plan elements with new frames and entry points. I hope you join us and enjoy those quiet moments when your own ideas catch sunbeams.
To register for Camp Rewrite 2024, click here.
To preview Camp Rewrite 2024 offerings, click here.
See you around the campfire!
-Xochitl
moving writers 