Stories: Splints for the Soul
"Reading and books are medicine. Stories are written and told by
and for people who have been broken, but who have risen up, or will rise, if
attention is paid to them. Those people are you and us. Stories and truth are
splints for the soul, and that makes today a sacred gathering. Now we were all
saying: pass it on."
-- Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually)
If you walk into the 6th grade room around 1:30 most afternoons, there is an intense quietness in the air.
If you looked around the room, you might see students furiously pounding laptop keys, brows furrowed in deep concentration. You might see students scribbling timelines and concept webs, trying to organize their evolving thoughts and emotions. You might also see students with their arms folded, having a mental standoff with their story that seems "stuck."
This is writing.
Over the past few weeks, I've found myself repeating the phrase, "writing is hard" to many 6th grade students. Some students look at me, surprised that I, their teacher, would be so blunt. The 6th grade year is one filled with personal writing. Students are in the midst of writing impact essays, telling stories about people in their lives who have affected them in a significant way. As I conference with students, I can see their stories slowly blossoming from skeletal outlines into pages filled with vivid memories.
In a year filled with so much personal writing, I stand by my claim that "writing is hard." It is hard because you are expressing your emotions. It is hard because you are choosing to make yourself vulnerable. It is hard because you are processing experiences and emotions and thoughts that you may have been previously unaware of or unsure of how to deal with. Writing is hard because by going through the process, you are giving words and structure to things that you may want to leave unsaid or unstructured.
This idea of stories being splints for the soul is one that rings true for 6th grade writing. Through writing about past experiences and emotions, students are processing and structuring their world. The writing process is messy and frustrating. It is exhausting. It is hard. It is also cathartic.
Middle school students are thinking about so many questions -- Who am I? How has my past shaped who I am today? How will it shape my future? Writing is where the answers to these questions often make themselves known. Through processing and structuring their experiences and emotions, 6th grade writers are wrestling with questions of identity, interpretation, and voice. However, at the end of the process, they are able to stand confidently and say: "Here I am. I have a story to tell and it is an important one."
This continues in 7th and 8th grade, where students work through exhibitions. Once they have begun to answer questions about identity, students work to interpret the world around them. They are also thinking about important questions -- How has our society evolved? What do these events in history mean for us today? What themes do I see in the events of the past? What does this mean for our future?
As students work through three years of writing at Mustard Seed, they work to voice their own stories, learn from the stories that surround them, and challenge themselves to live a meaningful story. As they leave, students are challenged to think about how they will continue to live and share their stories, these splints for their souls. In light of what they know about themselves and the world around them, what story are they now called to live?
So, I wonder .. what kind of story will you live?
If you walk into the 6th grade room around 1:30 most afternoons, there is an intense quietness in the air.
If you looked around the room, you might see students furiously pounding laptop keys, brows furrowed in deep concentration. You might see students scribbling timelines and concept webs, trying to organize their evolving thoughts and emotions. You might also see students with their arms folded, having a mental standoff with their story that seems "stuck."
This is writing.
Over the past few weeks, I've found myself repeating the phrase, "writing is hard" to many 6th grade students. Some students look at me, surprised that I, their teacher, would be so blunt. The 6th grade year is one filled with personal writing. Students are in the midst of writing impact essays, telling stories about people in their lives who have affected them in a significant way. As I conference with students, I can see their stories slowly blossoming from skeletal outlines into pages filled with vivid memories.
In a year filled with so much personal writing, I stand by my claim that "writing is hard." It is hard because you are expressing your emotions. It is hard because you are choosing to make yourself vulnerable. It is hard because you are processing experiences and emotions and thoughts that you may have been previously unaware of or unsure of how to deal with. Writing is hard because by going through the process, you are giving words and structure to things that you may want to leave unsaid or unstructured.
This idea of stories being splints for the soul is one that rings true for 6th grade writing. Through writing about past experiences and emotions, students are processing and structuring their world. The writing process is messy and frustrating. It is exhausting. It is hard. It is also cathartic.
Middle school students are thinking about so many questions -- Who am I? How has my past shaped who I am today? How will it shape my future? Writing is where the answers to these questions often make themselves known. Through processing and structuring their experiences and emotions, 6th grade writers are wrestling with questions of identity, interpretation, and voice. However, at the end of the process, they are able to stand confidently and say: "Here I am. I have a story to tell and it is an important one."
This continues in 7th and 8th grade, where students work through exhibitions. Once they have begun to answer questions about identity, students work to interpret the world around them. They are also thinking about important questions -- How has our society evolved? What do these events in history mean for us today? What themes do I see in the events of the past? What does this mean for our future?
As students work through three years of writing at Mustard Seed, they work to voice their own stories, learn from the stories that surround them, and challenge themselves to live a meaningful story. As they leave, students are challenged to think about how they will continue to live and share their stories, these splints for their souls. In light of what they know about themselves and the world around them, what story are they now called to live?
So, I wonder .. what kind of story will you live?