There was a moment every year where a community finally built itself inside my classroom. Sometimes it happened after fall break as we got to know each other. Sometimes it happened after we finished a big project, a shared goal that we all contributed to. But I noticed this community establishment often happened earlier in the year if I modeled the kinds of human moves - gratitude, vulnerability, kindness, trust, support in risk taking - that I wanted my students to exhibit toward each other.
Creating the feeling of community in my classroom was the only way I knew to create a foundation where authentic writing and healing could take place, a place where both taking risk and healing was important. And it was the only culture where I could successfully run a project-based writing studio that invited students to write about topics and issues they were passionate about.
I first met David Rockower when my book Project-Based Writing brought us together to present at NCTE in Baltimore in 2017. David is a freelance writer, the author of The Power of Teaching Vulnerability, and a Pennsylvania middle school teacher. At the heart of his pedagogy is this question: how does teacher vulnerability impact student learning?
My interview with David will be on the Heinemann Podcast on Thursday, April 11, and while we cover a lot of ground, the majority of our conversation centers around the necessity of modeling vulnerability as an effective teaching tool, that builds community, but also teaches students what writing and healing looks like.
David says, “Teachers are always asking students to take risks in their learning. But how often are we as teachers modeling that? I think the big leap for me was being able to write in front of my students. Something I do on a regular basis is I'll put a Google Doc up on the screen, and I'll say, ‘Alright, throw out an emotion that you've experienced once in your life, and I'm going to tell you a story. And I have nothing planned because I don't know what emotion you're going to throw out.’ And they always want to know of a time when I'm afraid, right? Tell me a time when you had fear. So they'll see me compose, they'll see me misspell, delete, change. For about fifteen minutes I'll craft something and I'll have the beginning of a mini personal essay or memoir on the screen. I was doing more than just building community because I was sharing part of myself, but I was also sharing what the writing process looks like. We do the brainstorming, and the outlining, and the planning, and then we do the revising, and the editing, but we don't often talk about what happens, what does it look like when you're writing.”
How Can I Practice Writing As Healing In My Classroom?
Using David’s strategy of modeling vulnerability, what are some ways you can create a culture of sharing and healing with students? How can you visually model the internal machinations of writing a first draft? In the early weeks of the year, chose one of the below dimensions of vulnerability each week to share with students. As you get to know them, equally important is that they get to know you. This mutual sharing will be beneficial for creating community, but also will bank goodwill and trust when students begin to write personal essays that will help them advocate, heal ,and speak their truth.
Personal: Personal stories that share a failure, joy, a memorable moment, examples of your own artistic work: writing, painting, etc…
Relational: Apologies: admitting fault in the classroom, verbal or written compliments.
Dialogic: Inviting crucial conversations into the classroom, even if these topics might create discomfort and tension.
David says, “When teachers are willing to go through the writing process authentically with students, everyone’s writing is likely to be more meaningful, engaging, and inspired.”