Blog Entry 1 Capital Area Writing Project - by Traci Bellas, Cross Elem. Teacher

When I applied for the Capital Area Writing Project this spring, I wholly expected it to improve my writing pedagogy. I never imagined that I would be exploring my own authorship. Our orientation and subsequent reading assignments since May 1st have explored the various minds of the author, their voices and how to reclaim our own. It has been a very reflective process.

Our first writing assignment was to author our autobiography as a writer. While seemingly a daunting task, the process has been very cathartic. Many common themes have emerged from the group. Perhaps the most powerful is writing’s innate ability to be therapeutic. Many of us have used writing as a way to express deep emotions and heal hidden wounds, despite the red pens and critical comments we may have once experienced.

As teachers, it forces us to view writing from our students’ perspective. If we limit the parameters in which students write, we limit their voice and creativity. It is important that we encourage and foster a love of writing first and foremost. Second, we must recognize that when writing is shared, the author is sharing a part of himself or herself, no matter how primitive and the gift must be received with sensitivity.

I look forward to my weeks in the Capital Area Writing Fellowship. I have no doubt that this experience will not only improve my own writing, but my care in receiving the writing gifts of my students.