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The 1999 Oregon Writing Project has provided me with the luxury of time. Taking four weeks to write, to read about writing, to be exposed to what other teachers do in their classrooms, and to learn about technology has been a pleasure. Participating in the Oregon Writing Project has stimulated my interest in my own writing. Although I enjoy it, I don't often choose to write, except for an occasional letter to a friend. The assignments have forced me to stretch my skills. I have been reminded that the process of writing is hard work, and takes time. I have learned from the response groups, and have been privileged to hear the writing of others as well. I also enjoyed having the opportunity spend a morning with Ingrid Wendt, to learn about teaching poetry to children, to listen to the writing of my peers, and to create my own poems. Another valuable part of the Oregon Writing Project was the peer presentations. Teaching can be a very isolated profession. During the school year, most of our time is spent inside our own classrooms. Rarely do we, as teachers, have the opportunity to see each other teach. Although many of the lessons presented were for higher grade levels than I teach, I benefited from learning what other people do in their classrooms. The quality of writing instruction across all grade levels has improved a great deal in recent years, and as a result, we are expecting our students to be more sophisticated writers than ever before. As I read what professionals have written about children and literacy, I was reminded of the important social aspect of their writing. Children often write, or in the early stages, just make marks on paper, for the purpose of interacting with others. In my classroom, I want to provide more opportunities for students to write for this purpose, and to share what they have written with others. I especially liked the small group writing activities suggested by several of my peers, many of which can be adapted for use with first graders. But the main reason that I chose to participate in the Oregon Writing Project this summer was its emphasis on technology. My computer experience has been limited, and my progress toward competence very gradual. But, being the parent of two young adults, I have had a glimpse of the importance technology will play in our lives in the future, and especially in the lives of the generation of children who are now in school, or will soon come to us as educators. I am aware that many of my first graders are already quite competent on the computer. It is as common to them as the telephone was to me at their age. (I didn't have one, but many of my friends did.) I also personally enjoy using technology. However, the more I used the computer, the more frustrated I became about not understanding what I was doing. I really felt like one of those "dummies" the help books are written for. My experiences with technology in the Oregon Writing Project have increased my understanding, but more importantly, my confidence. It is likely that I will continue to take technology classes, such as those offered at Lane ESD. I am not convinced that I need to teach computer skills at the first grade level. Our classroom time is limited, and must be very focused on reading, writing, and math skills. Keyboarding is a very slow process for first graders, and would not be a valuable use of their class time. And my classroom has only one computer. Students do enjoy using the computer as a choice activity, and there are many programs which stimulate creative thinking and problem solving, as well as developing background knowledge and language skills. I certainly encourage computer use as a choice, and support students' use of their home computers. As students become more proficient in basic skills, they will have more time to develop computer skills in research, publishing, and communication. Although I will not be teaching many computer skills directly to my first graders, the technology aspect of the Oregon Writing Project has been valuable to me professionally. One of my goal for the past several years has been to improve communication with parents. Our media specialist has recently created a web page for our school, and I am excited about adding one for my classroom. I didn't realize that would be something I would be capable of doing myself. Since I teach in a fairly affluent area, many families have computers. I am looking forward to being able to post information and class work that students can share with their families at home. The Oregon Writing Project is a well organized workshop, with a variety of opportunities for growth and learning for teachers. It was a valuable and enjoyable use of my time and resources, and I would encourage others to participate in the future.
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