Position Paper
Jenna Eads

I signed up for the Oregon Writing Project with a friend in February because it seemed like the best way to accomplish many things at one time. I would take this class with someone I knew, be done quickly, move over on the salary schedule, and complete my requirements for TSPC. Enjoying the class and augmenting my own personal writing skills were definitely not one of my top reasons for participating in this course. I wanted to show up, write as little as possible, get my credits, and be done with it.

I have never aspired to be a writer. I admire others who can write and enjoy reading immensely. My husband, like so many others, can use words to analyze books, question philosophies, and create stories that are eloquent and thought provoking. I, on the other hand, tend to make up words, stumble over thoughts, and rarely tell a story that is concise and to the point. Why would I bother to write any of this down when I can talk to someone face to face? While talking, I can say things how I want to and I donít have to worry about capitals or periods, semi-colons or commas. I can use the word ìlikeî multiple times in a sentence and say words like ìnotherî. Writing is this tedious thing done only to fulfill a class or work requirement; certainly not something done for personal enjoyment.

The first week of the Oregon Writing Project came and went and I happily remained a non-writer. We worked on computers, set up email accounts, learned how to use search engines, blogs, and USB devices. I sailed through confidently, already knowing how to find my way around much of what was being taught. I wrote my first paper, brainstormed my second and was off to a good start.

I donít know when it was or what caused the change, but somewhere in the weeks that followed, I realized I actually began to enjoy the challenge of writing. I liked finding new ways to say what someone else had just said. I wanted to play around with sentences and words and look at things from a different perspective. My competitive nature and need to succeed overcame my cynicism, and I rose the challenge set before me.

The Oregon Writing Project, taught me to appreciate the art form that is writing. I am now officially inspired to teach writing to show its power, creativity, and grace. Gone are my mundane thoughts about writing. I have even found myself journaling and excited about all the ways I could start a story or create a piece of writing.

Much more importantly than learning to write for myself, I learned new ways to get students excited about writing. I have attended many other workshops on writing that have given me a plethora of ideas. I have read books and observed other teachers, and yet, I would get into my classroom and not get the results from my students that I hoped for. I wanted my students to be excited about writing. I wanted them to enjoy the process and view this as a creative outlet. I realize now, that in order to achieve this, I would have to view writing that way for myself. If the only time I use writing is for grocery lists, bills, and instant-messaging, how could I demonstrate its powers to my students?

Iíve always wondered why school districts donít have ìwriting adoptionsî like they do for reading, math, science, and social studies. I prefer following a plan ñ deviating from it when I am inspired to ñ but not reinventing the wheel. Now Iíve realized you canít put writing in a box. Writing is something you must find meaningful and personal in order to buy into it. Now I am excited to teach the joy of writing to my students.

I still do not consider myself a writer, nor am I leaving with the sense that I will be revered as the greatest writing teacher of all time. I am, however, leaving the Oregon Writing Project with an entirely different attitude toward writing and the writing process. I am confident that my new found enjoyment of writing will be evident to my students and that in turn, they too, will find a new purpose in writing.