I was the “18-page girl who wouldn’t shut up” when I was in high school. I received A’s on all my papers because I was so creative, poetic, and artsy; however, that didn’t help me much in college. I had never been taught how to write a focused report and received C’s and D’s on many papers. Although I had a love for writing, I did not understand the components of logical rhetoric and found very little help in writing workshops or in any of my teacher training. When I taught Humanities in a San Diego public school, my team teacher and I avoided assigning papers whenever possible because we didn’t know how to teach the kids to write well, and we didn’t want to suffer through piles of drivel.
All that changed after I discovered and completed the teacher training from the Institute for Excellence in Writing. I developed Writing Foundations with the principles I learned through IEW and the creativity that IEW unlocked within me as a writer and a teacher. I get a thrill out of breaking down writing skills into “Lego blocks” that any child can put together with success. I delight in making kids laugh, seeing them take on a manageable challenge, and rejoicing in their efforts. Today, my heart’s desire is to come alongside other parents and take the mystery and misery out of teaching their children to write.
