by JESSE SCACCIA
It’s the end of the term, and things are crazy busy for us all, so this will be a shorter post.
I’ve been going through a rough time lately, both personally and with my writing. One of my former students who I keep in touch with–who is now also a teacher–caught wind of this, and sent me this note that helped get me back on track. The last few sentences are like a poem. Great stuff. Here goes:
The important part of writing is not about the words you use. Almost as if to say it is about the meaning behind those words you use. Good writing is coming from the heart.
Isn’t that what you taught me to do? Coming from the heart? In one of your lectures?
I guess sometimes we (you and I) forget what we’ve learned…
So, we need to teach people what we know.
So, they will remind us someday when we are lost and don’t remember it.
What a great letter! I was just visiting Tracy Steven’s blog on A Better Education, which demonstrates (by way of her exploration) that we are all still learning. Very often we think we know something, and even teach it as if it is something we’re solid with, when in reality we are still learning it. Someone told me once that “we teach best what we most need to know” – that sums it up pretty well!