If you want to share it with the world, it is completely up to you. As the writer, you can write about anything. Poetry, journals, blogs, vlogs, diaries, personal videos, forums, etc. Anyone who chooses to write can do so in many different ways. Writing can not only be an outlet – it can be healing.

Writing and journaling helped me extend my classroom career by a decade or more, and when I did decide to make a change this fall (after 21 years) reflective writing helped me clarify my reasons for making the shift and strengthened my resolve. Writing is one of my big outlets (another is lifting weights), and it’s guided me through quite a few personal trials. Many individuals have their outlet to help them deal with stress. Simply put, writing saved me in many ways. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I began to understand what writing could do for me. The meaning behind each poem never truly reached my head or heart, or inspired me to write a poem of my own. O’dell’s poetry club, I enjoyed reading poetry more than writing it. Even in third grade, when I was a member of Mrs. However, I still couldn’t wrap my head around what writing could do for me personally.ĭiaries were something to be read when my sisters weren’t home, and if you wrote in one as a boy…let’s just say if your friends found out, school was going to be hell. Both my parents also were readers and still are today for the most part. My parents both held jobs where there was some type of writing that had to be done. I thought it was important because my teachers told me it was important. Growing up I never really saw the value in writing. So does “telling and listening to stories” – and I’d like to share some of my story here. I know I’m not the first to suggest this – reflective writing frequently appears on lists about self-care.

It’s something we can all use to help us during these unpredictable times. Writing can be a significant outlet for anyone. But there is a small beacon of light I feel can help both teachers and students feel more focused and in control of their mental and emotional state. I worry for all the students who will struggle as their traditional social interactions continue to fragment. I shudder as I think about how many more teachers might leave the classroom because we just can’t handle all that is going on in education today.

This week most educators will return to school following the winter holidays and face another long stretch before Spring Break is in sight. As I followed Twitter and talked with colleagues, it was apparent that teachers were already becoming burned out. We were ready to get back to “normal” and enjoy time in school as opposed to seeing each other through a computer screen.īut by the end of September it seemed the wheels were falling off. We had reason to hope things would be better for us and for our students. This past summer many educators looked toward the beginning of the new school year.

Time for kids exploring writing