Updates Schmup-dates

Hello Tapestry!

Mr. Fremuth (aka “The Intern Wonder”) here—updating all of you on some stuff that I hope will interest you!

First of all, as many of you already know, The Writer’s Workshop (“A Place to Start”) is a go!  The field trip will take place on Tuesday, March 27^th, and will last all day.  Look for permission slips in Mrs. Green’s room.

While I have your attention on that, let me tell you a little bit about what I am hoping this day will look like.  The workshop—in and of itself—is going to serve as my thesis for the University of Pittsburgh.  I am going to be looking at how creative writing changes from when it is written in the classroom to when it is written outside (and totally void of) a classroom.  I want to see if treating students not as pupils, but as fellow writers, might have an effect on the final product that is created.  I also want to know how your feelings change between the two environments, and if these changes actually have any effect on what you are writing.

On that day, you will not be students, my fellow interns will not be instructors, and Mrs. Green and I will not be teachers.  We will all be writers.  There will be no authority and no titles.  (That’s right—you’ll be calling us by our first names.  What a concept.)

With this in mind, I would like to ask a favor of you.  In order to effectively look at what creative writing looks like in the classroom, I must have some sort of sample to study.  If there are any pieces of creative writing (e.g. poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction) that you have written in school and would not mind me taking a look at, please drop off a copy either in my room (185) or Mrs. Green’s room (176).  This work has a possibility of finding it’s way in to my final thesis (as evidence); however, if this is case, all names and identifiers will be blacked out.  Any pieces that you would be willing to contribute would be greatly appreciated.

Now that that’s all out of the way—I want to hear from some of you!  What are some genres you would like to see us working with during the workshop?  Poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction are the old standbys—but I’m open to change!  What do you think?

-F

P.s. If you are feeling so inclined, here is a link to my personal blog.  It’s only been up for a few weeks, but feel free to take a look!  http://jfremuth.wordpress.com/