#SOL Day 5

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. ~ Gustave Flaubert

I spent the morning with my writing project friends at PAWLP.  I wasn’t able to attend the last continuity Saturday, so I was really excited to be there today. I can’t begin to tell you how inspired I am each time I sit at the table with this incredible group of writers.  I am in awe at the amazing things going on in the classrooms of these teachers.  I learn something new every time I am with them.

I envy the retired teachers who have more time  to do consulting work and to write. Listening to them describe the work they are doing makes me want to write more, read more, and learn more about literacy.

Each time we meet the group changes.  Members come and go as their lives allow. Some are regulars who are at almost every continuity Saturday and other PAWLP events. Others drop in several times over the course of a school year.  Still others haven’t been to a PAWLP event in years and are finding their way back to the Writing Project.

Today we welcomed a new assistant director to the fold.  Each of us described for her what the writing project means to us. For me becoming a Writing Project Fellow has been life changing.  It has given me the courage to share my writing beyond an audience of one.  It has meant meeting new people, learning new things, and being part of something bigger.

As each person around the table shared one theme became evident. The Writing Project is a safe place for people who share the same philosophy of writing and literacy to meet, discuss, explain, present, and share. No matter how long you have been away you can always go home, and know that you will be welcomed as if they saw you yesterday.