Hello colleagues, One of my favorite writers these days is the award winning Ta-Nehisi Coates. His book, Between the World and Me, which is a letter to his teenage son about being a black man in the United States, is a must read for anyone who wants to understand race in America. Coates is a regular contributor to The Atlantic magazine and is featured in a brief video on the magazine's website talking about the writing process.
As learners work on enhancing their writing skills, I think student writers might find inspiration in this short video clip of the talented Coates as he discusses his personal journey as a writer. He describes writing as "an act of courage" that allows individuals to experience breakthroughs and discover what they once thought they were "not capable of doing." He claims that writing helps one to grow new [intellectual] muscles.
As Coates acknowledges (and the standards demonstrate), writing is hard work. What are your thoughts about sharing this video with student writers?
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, College and Career Standards CoP
Comments
Susan, I appreciate both your questions and the resource you've shared. Would you also share it in the Diversity Group?
I believe that short clips like these are way underused in our field. Showing it to students would create a wonderful dialogue in my view.
Added to your questions is one from me. Coates stresses perseverance as a central ingredient to succeeding as a writer. How often do we stress that up front with adult learners, whatever their life goals are, if they even recognize one? I wonder what examples our students would give us of perseverance in their lives? Would that also provide a good follow up to this video? Thoughts? Leecy
Thank you for sharing this. I plan to send it to a group of teachers I just did some writing PD with and encourage them to share with their students. We'll also share with all of the teachers in Ohio, too. It's a great video with an important message about writing that I think our students will identify with.