Kansas City Teachers Become Students Again

Publication: Sun Tribune
Date: December 3, 2009

Summary: Teachers spent several days sharpening their own skills at a writer's workshop at the Northland Writing Academy, produced in partnership with the Greater Kansas City Writing Project.

Excerpt from Article

Together, these teachers willingly stepped back in to the role of students and spent several days sharpening their own skills on the hard, educational edge of a writer's workshop. At the end, they had their own crafted work and a much better idea of how to reach their young pupils.

Going through the process of writing a piece, having it critiqued by academy teachers and other members, then rewriting proved to be a great way to learning how to teach that same process to students, according to Hawthorn Elementary School teacher Jera Ahrens.

"We truly shifted away from a teaching environment to a learning environment," she said. "I think the piece that really helped me was the coaching part."