Project aims to make better writers

By LANCE FERRELL
AND MARY KECK
Specials to the Democrat
 
New Harmony recently hosted the National Writing Project’s River Bend Summer Institute.  In this community-service oriented professional development seminar, fellows of the Summer Institute meet daily for five weeks to work on individual writing projects and share best teaching practices from K through college.  
According to the NWP website, their mission is to focus the “knowledge, expertise, and leadership of our nation's educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and learning for all learners.”
River Bend is a local arm of the NWP, and is co-sponsored by the University of Southern Indiana.  Paula Harmon explained, “the tie back to the community is that teachers go back to their classes and create stronger writers and later the university gets stronger writers too.”  
During their third week of the program, fellows came to New Harmony to tour the Athenaeum, journey through the labyrinths, walk in the parks, and “get away from the hustle of their daily lives” said Harmon, director of the Summer Institute and English instructor at Reitz high school.
Many such seminars are hosted by New Harmony, but whereas most “professional development features an ‘expert’ that may not have been in the classroom for a while,” Harmon continued, “the River Bend model is about teachers teaching teachers.”   
Jaclyn Wells, associate professor of English at USI and director of the River Bend Writing Project, echoed Harmon’s point, and noted the positive impact that comes from “giving writing teachers of different levels and curriculums a chance to interact and learn from one another.”   
River Bend participant Billie Carlton, math and science instructor at Fairlawn Elementary, agreed, saying that the “collaboration with fellow teachers from college to kindergarten lets me know that we’re all focused on the same goal. It’s good to know that I’m not alone,” Carlton confirmed.
The psychological boost Carlton noted is only one of the benefits that come from the National Writing Project, however. Wells went on to indicate that evidence from recent studies reveal that NWP participants produce students who outperform peers of teachers who have not participated.
According to the NWP website, “in 16 studies conducted in seven states, 103 of 112 comparisons show positive results in writing achievement favoring students in classrooms of NWP participants.”
In addition to the increases in morale and student achievement, “teachers need to refuel,” Wells added. “For instance, I sat in the park and read for two hours, and I cannot remember the last time I did that.”
Carlton agreed: “I am totally inspired by New Harmony. As I walked the labyrinth, things started to leave my head, and I got clarity. The beauty and peace of New Harmony gave me time to think, and I feel like a writer now.”
One participant of the Summer Institute, Alice Shen, playwright and instructor of English at USI, enjoyed a glass of wine and a plate of cheese at Sara’s Harmonie Way while working on a project. “I’ve already gotten some exercises I can use in my creative writing and composition classes,” she said with a smile. “I would recommend it for professional development. It’s a good way to not waste the summer and not get out of writing practice. I dig it.”
The National Writing Project has an ambitious goal: to improve the writing ability of every student, employee, and citizen.
Diana Middleton, writing in the Wall Street Journal, underscores the urgency, noting that, at the behest of employers, many MBA programs have ramped up their writing instruction, since “[employee] writing and presentation skills have been a perennial complaint.”
According to a survey by the College Board's National Commission on Writing, about one-third of workers do not meet the writing requirements of their positions, a requirement increasingly viewed as a “threshold skill.”  The employers surveyed frequently commented on the need for increased writing instruction at all levels, a task that River Bend is uniquely poised to provide.
As the only “federally funded program that focuses on writing,” this fledgling organization’s funding has recently been placed in jeopardy.
On March 2, President Obama signed a bill eliminating direct federal dollars for the NWP, which places this initiative at risk.
Anyone thinking about participating will not be disappointed because the River Bend Summer Institute is “not a normal professional development workshop. It is really a life-changing experience,” Harmon concluded
For more information, contact Wells at jmwells@usi.edu, or the National Writing Project website at www.nwp.org.  
“We’re looking for teachers who want to step out of their comfort zones to make their students better writers and learners,” Wells said.  
 

Lance Ferrell and Mary Keck

Alice Shen spends some time at her laptop during the National Writing Project’s Riverbend Summer Institute.

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Lance Ferrell and Mary Keck

Cheryl Williams finds some solitude at the water’s edge in New Harmony during the writing workshop.

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