For National Poetry Month, NWP Radio launched a special limited series called “The Story of a Poem” where we interviewed poets from the NWP Writers Council about their poems, their composing processes, and writers’ craft. This episode features H.K. Hummel.

The Story of a Poem with H.K. Hummel

Abdi Nor Iftin has been featured on various radio and TV stations sharing his life story of growing up in a country torn by civial war and immigrating to the United States in 2014. His new book Call Me American was released in 2018 and is a finalist for New England's Bookseller's Association book awards.

Abdi is interviewed by author and educator Kate Kennedy. Kate taught writing at Portland High School, was the director of the Southern Maine Writing Project, and is the author of Skin, A Memoir and End Over End.

The Write Time with Author Abdi Nor Iftin & Educator/Author Kate Kennedy

Equal access to quality writing education has been a longstanding challenge in the United States and not enough has been done to move the field forward in recent years. In this report, we at 826 National aim to bring writing education to the forefront of public, policy, and funding conversations by examining its current state and issuing a call to action to the field. In the summer and fall of 2020, we interviewed 19 writing education experts, including authors, researchers, and educators, about the current state of writing education in the United States. We distill their reflections on the benefits, challenges, and inequities of writing education, and then draw on those reflections to outline recommendations for the field.

Learn more: https://826national.org/research/

826 Digital: https://826digital.com

Take the National Teacher Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScX9i7u_FBqET9CVq4hwAJqBkpWpwySvGjORqaVP9f1bTF72g/viewform

Next Steps and Take Home Google folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/10SvcfWxLzGhtqppGztb8jig7-ZYlKghD

The Truth About Writing Education in America: Let’s Write, Make Things Right

"Make Learning Relevant" is a podcast series full of interviews with leading minds from the Connected Learning Alliance and the field of Digital Media and Learning. Subscribe to this Podcast using iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/connected-learning/id869635683) or your favorite Feed Reader (http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:32859553/sounds.rss)

In this episode, Howard Rheingold - author, virtual community pioneer, and self-described "online instigator & expert learner" - chats with us about the need for an education system "upgrade," and the importance of teachers being "co-learners" with their students. You are welcome to connect with him on Twitter via @hrheingold.

To check out the full "Make Learning Relevant" campaign, visit http://clalliance.org

"Make Learning Relevant" - Howard Rheingold

Based on the insight that "places are everywhere," this NWP Radio show explores how educators are using place to support students in having authentic opportunities to learn, grow, and connect. Join this team of teacher-editors and -authors from Place-Based Writing in Action: Opportunities for Authentic Writing in the World Beyond the Classroom to explore what is possible when you tap into this "everywhere resource" to support writing in elementary through preservice classrooms.

Our Guests and Their Chapters
Amanda Montgomery, Editor and “Making Connections to the Past: Using Place-based Writing to Bring History to Life”

Robert Montgomery, Editor and “Introduction to Place-Based Writing” (with Amanda) and “Touring the Place You Know Best: Virtual Tours as. Way to Teach Narrative, Argument, and Research Writing”

Cathie English, “Writing the Ecology of the Ozarks” 

Clarice Moran, “In the Metaverse: Using VR as a Site for Place-based Writing” 

Jeff Hudson, “The Sustainable Resource Project: Writing Towards Agency” 

Rich Novack, “Mapping through Justice, through Padlet, and through the World”

Place-Based Writing in Action: Opportunities for Authentic Writing in the World Beyond the Classroom

This episode of NWP Radio features Tomas Moniz, a member of the NWP Writers Council and the author of All Friends Are Necessary, a tender and open-hearted novel that explores the power of friendship, community, and the families we create for ourselves.

All Friends are Necessary: A Conversation with Tomas Moniz

NWP Radio visits with Benjamin Ludwig, a teacher, writer, school librarian, and an NWP Writers Council member. Benjamin is the author of Ginny Moon, and his next book, Outside, is coming December 4, 2024, with pre-ordering available today.

Outside: A Conversation with Benjamin Ludwig

Join The Write Time featuring Kate Messner, Write Out Author Ambassador and author of award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, and The Brilliant Deep as well as books for older readers like Breakout and her forthcoming novel in verse, The Trouble with Heroes.

Kate is interviewed by San Diego Area Writing Project Director and early elementary educator, Kim Douillard.

Learn more about Write Out at https://writeout.nwp.org

The Write Time with Write Out Author Ambassador Kate Messner and Educator Kim Douillard

Born in Louisville, Mississippi, Jermaine Thompson learned language from big-armed women who greased their skillets with gossip and from full-bellied men who cursed and prayed with the same fervor. Jermaine earned his MFA in poetry from the University of Missouri Kansas City in 2018, and he currently teaches 9th–12th grade Humanities at Build Up Community School in Birmingham, AL.

Jermaine is interviewed by Connecticut teacher and Writing Project teacher-leader, Rich Novack.

The Write Time with Write Out Poet Ambassador Jermaine Thompson and Educator Rich Novack

In today’s episode we will talk about the recently published book, Going the Distance: The Teaching Profession in a Post-COVID World. This comprehensive study of teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic has a lot to teach us about creating a healthy, resilient teaching profession able to face future crises.

Going the Distance

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

http://connectedlearning.tv/open-learning-fan-fiction-communities
What does distributed mentoring look like in fan fiction communities, and what can it tell us about open learning?

CLTV - Open Learning In Fan Fiction Communities - May 4, 2015

Ballenger shares her teaching journey and the core ideas in her book about the power of inquiry-based learning, which encourages teachers to honor students’ unexpected questions and ideas as opportunities for deeper exploration. Ballenger also discusses the challenges teachers face in maintaining time for reflection and collaboration, as well as the importance of fostering democracy and inclusion in the classroom.

Teaching Is Inquiry

Mahogany L. Browne is a Kennedy Center Next 50 fellow, writer, play-wright, organizer, and educator. Browne received fellowships from ALL ARTS, Arts for Justice, AIR Serenbe, Baldwin for the Arts, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research, Rauschenberg, and Wesleyan University. Browne’s books include A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe, Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky (optioned for Steppenwolf Theatre), Black Girl Magic, and banned books Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice and Woke Baby. Founder of the diverse lit initiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne is the 2024 Paterson Poetry Prize winner. She is the inaugural poet in residence at the Lincoln Center and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ph.D. (she/her), is a Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her poetry collections, Love from the Vortex & Other Poems (2020) and The Peace Chronicles (2021), explore themes of love, healing, and growth toward liberation. She is co-author of the multiple award-winning Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces (2021). In 2024, Yolanda was recognized for her scholarship with the Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award from NYU. She has been named to EdWeek’s EduScholar Influencers list four years in a row, placing her among the top 1% of educational scholars in the U.S. At Teachers College, Yolanda founded the Racial Literacy Project @TC, fostering dialogue on race and diversity for over 17 years.

The Write Time with Author Mahogany L. Browne and Educator Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz

Tina Cane is the founder/director of Writers-in-the-Schools, RI, and, from 2016-2024, served as the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island where she lives with her husband and three children. In her capacity as poet laureate, Cane established her state’s first youth poetry ambassador program in partnership with Rhode Island Center for the Book, and brought the Poetry-in-Motion program from the New York City Transit System to Rhode Island’s state-wide buses. Cane is the author of The Fifth Thought, Dear Elena: Letters for Elena Ferrante, poems with art by Esther Solondz (Skillman Books, 2016), Once More With Feeling (Veliz Books 2017), Body of Work (Veliz Books, 2019), and Year of the Murder Hornet (Veliz Books, 2022). In 2016, Tina received the Fellowship Merit Award in Poetry from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. She was also a 2020 Poet Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets. Her debut novel-in-verse for young adults, Alma Presses Play (Penguin/Random House) was released in September 2021. Cane is also the creator/curator of the distance reading series, Poetry is Bread, and the editor of Poetry is Bread: The Anthology (forthcoming from Nirala Press, 2024). Her second verse novel for young readers, Are You Nobody Too? (Penguin/ Random House) was released in August 2024.

Janelle Bence is a high-school English teacher with 24 years of experience teaching in Texas. Her favorite project is a Spoken Word event where freshmen support a local non-profit of their choosing. She is a longstanding member of the National Writing Project and enjoys collaborating with researchers to deepen her praxis. Currently, two projects she is working on are Transdisciplinary Civic Composing Collective (UT Austin) and Colorado State Sustainable Teaching and Learning (Colorado State University). Her writing is published in Civics for the World to Come: Committing to Democracy in Every Classroom (Mirra & Garcia, 2023) and Teaching for Equity, Justice, and Antiracism with Digital Literacy Practices (Edited By Meghan E. Barnes, Rick Marlatt).

About The Write Time
The Write Time is a special series of NWP Radio, a podcast of the National Writing Project (NWP), where writing teachers from across the NWP Network interview young-adult and children’s authors about their books, their composing processes, and writers’ craft. You can view the archive at [https://teach.nwp.org/series/the-write-time/

041525-The-Write-Time-Cane

This special episode of NWP Radio features many of the educators behind Empowering Youth to Confront the Climate Crisis in English Language Arts, a co-published book from Teachers College Press and the National Writing Project. Recorded in three parts, you won't want to miss this comprehensive overview of this important book. (https://shop.nwp.org/products/empowering-youth-to-confront-the-climate-crisis-in-english-language-arts)

00:00 – Introduction/Systems Thinking with Richard Beach and Fawn Canady

Richard Beach and Fawn Canady discuss chapter two of the book, focusing on how to engage students in critiquing and transforming systems impacting the climate crisis. Learn how students can use writing to examine how fossil fuel energy, capitalist economic structures, agriculture, transportation, urban design, and political systems need transformation to address our changing climate.

26:52 – Critical Media Literacy with Jeff Share, Andrea Gambino, Amber Medina, and Noah Asher Golden

This segment explores the intersection of critical media literacy and environmental justice/climate education. Our guests explain why climate change is not merely a scientific problem but an issue of priorities and narratives. Discover how educators can help students understand how dominant cultural stories contribute to our climate crisis and how we can change these narratives to create more sustainable and socially just futures.

50:04 – Writing of All Kinds with Allen Webb and Rich Novack

Allen Webb and Rich Novack share diverse writing approaches that empower students to engage with climate issues through creative expression, persuasive writing, research, and more. Learn practical strategies for incorporating climate-focused writing across the English language arts curriculum.

View all related resources at https://teach.nwp.org/empowering-youth-to-confront-the-climate-crisis-in-english-language-arts/

Empowering Youth to Confront the Climate Crisis in English Language Arts

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

How is the world of work changing and what are the emergent challenges facing young people as they seek out social, economic, and civic opportunities?

http://connectedlearning.tv/last-mile-remaking-pathways-opportunity


CLTV - The Last Mile- Remaking The Pathways To Opportunity - Oct. 22, 2015

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

What is the educational value in encouraging invention and tinkering?

http://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/invent-to-learn/

Invent To Learn

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

How can we support educators in and out of schools to find avenues to promote equitable and impactful youth civic and political engagement despite other competing demands?

http://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/supporting-educators-to-educate-for-participatory-politics/

Supporting Educators To Educate For Participatory Politics

For this conversation, we are joined by Bronwyn Clare LaMay, author of Personal Narrative, Revised: Writing Love and Agency in the High School Classroom (2016, Teachers College Press and National Writing Project). Guests explore how students and teachers can bring their whole selves to the classroom and how drawing on their personal experiences via narrative writing can lead to a richer exploration of literature and other academic subjects. We dive deeper into Chapter 5 of the book, titled "Revising Narrative Truth," in collaboration with the organizers of Marginal Syllabus; this conversation kicked off a week-long “annotathon” hosted by Marginal Syllabus.

Writing With Love And Agency- An Invitation To Annotate With Marginal Syllabus

For this conversation, we are joined by Kira Baker Doyle, author of the new book, Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World, which follows civic-minded educators who are using twenty-first-century participatory practices and connected technologies to organize change from the ground up. In this 3-part series, we explore what it means to be a transformative teacher, along with how and why educators are instrumental in the creation of a more just and equitable future.

What Is A Transformative Teacher?

Summer is a lovely time to reflect on the past school year and (after a lengthy break) start thinking about the Fall. Making lasting changes to practice and systems is one of the toughest goals to reach. In order to tackle those challenges, questions are a lovely place to start, and inquiry is one of the best tools. Join Diana Laufenberg and friends/colleagues to discuss the questions posed by James Ryan in Wait, What? as a frame to think about changes in your schools and classrooms.

Student Boredom And The Value Of Questions

For this conversation, we are joined by Kira Baker Doyle, author of the new book, Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World, which follows civic-minded educators who are using twenty-first-century participatory practices and connected technologies to organize change from the ground up. This is the 2nd episode in a 3-part series, where we explore what it means to be a transformative teacher, along with how and why educators are instrumental in the creation of a more just and equitable future.

Designing, Organizing, and Leading in a Connected World

Join Nicole Mirra and Antero Garcia for a conversation about their recent article, “Civic Participation Reimagined: Youth Interrogation and Innovation in the Multimodal Public Sphere,” in which they discuss connected teaching, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), and visions for the future of democracy. They are joined by the co-founders of Marginal Syllabus, Remi Kalir and Joe Dillon, for a discussion of the text, which is the featured article this month for Writing Our Civic Futures, which explores a range of scholarship on civic engagement and supports their web annotation at Educator Innovator.

Re-Imagining Youth Civic Engagement

Join Linda Christensen for a conversation with fellow educators Andrea Zellner and Kevin Hodgson about her recent article, “Critical Literacy in Our Students’ Lives,” in which they discuss bringing students’ own experiences, talents, and social contexts to the fore in the classroom. They are joined by the co-founders of Marginal Syllabus, Remi Kalir and Joe Dillon, for a discussion of the text, which is the featured article this month for Writing Our Civic Futures, an exploration of scholarship on civic engagement and web annotation project at Educator Innovator.

Critical Literacy And Our Students' Lives

Join April Baker-Bell, Raven Jones Stanbrough, and Sakeena Everett, the authors of “The Stories They Tell: Mainstream Media, Pedagogies of Healing, and Critical Media Literacy,” for a conversation about the ways mainstream media reinforce white supremacy and anti-blackness. The authors will also discuss how Black youth use social media as counterspaces and how critical media literacy tools can support young people in rewriting harmful narratives. Finally, they will elaborate on what responsibility English educators have to transform the status quo and counter racial injustice. The authors are joined by educator-scholars Cherise McBride and Nicole Mirra and the co-founders of Marginal Syllabus, Remi Kalir and Joe Dillon, for a discussion of the text, which is the featured article this month for Writing Our Civic Futures, which explores a range of scholarship on civic engagement and supports their web annotation at Educator Innovator.

The Stories They Tell: Mainstream Media, Pedagogies Of Healing, And Critical Media Literacy

Join Erica Hodgin, author of “Educating Youth for Online Civic and Political Dialogue: A Conceptual Framework for the Digital Age,” for a conversation about ways educators can support youth in critically engaging online civic and political dialogue in this age of digital media and online communication. Hodgin is joined by educators Jason Muniz and Paul Oh and the co-founders of Marginal Syllabus, Remi Kalir and Joe Dillon, for a discussion of the text, which is April’s featured article for Writing Our Civic Futures, which explores a range of scholarship on civic engagement and supports their web annotation at Educator Innovator.

Educating Youth For Online Civic And Political Dialogue: A Conceptual Framework for the Digital A

Join Steven Zemelman, author of From Inquiry to Action: Civic Engagement with Project-Based Learning in All Content Areas, for a conversation about how educators can support youth to become, not only college and career ready, but citizen ready as well. Guests will discuss practical steps for preparing students for civic engagement via research, argument, speaking and listening, engaged reading, writing for real audiences and purposes, and collaboration. Zemelman is joined by educators Mauricio Pineda, Elizabeth Robbins, and Heather Van Benthuysen and the co-founders of Marginal Syllabus, Remi Kalir and Joe Dillon, for a discussion of the text, which is the featured article this month for Writing Our Civic Futures, which explores a range of scholarship on civic engagement and supports their web annotation at Educator Innovator.

Guests for this episode include:
- Joe Dillon (host), teacher, Rangeview High School in Aurora Public Schools in Colorado and Denver Writing Project Teacher-Consultant
- Remi Kalir, Assistant Professor of Information and Learning Technologies at the University of Colorado Denver School of Education and Human Development
- Steven Zemelman, Director of the Illinois Writing Project and independent education consultant, speaker, and writer
- Heather Van Benthuysen, Civic Education Manager for Chicago Public Schools. Education consultant, speaker, presenter, and writer
- Mauricio Pineda, Chicago arts and restorative practices educator, working at Reilly Elementary School and DePaul University
- Elizabeth Robbins, high school history teacher in the Chicago Public Schools

For related links, visit https://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/from-inquiry-to-action-civic-engagement-with-project-based-learning-in-all-content-areas/

From Inquiry To Action—Civic Engagement With Project-Based Learning In All Content Areas

Writing Project colleagues Janelle Bence, Dawn Reed, and Suzanne Sutton share student work created as part of the Writing Our Future: American Creed project. Hear from teachers about the possibilities of supporting youth in exploring their American identities and communities through the documentary and associated youth publishing platform. Resources and video at https://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/back-to-school-with-writing-our-future-and-american-creed/

Back to School with American Creed

Robert Brooke's Place-Conscious Education Exercise

Rural Voices Radio, Volume 2: Writing About the Places We Call Home

Rural Voices Radio: Hawai'i - Haka

How can middle and high school English Language Arts (ELA) teachers work towards becoming anti-racist educators? Michelle Falter, Chandra Alston, and Crystal Chen Lee, former English teachers and current ELA teacher educators at North Carolina State University, share actionable steps and curated resources that work particularly well for middle and high school ELA teachers.

About Our Guests
Michelle Falter is a former middle and high school English teacher and a Red Clay Writing Project (Athens, GA) teacher-consultant. Michelle co-edited the book Teaching Outside the Box but Inside the Standards with Bob Fecho, Xiaoli Hong, and fellow RCWP teacher-consultants, which was published with NWP and Teachers College Press. Currently, she is an assistant professor of English education at North Carolina State University.

Chandra Alston is a former high school English teacher. Currently, she is an assistant professor of Literacy, Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation focusing specifically on writing instruction at North Carolina State University.

Crystal Chen Lee is a former high school English teacher. Currently, she is an assistant professor of English education and director of The Literacy and Community Initiative at North Carolina State University.

Becoming Anti-Racist English Teachers: Taking Action Steps

Candace Fleming is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize honored The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Russian Empire; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns; the bestselling picture book, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!; the Sibert-Award-winning Giant Squid; and the beloved Boxes for Katje. She contributed the chapter on Katharine of Aragon to Fatal Throne.

Candace is interviewed by Ohio Writing Project (OWP) teacher-leader Megan Rodney. Megan is a former second- and third-grade teacher, and is currently the Elementary PD Lead with OWP.

Watch this video and more from other amazing authors at: https://educatorinnovator.org/campaigns/the-write-time/

The Write Time with Author Candace Fleming and Educator Megan Rodney

NWP Radio is a podcast of the National Writing Project that features a wide array of guests discussing education-related topics like teaching writing, Connected Learning, Writing Project site development, out-of-school education, science and writing, maker ed, and more.

NWP Radio

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