Heard on the Street

By: NWP Staff
Publication: The Voice, Vol. 7, No. 3
Date: May-June 2002

Summary: If you could tell your congressional representative one idea about teaching today, what would it be?

NWP asked, "If you were able to leave your senator or congressperson with one idea about teaching today, what would it be?" Here's how teacher-consultants at the NWP Spring Meeting responded.

"Writing project teacher-consultants make a difference to the point that fourth-graders talk in terms of `kicking butt' on a writing assessment." Sue Lucrezi, teacher-consultant, Penn State Lehigh Valley Writing Project, Pennsylvania

"The writing project transcends party lines and allows congresspeople to work together for the improvement of writing and the professional development of teachers." Nat Teich, director, Oregon Writing Project at University of Oregon

"[Our legislators] have to understand the enormous implications of bringing all teachers of writing, especially new ones, to teach best practices that are exactly tailored toward tangible results. The writing project and its models function to do that perfectly. That is why it is so important to keep the project, its institutes, and its influence flowing." Dennis Goode, co-director, Southern Nevada Writing Project

"Because writing may become a part of the SAT, the implication for the National Writing Project is that there would be greater need for professional development for teachers to prepare students in writing." Ron Sudol, director, Meadow Brook Writing Project, Michigan

"The idea we tried to leave [with our legislators] is that this is a family group—an interlocking network of local, state, and national teachers—and that the more networking you do, the more there is to learn about teaching." Dorothy Brown, teacher-consultant, Capital Area Writing Project, Pennsylvania

"When high-stakes testing drives the instruction, it defeats the purpose of teaching students to learn." Aileen Nishio, teacher-consultant, Area 3 Writing Project, California (picture not available)

NWP Spring Meeting Tops Its Own Mark

NWP Supporters Converge on Capitol Hill

Teacher Stories: School Reform's Missing Link

NWP Spring Meeting 2002 Photographs

NWP Spring Meeting 2002 Archive

Download "Heard on the Street"