An Open Letter to Teachers
by Elizabeth Horner
We are back in school and things are beginning to fall into place, as we're getting accustomed to each teacher's standards and routines. It is also the time that a great program called the "Power of the Pen" starts gearing-up in Ohio which I hope that all teachers will check out, even though their writing competitions are only open to seventh and eight grade students, at powerofthepen.org.
When it comes to writing, I think that nothing has as many possibilities as a blank sheet of paper. Whenever I sit down to write, I am not so much aware of the feel of the page, the look of the ink as it streams down from my pen, as I am of the world that I am creating, of the reality that I am spinning out of thin air. For example, by describing "sunlight", I use my creative imagination and memory of daylights to turn it into something real and fascinating in my own mind. Creative writing is one of the scariest, happiest, exciting and definitely rewarding experiences I have been through.
Creative writing is about the author breathing life into written words as one expresses everything that is worthy of articulation. In creative writing, one has the power to create settings, characters, and plot lines that never existed before but that suddenly spring into being with a few chosen words.
I see creative writing as an exercise that awakens and sharpens my senses, captures my fears, allows self-reflection to persuade changes within me, encourages me to be a learner and an investigator rather than a person quick to judge, and to learn skills and acquire traits that contributes to being a better student who does very well in OGTs.
And so, I invite teachers to get their students to try their hands in creative writing and allow them to discover how to conquer a new world, through the "power of the pen". I welcome your questions if you would like to know more about one student's point of view, about creative writing. My e-mail is ReadtoSucceed2003@yahoo.com
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