Wednesday, November 26, 2008

It Seems Like a Lot of Fluff...

So I heard this phrase this week: "This writer's Workshop thing seems like a lot of fluff..."
Makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up doesn't it? Me too!

I pondered this statement a little further. I want my workshop to be fluffy. Any time I have ever read a book, or article that has touched me in some way I can imagine that it has been written with a certain flair of fluff. Any time I have every read something that has changed my life whether it be professionally or personally it has been surrounded by "fluff." Touching quotes that make me think, personal stories that make me weep, and differing ideals that make me stand up against the flow, these are the things that may be considered "fluff."
As I teach writer's workshop each day with my students I want them to believe that their "fluff," is real. Their words matter, what they have to say on a daily basis is important to me, and if that means I have to create an environment that others would consider too "fluffy" then so be it. This is my most important task, creating a world for children in which they believe that their words are worth putting down on paper. A world of fluff.