I could see her head down as I popped into writing (breakout) room two. Through the screen I could see pencils moving and engaged writing, except for one thumbnail screen. “Lili, are you there? How’s it going?” I gently asked. She raised her head and looked blankly at the screen. She was clearly not happy and not interested in writing.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“I don’t know what to write about,” she responded.
Oh yes, I thought, we’ve all been there. Anyone who tries to write regularly has that moment and those days. I offered up ideas and reminded her that she can write and draw anything she wants, there were no genre boundaries in this writing unit. She was resistant to my suggested topics and seemed to have her mind made up: today was not a writing day.
I tried to encourage, nudge and cheer her some more, then gave her some space by visiting another writing room. When I checked back in with her she still hadn’t written and her mood wasn’t much better. For today, we needed to move on. Lunch break was next. Hopefully time for Lili to reset and be ready for the afternoon. Today was not a writing day. Not all writing days have happy endings.
Yup. I think you were right to give her a little space and grace.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in this challenge folks just write why they can’t write.
(I just read Kathleen Sokolowski’s post on having 10 minutes to write- it was really fun.)
Yup. I think you were right to give her a little space and grace.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in this challenge folks just write why they can’t write.
(I just read Kathleen Sokolowski’s post on having 10 minutes to write- it was really fun.)
Glad you were gentle and let it pass. Some day are hard and we need to let students know it is ok. Now retired I was wondering how the distance learning and writing is going. Nice to have a little peak to your day.
ReplyDelete