Mrs. Meehan- Always looking for writers!

 Angie was in third grade when I first read her writing. Her teacher had told me about the student in her room who loved to write, and her love for writing transferred to her skills! 

The writing of A. and a few other students inspired me to start a writing group. For several years, I met with a small group of students outside of school. They wrote pieces and brought them to the group. They learned to critique each other’s work, paying attention to feedback that was helpful and supporting each other to find ways to share their writing with wider audiences. 

We dwindled during 2020 and 2021. Virtual meetings didn’t have the same impact, and some of the writers had already dropped out because of competing interests and schedules. However, A. has kept in touch. She still shares poems, essays, and important pieces. I loved reading her college application essay which was about her journey as a writer. Additionally, she has been a three-year volunteer for the Summer Writing Acadamy, and I love watching her interact with elementary-aged writers, some who love writing as much as she did when she was nine. 

Angie invited me to attend her Capstone presentation, an event where high school juniors o seniors present a question or issue they’ve studied and feel passionately about. A.’s presentation centered on teaching and learning. As I sat in the audience, I admired her poise and confidence, as well as the reflections and wisdom she shared about engaging young people. She’d asked me for books and articles to support some of her theories and ideas, and she referenced many of the authors I’d shared. 

Her mom had forgotten her glasses, and I passed her mine when we realized her prescription was about the same as mine. It felt more important to me that Angie’s mom be able to see her clearly. If she was a little fuzzy for me, that was okay. At the end of her 7:30am presentation, I had to rush to make it to a meeting, but her mom had to give me my glasses. 

“You’ve been a source of inspiration for her throughout almost her entire career here,” she said. “Thank you.”

Those words. Every now and then, teachers hear them, and those words matter. I’m on the lookout for another writer– or two or three– to be an Angie.