A Note from Coach Cordelia
Let’s start with the hard part: This is my last semester with Online G3. Just typing that wets my eyes and brings on waves of memories.
I’ve been with Online G3 since August 2014, so I’ve been with G3 for about eight-and-a-half years. (Thank you, LinkedIn.) When I started teaching G3, my sons were G3 students, soaking up literature, physics, and more, enjoying what Online G3 offered, and staying far away from the classes I taught. I was in my first few years of teaching online, working one-on-one with a few young students, mostly boys, between the ages of 11 and 14. Being invited to teach at Online G3 made me feel felt like I’d been called up from the minor leagues to play with the REAL teachers. I was, initially, only managing G3’s then-new writing supplements: Options for young writers to learn writing skills with support as needed. That was plenty for me and so satisfying.
Next came Paragraph Town, a class I’ve taught four times a year since that point, and it has the honor of being the class that is remained the most stable, as I’ve changed little over the years. I am sure I could teach it in my sleep, but who could sleep with 12-18 kids is bubbling over with attention and excitement? More importantly, who would WANT to sleep through their wonderings and wanderings? Your children are amazing humans, and their energy, enthusiasm, and creativity astound me.
More classes came after that. Uncharted Territory workshops. Essay Essentials. Writing With Sources. Anatomy and Physiology. I’m likely missing a few, but you get the idea. I’ve been here awhile. I came for the teaching opportunity. I stayed for the kids: your amazing, off-topic, enthusiastic, excitable, and brilliant kids.
But it’s time for me to move on. Most of my students know that I’m a Physician Assistant (PA-C), or at least that I do something in medicine. I’ve been very-part-time in medicine for a long time, and I am longing to put more than a toe in my first academic and occupational passion. Am I anxious about this change? You bet. Am I looking forward to this change? Definitely. Will I miss my students? Absolutely.
A few reminders, if I may, about writing and young people:
- Writing is, primarily, about communication.
- Writing is hard work, harder for some than others.
- Not all writing is the same: Part of learning to write is understanding your audience and the expectations they have.
- Writing skills can be learned, but it takes its own time. Be patient! (Trust me. I learned the hard way.)
- There are a lot of skills bound up in writing well, and those skills do not always come on board at the same time. That does not mean that a child will never have those skills. Kids mature in their own time, with no regard for timelines set by parents or teachers.
- Writing is easier when we are invested in the topic we are writing about, so, as much as possible, let kids write about what matters to them. If that means essays about video games, 3D printers, or the dog, that is fine. It’s all writing.
- Ask for permission before reading your child’s work. If they say no, respect that boundary. Writing can be quite personal.
- Writing is about communicating. That means we need to have a reason to communicate. Help your child find intrinsic reasons to write.
- The writing can wait. Yep, it really can. Scribe for your children who find writing and thinking at the same time just too much. Encourage utilitarian writing: grocery lists, short notes, and texts to parents and siblings. It all is communication.
Thank you again for sharing your amazing children with me. I learn from them, I watch them grow as writers, I revel in their successes, and I help them learn from their mistakes. I cheer them on, even when the gains seem minuscule. I will miss teaching with Online G3, as your children bring me challenges and joy. I’d not have it any other way.
I will still be doing some private writing tutoring, so please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you would like to learn more about my one-on-one online writing instruction.
