"My students learned that writing is a process. It helped them get over the fear of 'doing it wrong.''"
---Molly McGrath, English teacher, El Cerrito High School
---Molly McGrath, English teacher, El Cerrito High School
Coaching Stories
We hear numerous stories every week from coaches who are overjoyed at student breakthroughs or students who (consciously or unconsciously!) display their enthusiasm for being coached. Here are just a few.
The power of the one-on-one connection
From Site Coordinator Maureen Dixon:
We had the most rewarding session with the students yesterday. By now all the relationships are formed and the kids just love us! I had one girl work with me during the whole lunch break to finish writing an original sonnet that we had started in First Block. (It was a good poem, too). My heart is full today.
We had the most rewarding session with the students yesterday. By now all the relationships are formed and the kids just love us! I had one girl work with me during the whole lunch break to finish writing an original sonnet that we had started in First Block. (It was a good poem, too). My heart is full today.
The call of writer coaching
From Site Coordinator Kathleen Hallam:
An El Cerrito student who has been a challenge to work with has slowly started being more cooperative with me and more focused on her assignments. Emphasis on slowly. We had a real breakthrough the session before last because the assignment was one that potentially tapped into the students' creative side, and I helped her compose a sonnet to her smart phone.
An El Cerrito student who has been a challenge to work with has slowly started being more cooperative with me and more focused on her assignments. Emphasis on slowly. We had a real breakthrough the session before last because the assignment was one that potentially tapped into the students' creative side, and I helped her compose a sonnet to her smart phone.
Student epiphany
Kathleen Hallam, WCC site coordinator at both King Middle School in Berkeley and at El Cerrito High School, heard this dialogue between the student she was coaching, D___, and D's nearby classmate, J___.
D: "Hey, J__, what time is it?"
J: "3:30."
D: "Whoa, time passes fast when I'm doing my work."
D: "Hey, J__, what time is it?"
J: "3:30."
D: "Whoa, time passes fast when I'm doing my work."
Surprise impact
Many of our writer coaches have had the experience of worrying they're not making an impression on a student. We see the signs — crossed arms, head hidden in a hoodie, mumbled replies, at best, to our questions about the student's writing assignment. But we're often surprised.
Take the middle-school student who was working with one of our coach volunteers in Berkeley. The student didn't appear to be engaged with the coaching process, but the coach wouldn't give up. She sensed an opening relating to the topic of the student's paper, suggested a website linking to the topic, went home and found a related photograph on line, and presented it to the student at the next coaching session.
At the end of the year, the student handed the coach a thank-you note that said, "When I saw that you were making an effort, I thought I should, too."
We often tell coaches they're often making more of an impact than they think, and this story is a case in point.
Take the middle-school student who was working with one of our coach volunteers in Berkeley. The student didn't appear to be engaged with the coaching process, but the coach wouldn't give up. She sensed an opening relating to the topic of the student's paper, suggested a website linking to the topic, went home and found a related photograph on line, and presented it to the student at the next coaching session.
At the end of the year, the student handed the coach a thank-you note that said, "When I saw that you were making an effort, I thought I should, too."
We often tell coaches they're often making more of an impact than they think, and this story is a case in point.
