Writers in the Schools
Did you know that many schools would welcome you as a writer to speak to their students? If you have not yet considered this venue for sharing your talent and promoting your work, I encourage you to do so.
Among school children, many are gifted in writing, but most have never met a "real live" author". When they do, they are thrilled. Not only that, they are impacted for life.
Perhaps you had a writer speak to your class when you were a child. Whether you did or not, consider contacting your local schools and offering to speak. Some schools even pay writers to give workshops. I've heard of schools paying writers $500 for a half or whole day of talking/teaching about writing.
If you don't know where to start, ask a parent or teacher friend. Often they can introduce you to the right people. If you don't want to go that route, then simply place a phone call to the School Principal and set up an appointment to discuss your idea. The odds are great that you will be warmly welcomed and very well-received.
And that's my "musing that matters" for today. Tomorrow I'm off to the Delaware Christian Writers' Conference run by fellow Muser Who Matters, John Riddle. John also hosts "I Love to Write Day" to be held this year on November 15th. Be sure to check it out at http://www.ILovetoWriteDay.org.
Blessings,
MaryAnn
__________________________
Copyright 2008 by MaryAnn Diorio, Ph.D. All rights reserved. This blog entry may NOT be reproduced, reprinted, or published in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. You may, however, forward it to others, but please do so IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your cooperation.
Comments
Hi MaryAnn...
Many years ago, I was asked to speak at a local grammar school about writing poetry. I never thought about doing it again. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hope you have a great time at the conference.
Great idea, MaryAnn. I'm wondering about calling my high school and offering to speak. The creative writing class I took there in my junior year really had an inpact on me, and I'd love to give back to the school in some way. I still get together with my creative writing teacher (86 years old) for lunch. Do you think a secular school would be interested in someone who's in Christian writing/publishing?
I have done this in middle school classrooms and have found it very rewarding. Thanks for the reminder though as it has been awhile since I was there and could probably go back. As a retired Literature and Compostion teach this was such fun. I enjoy your comments each day. Clella
What an interesting idea! Although I taught first grade for many years I never thought about offering to share anything about writing. Maybe because I have never written a book...only articles and some children's stories for take home papers. Maybe because I didn't think I had anything to offer. Yet, it is an idea that really interests me.
There are also Writers in the Schools (WITS) programs across the country. Often they offer weekly teaching gigs that last up to the entire school year. There's a partial list of these programs here:
http://witsalliance.wordpress.com/contacts/
I work for WITS in Houston and would be glad to try to help people find organizers in your area. Our web address is www.witshouston.org.
Robin
![[Powered by MovableType]](http://www.maryanndiorio.com/blog/images/design/poweredby.gif "poweredby")
I love to go and talk to kids about writing! My DH is a public school teacher and I've been to his school twice for several weeks at a time doing writing workshops with the kids. Didn't get paid, but in the future I will ask for something. I didn't mind giving my time then, but when I've published more books, I believe I should be paid for the time away from the computer.