Just the other night my fifth grade daughter reminded me of the importance of writing as therapy. Bridget is and always has been VERY afraid of tornadoes. An otherwise rational 11 year old can become hysterical and dive for cover if the word is mentioned by a weather forecaster. The rash of horrible tornadoes in the southeast recently has been troubling to her, to say the least. The other night, after catching a quick glimpse of a report on the news, she quietly went upstairs. What she later brought down to me to read was the reminder that writing is therapy. She had written a beautiful poem expressing her awe at the power of the storms but also the strength of the people who will rebuild their homes and their lives. Bridget did what I wish all of our students would do, she reached down to her true feelings, her fears, and used writing to sort those feelings out and make sense of them. She used writing as her therapy, her way of making things ok.
As you go into your classroom tomorrow think about the kids sitting there. Do they have fears, worries, concerns that they may not know how to deal with. Maybe if we show them how to write them down writing can be their therapy too. Next time you want to tell your students what to write about think of Bridget and tornadoes, what is your students’ tornado?