June 26, 2008
Dear Julie,
WOW! The “Write” Environment was a wonderful demonstration! You impressed us; you captivated us, and you made us have a grand time at the beach! Being in the environment really does improve cognition – and that was with a group of adults who have all been to a beach. We obviously wanted to write, and Julie, children couldn’t not love this and be inspired to write and to write well.
Smithville gives students ownership of their classroom and of their learning. The children in the video were delightfully engaged in learning subject matter as well as public speaking, presence and poise. Your little future meteorologists know more about tornados than most adults. Hildegard is inspired go to the trouble and time to videotape her students again! You gave great ideas for teachers at all levels, and then you just amazed us further, by addressing the needs of every teacher in the room! You made us feel honored, recognized, validated, and worthy of the time you took to do this. Your students must really feel special.
The virtual trip to the beach was fun, and children would want to come to school for this. Mary stated and Dustee and I agreed, “As a learner, I didn’t feel like I was learning; it just happened. And it certainly did happen. Dustee commented, “Students would be excited about school and learning. As a teacher, I wish I had done this. We are all thinking of ways to implement some of your ideas into our teaching. A child would love ideas like yours. How exciting!
The environment that you created beautifully demonstrated best practice. It was multi-sensory, and even children who had never been to the beach would be able to write as though they had been. The sounds, the visuals, the smells, and the tastes were great. Beach sand! You even had beach sand! You created ownership by having us bring beach towels. Those who had visited a beach would benefit by writing in such a manner as to relive the experience, as well as to benefit form the cognition that writing in such a rich environment would inspire. Children who face challenges would not feel threatened in the classroom environment you created. Good for you! The activities you presented would make children not only do well on state mandated tests, but would make them feel competent to meet any challenge. They will want to express themselves. What a wonderful preparatory experience. Students were living the experience. They will retain the knowledge. Julie, you made this adaptable for every teacher in the room, and we appreciate it. We will certainly benefit from you excellent demonstration. Hildegard will order Bavarian props as soon as she can get the right catalogue from her classroom.
Your classroom presence is exemplary. You had everyone’s rapt attention. Every moment was fun, but totally on task and focused on learning.
Thank you for a wonderful demonstration of excellent teaching of writing!
Mary, Dustee, and Hildegard
