Cover Letter '09

Dear Amanda and Peter,

Once when I was rafting, (Jodi can tell you which river), our raft stuck in Hell Hole, a sink hole kind of thing that spanned the width of the river.  Our raft was completely submersed under water, with all of us still sitting in it.  It was such a strange feeling, sitting in the raft with water above me.  I remember looking up at the water and thinking "This is not good."  I wasn't really sure what to do, but then our raft popped back up to the surface and flung me into the cold rapids.  A guide on the bank threw me a rescue line and pulled me to shore.

Writing was a lot like that this year.  I was submerged in this thing that wouldn't let me go and I didn't know what to do.  The institute was a rescue line for me, a line back to myself.  The pieces I selected for my portfolio are a reflection of this stuck stage and my inaugural steps back out of it.

The first piece, "The Escape Artist", tells a story that grips me even after many years.  I think about Brice daily.  His story directed many of the changes I made in my approach to writing with my young writers.  It was a gift to come back to it after a year and tie that story to my current practice.

"The Gray Hair" was a way for me to show all of my cards at the pre-retreat.  So much of this year required me to put on a brave face, often a fake face.  It was important to me to begin this institute honestly, even though it meant exposing vulnerability.  I fleshed out the raw truth and was surprised that it resonated with others.  Donald Murray says "The more personal I am, the more universal I become."  Never has that been more true for me than this year.

One of the hardest and most rewarding pieces I wrote this summer was "Hands".  It started as I wrote with my students, transformed during my presentation, demanded that I work on it at the writing marathon, and finally rested when I realized that a multimodal document was the genre that would house it best.  I did not include the multimodal document because that's for Terry, but I did include the text.  During the writing marathon I followed Lynn's good advice, I stopped fighting it and gave myself permission to write about this thing until I didn't need to anymore.  Giving myself the freedom to write about it as much as I needed to was apparently the key to being set free.

I've included "Clipless Pedals" because I love me some cycling and I love writing about the funny things that happen on my bike.  Life can be funny, so very funny, and I no longer take that for granted.

The final piece I've included in my portfolio is "Big Voice".  It's a found poem from Newkirk's book.  It represents two things.  First, it captures my desire to return to writing poetry.  Secondly, it illustrates the beliefs I hold true as a writing teacher.  It also conveys the responsibility I feel to speak up for what I know is true about fostering a love of writing in children.

Thank you for allowing me to attend the institute a second time.  Thank you for being a rescue line.  Thank you for encouraging me to pursue bigger things in the arena of writing and teaching writing.  It's more than I ever imagined for myself.  I am grateful and blessed.

Fondly,

Alicia McCauley