Day by Day

We introduced the 100 Day Writing Challenge yesterday to mixed reviews. Each year, starting on March 1, our sixth graders participate in 3 different month-long writing assignments. There is a minimum requirement, a reward level, and then the ultimate challenge: to write every single day until June 8. Some kids love it right away, like the 4 guys who made a pact to do it together and choose matching T-shirts for their prize, and other kids are pretty skeptical.

When that second group brings up hypothetical obstacles to writing and posting every day, I share with them the experiences of past students. One guy went to soccer camp over spring break, and finding no Wifi, called his mother every night to dictate his post. Another student had a death in her family in India, but through the miracle of the World Wide Web, she too posted every day she was away.

I also share my own experience. This post is the last of ten consecutive years of daily writing with never a miss, 3,652 days in a row. There have been some challenges to be sure. Early on I had to drive to town every day while on vacation in Maine because our rental house’s connection was so spotty. And even tonight I am composing this piece on my phone because of a cable internet service outage in our area. Somehow, I’ve always been lucky and determined enough to find a way to extend my streak.

Even so, we try to approach the experience with a growth mindset and a few safety nets to make the challenge more doable for our students. Don’t give up before you start, we say. Just try it one day at a time. This year we showed a quick video of a girl who did push-ups for a hundred days in a row to emphasize the idea that with practice comes strength. I don’t know about the kids, but I’m ready to start pushing up! In fact, I started thinking that although I always write alongside them in this challenge, maybe it would be more inspiring if I tried to do something else for the hundred days.

Put a pin in that!