Willing Participants

The students in my morning intervention period are there to write: they have 30 minutes to get their daily independent writing done, and that is the clear expectation. It is true that I make it as pleasant as possible for them, creating a little writing cafe atmosphere with music and snacks, but it is also true that they are 12 years old and we start at 8 am. Add to that that they were chosen because of their general reluctance to put words on a page, and there is the occasional clash of wills-- mine and theirs.

At those moments, when a hood goes up or a head droops down or an iPad is clearly tuned to an unauthorized site, I call the unwriter over to my desk.

"We're here to write," I whisper quietly, keeping my voice neutral, waiting for the nod of acknowledgement.

"But..." I shrug, "if you're not interested in that, I can probably find you another intervention class," I add kindly, waiting for the widening of eyes.

"Should I do that?" I finish helpfully, raising my eyebrows in rapt attention.

Bless their hearts! They always say no, and then sit down to write. It helps if they feel they are with me by choice.

Plus, the snacks!