Why Write about the Weather?

The doors opened. in the back of a daycare center on Court Street in 1983-where I sat in a little desk awaiting my first clients. I was grateful to a former fellow doctoral student at Teachers College - Columbia University who let me share her space. Advertising, was doing door to door and writing letters on pasteboard that were placed in the shop window. Over fifteen years-that storefront was home and holds such special memories and love. One of my earliest collaborators was Maryanne Miceli since deceased-way too early. She was a special education teacher in Park Slope, Brooklyn and tutored students with reading and writing problems on the side. We wrote many proposals together, and often discussed teaching methods. This was the time that learning disabilities were barely acknowledged and special education classrooms were often dumping grounds for children will kinds of needs. Maryanne and I were both fortunate to have had prior experience with Orton-Gillingham methods-and had taught remedial writing. One of the tried and true topics of story starters was to write about the seasons, which I found impossibly dull. The reasons behind this choice were that seasons were neutral. Who wants neutral writing, I wondered? And from my own perspective this topic was meaningless. Fast forward over the decades and we find Common Application topics which can be interpreted with the same cliches as the story-starters of old. Maybe that is why these topics were picked-but since the change of options two years ago--so many personal statements that I see, need to be rewritten or cast aside. Summer is hot, winter cold, spring warm, fall, pretty---who cares? I miss giving students the chance to talk about a book, artist, piece of music, film that inspires them.. and yes topic of your choice...sigh excuse the diatribe..but having been deluged with essay's about seasons this is probably why although I love being in Talk Story the topic of Tales told in Winter brought back memories of correcting so many papers that said exactly the same thing.

copyrite JA