WITS

I thought I would tell you a little about my new job...

WITS stands for writers in the schools. They hire professional writers (they view me as a professional writer!) of all genres and send them out to the schools in order to help children develop the passion for writing. They also go into juvenile detention centers, hospitals, community centers, etc. Basically, they go wherever there are children. A typical job assignment is once a week for one hour from September-May. Now each writer may have between 2-10 assignments. Each writer will have a teacher in the room with them, but we are expected to run the show on our own.
Sounds sort of like a teacher, right? WRONG!!! Teachers are told exactly what works, how to do it, and when they will be checked upon to make sure they are doing it! Nothing like ignoring a bunch of unique gifts and cookie cutting people. WITS sees you as a professional with a unique gift and encourages you to go into classrooms and pass your love of writing onto the next generation. They give you a couple of suggestions and then tell you to run with it. They want us to give individual feedback, but at no time do we give grades or have objectives to follow.
Now, can you see why I am so excited? WITS is everything I love about teaching with nothing I hate!
I requested grades 4-6 and approximately 4-6 hours per week of work. I have finished training and next week I will go in to the WITS office and receive my assignments and sign a one year contract. The following week I will meet with the administrators and the teachers in the school(s) I will be working in. I should be in a classroom by mid-late September. I will work through May. If they like me and I like them, I will be able to work during the summer and ask for more hours next year.
The training was also nothing like I expected and I would like to share, but that will have to wait until tomorrow's post...