One story of overcoming fear in writing

Last week, I read Nancy Atwell’s engaging introduction to her book In the Middle (1998) that gave a glimpse into the in-the-trench action of writer’s workshop with her students.  Atwell takes readers on her evolutionary journey from first-year-teacher, imposing fairly strict parameters on her students’ writing, to a later version of herself as writing teacher, giving her students free reign in regards to both the content of their writing and the genre.  It was refreshing to read about the success she saw when she let her students have free reign to write.  It was interesting to contrast this to the approach of Shelley Peterson in her book Writing Across the Curriculum, who feels that teachers should set parameters for content and allow creativity to exist within the parameters for form. Although I haven’t yet had a chance to test either approach, I feel that I would subscribe to Peterson’s approach over Atwell’s, as I have seen the befuddlement of students when given complete carte blanche to pursue any avenue they choose in their writing.

At the end of her introduction, Atwell talks about how she morphed into a teacher who would practise the art of her own writing (by her own admission, a laboured process for her) on an overhead in front of her students. This practice struck me as a wonderful way to show the hard work of writing and demonstrate that teachers are also developing as writers while also teaching how to write at the same time.
Further, both Atwell and Peterson write about offering students the goal of publishing their work outside the classroom as an incentive for students to produce polished writing.  This isn’t an approach I have seen teachers use recently.  I remember this opportunity when I was in school in the 1980s and wonder why it has fallen out of use.  Could this be a driving force for pushing students to become better writers?
Overall, Atwell’s piece struck me as the story of the evolution of a teacher of writing who had to power through her own fears about how to teach, taking risks, and being a slow and challenged writer herself.