Stephanie Vanderslice

Author, Professor, Blogger, and Huffington Post writer

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The National Writing Project needs your help! And a giveaway!

February 4, 2010 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

You have all heard me write about my love for the National Writing Project, one of the most successful educational reform organizations in the US, a site that honors teachers, and students, enriches their lives in teaching, improves literacy education (not to mention test scores) and, crucially, keeps many fantastic teachers in the profession who are disheartened and on the verge of leaving.

Well, the National Writing Project, which includes the Great Bear Writing Project which I direct, is in jeopardy and needs your help.

The current administration has proposed that funding for the NWP be consolidated with that of five other literacy programs under a new competitive program (sound familiar, Race to the Top?).

At the very least this would mean, starting with Fall 2011, ZERO direct funding for the National Writing Project network and NO funding for any local site in a state that chose not to compete or was unsuccessful in competing for this funding.

In other words, the National Writing Project and the Great Bear Writing Project as we all know it could completely disappear.

Fear not. The government threatened to do this very same thing about 10 years ago. The NWP was looking at EXCTINCTION. But guess what? People came OUT OF THE WOODWORK to protest this proposition. They wrote letters, emailed and called their legislators to urge them to support direct funding of the writing project. They encouraged their significant others, friends, administrators and parents to do the same. Legislative assistants all over Washington wondered, “Who are all these people and why do they care so much about the National Writing Project?”

But it worked. We saved the National Writing Project!
Unfortunately, we need your help again.

At the bottom is a letter you can use to email your legislators about saving the writing project. All you need to do is copy and paste it into a snail mail letter or an email to send to your senators and representatives in Washington. Or, you could use it to call them, asking for your support.

You can just cut and paste the letter as is with your signature—this would be a HUGE contribution. But if the Great Bear Writing Project has had a personal impact on you, it would be wonderful if you took the time to add your story to the letter. As we all know at the Writing Project, STORIES MATTER!

You can find all the information you need to contact your US representative here and your US senators here.

Anyone who writes or calls and emails me at [email protected] to tell me (tell me who you contacted and when) will be entered in a drawing to win one of three hardcover copies of Mary Pipher’s wonderful bookWriting to Change the World. Appropriate, don’t you think?

We can do it again. We can save the National Writing Project!!

Bye, y’all,
Stephanie

Dear
I am writing to urge you to support the National Writing Project, one of oldest and most successful school reform programs in education, as it faces losing its federal funding.
The NWP, a proven, highly successful national infrastructure, is currently at risk as a result of the administration’s proposed strategy to consolidate it with five other literacy programs which would only offer funding to state agencies competing for it with new, unproven programs.
The National Writing Project has a thirty year program of success in improving literacy among students by profoundly supporting the professional development of their teachers.
Specifically, direct funding for the National Writing Project supports:
1. The national goal of helping students graduate prepared for college and career-ready;
2. Tens of thousands of teachers prepared to serve as a professional development resource to their colleagues and local schools;
3. A national improvement and reform infrastructure with demonstrated practices that support the success of local writing projects sites in providing high-quality professional development to local schools.
4. National programs and initiatives that extent and strengthen the work of local sites and that support site leaders in enhancing their work and sharing knowledge across the network.
The National Writing Project accomplishes all of this because it is a highly developed and effective national infrastructure that includes broad reach, local usability and established quality. Without direct funding, the infrastructure of this crucial program is in jeopardy.

Thank you for your time and your support.
Sincerely,

Writing Transformations and meeting Jamie

April 6, 2009 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

So I realize my last post was pretty vague about the meetings I’d attended, probably because I was both mentally and physically exhausted. All the sessions were good but I think the best one was on why participants in the writing project find it such a transformative, almost cult-like experience. Ann Whitney of Penn State is studying the phenomena and looking at what conditions were most conducive to it. What I got from her was that of all the transforming experiences of the writing project summer institute, the most important one is the writing group. Whitney’s conclusion then, is that writing group time needs to be conserved at all costs. If you need to cut corners, DON’T do it during the writing group. It’s important, too, to make sure the writing groups are well balanced and that they’re running smoothly I think most of us who have experience with summer institutes would tend to agree—the writing group seems to be where teachers bond and where they feel valued as writers. She also noticed that the writing that the fellows did that was most transformative was when they wrote as authorities about what was going on in their own classrooms.
Yesterday was National Program Leaders meetings. Intense and a little scary, it felt like the Star Chamber in there but in a good way. At one point I raised my hard to ask a question, “So when you [meaning the powers that be] decide. . .” and in answering it, Tanya Baker kindly reminded me that it’s “we,” not you. Gulp. I have become “them. “ My partners, Lynette Harris and Paul Epstein made the transition as smooth as possible, though, and there’s no other “them” I’d rather be.

But I’m leading up to the best part of my story, which is introducing Jamie. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I’m a pretty reluctant flier, in spite of the fact that I do it all the time. I was a bit nervous about the trip to Memphis since there was a possibility of storms when we landed—joy joy. Then I boarded the plane and met my seatmate, seventeen year old Jamie. Bless his heart, this was only the second time Jamie (not his real name) had ever flown (the first being on the way to DC) and he was absolutely terrified. That was how he introduced himself, extending his hand and announcing“Hi, I’m Jamie. I’ve only flown once before and I’m pretty scared.”

Needless to say, the higher power must have been working for me, because other than sitting beside an off-duty pilot (which I highly recommend, based on experience), sitting next to a bravely terrified seventeen year old who’s palpable fear is eliciting every nurturing-mama instinct in my body, makes for a pretty good trip. I had to talk him through take off and landing (i.e. “Mind if I bring these armrests down, ma’am? I need to hold on during this part”) and explain every bump and rattle. I also got to see pictures of his momma, and his lovely girlfriend and her lovely “cornflower blue” prom dress. He’s wearing a white tux with a cornflower blue vest, by the way.

And what a guy. He was in DC because he’d been named a Horatio Alger Foundation scholar, a competitive college award for youth who have been through adversity. I guess having his father die when he was 15 and his mother in a nursing home due to various health problems—he’s lived in eight different friend’s homes since he was a sophomore—is what qualified him. That and the three essays he had to write. He told me about those when I told him I was a college writing teacher. Of course he said, “I’m not much of a writer,” and then proceeded to tell me that he does like to write poetry and music. Music is his passion—he plays about five instruments, including the baritone and the guitar and he organ at church. It’s in the genes I guess; his Dad played backup guitar for George Jones. He wants to play in the Ole Miss band and he’s going to be a music education major, after two years of community college—he wants to stick close to home at first so he can visit his mother every day and continue to volunteer at the home.

Anyway, he also showed me photos of the black tie ceremony where he received his Alger medal (they even give them shadow boxes to keep them in, nice touch) as well as photos of him shaking hands with Clarence Thomas, Denzel Washington and a “billionaire” who promised to personally give every scholarship recipient at their table $500 a month while they were in college. All I can say, is, the guy better keep his promise. I believe it’s a mortal sin to mess with the minds of kids like this.

I asked him if Denzel Washington had any words of advice for him. “Yes ma’am,” he nodded somberly. “He told me to stay with my music.”
I didn’t ask about Justice Thomas.
Bye y’all,
SV

Dispatch from Kalamazoo. . .and a new collection

March 16, 2008 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ok, I am very worried.  The piper comes calling on March 24 (one week from Monday) and The Mount has only raised about 544,000.  That means they have a long way to go.

They’ve been getting a lot of press but has any of it been national?  CBS Sunday Morning?  The Today Show?  Come on folks, we need some major exposure. 

Thanks to my typewriter collecting friend, Monda (any news on the Corsair?), I have taken the plunge and started collecting tin toy typewriters.  I got my first one before I left town and am watching another one ebay that Monda tipped me off to.  It ends Monday, when I’ll be on the train, but hey, if it’s meant to be, it will happen.  I’ll bid before I leave.  You can see my first one here.

I lean toward the more graphically interesting types that also happen to be cheap.  I’ve noticed that there’s precious little info about collecting toy typewriters on the net. Maybe if I get more into it, I’ll write some.

Kalamazoo has two antique malls/stores within walking distance of the hotel.  Before we started work on Friday, I purchased:

Three Little Pigs Golden Book from 50’s–it was cheap and I’m a haphazard LGB collector (is it less than 3 dollars, is it vintage? Sure, I’ll take it. What the heck.)

A Wade china sheep for one of my shabby chic printer’s tray collages. 

A $3 ziploc bag of various passementerie remnants, also for my collages.

A tiny 1953 book on Staffordshire animals that I may give to my friend Steve because, for some reason, it made me think of him.

One dozen dappled blue and gray robin’s eggs (also for the collages and whatever else I think of).

A tin box with an elf.  Not sure what I’m going to do with it but it called to me.

Worked all day today on the 2008 Rural Sites Resource Development Retreat this July,  then ate like a queen, in true Writing Project tradition at a local nouvelle cuisine restaurant called Sprout. In the last two days I have had butternut squash THREE TIMES.  Heaven! Tomorrow, we work from eight till twelve, when most people are leaving.  I have to leave Monday because that’s when I can make the Chicago train.  I have work to occupy me most of that time though. 

One week till spring break. The family and I lucked into a timeshare in Eureka Springs (thank you, Uncle John!) where we (I) plan to read, watch a lot of movies, and prowl around Eureka, maybe even Branson or Berryville for day trips. Basically the goal is to get away and do nothing (though if I could make it to a few antique malls, solo, that would be fine too). Appropos for this week are some big fat books I got for my birthday, the new translation of War and Peace and Hermione Lee’s recent biography of Edith Wharton.

I’ll keep you posted–

If you have any spare change or connections with national tv, consider using it to Save the Mount! 

Bye y’all,

SV

More about the Mount. . .

March 14, 2008 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

And don’t forget the giveaway for comments between now and March 31.

Thrill of thrills, my “memory piece” about Edith Wharton’s the Mount made it to the
help save the mount blog, here. They edited it beautifully and even added an interior photo. The best treat are the pieces from other writers that follow.

I’m in Kalamazoo, Michigan today for a Rural Sites network meeting for the Natioinal Writing Project–not sure how much I’m going to be able to post if at all, but we’ll see.

Bye y’all,
SV

Reading Grants, Writing Grants: What I Know

February 18, 2008 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

write
I spent the weekend at one of the tables above, reading Continued Funding Applications (hereafter known as CFA’s) for the National Writing Project, a thirty plus year old federally funded program to enhance the teaching of writing in American schools and offer teachers a professional network in the process.  It was an intense, exhausting, amazing experience.  Those who submit need to know that their CFA’s are in the respectful, nurturing hands of those who are devoting themselves to getting to know their Writing Project site (there are 190! currently in the US), to celebrating what is working and to offering suggestions on addressing what’s not working.  Like most writing project efforts, it’s a “big picture,” kind of process. 

In the course of three days, I only read and wrote review letters for three sites and that was fine!  In fact, that was about average.  If I had gone faster than that, it probably would have been cause for concern.  This is not a read ’em, rate ’em, ship ’em out kind of thing.  In fact, “rating” rarely comes into play at all.  All in all a powerful experience in which I got as many ideas to bring back to our site as I proffered for the sites I reviewed. 

Now let me say a few words about grant writing, since I’ve done it for awhile, with some success, and since my friend Tim is entering the foray for the first time.  Successful grant writing really comes down to 1. writing well, incisively, cogently, etc., 2. following the directions, and 3. giving them what they are asking for.  And really, the most important are # 2 and 3.  In fact, nothing trumps #2 (but you’d be surprised how many people blow this one).  If they tell you, In this section, describe your: assessment plan, leadership team, philosophy of radical vegetable canning whatever , you’d better do exactly that or you will lose serious points.  This is not unlike an essay test, except you have time to revise.  If they tell you your budget request must equal $50,000, then asking for $49,500 will not make you look thrifty, it will make it look as if you didn’t understand the directions.

A word about budgets:  they used to scare me.  And while, there is still a lot to be scared of when it comes to money, budgets are not one of them.  Just make sure you’ve accounted monetarily for your needs and what you plan to do. 

And about deadlines.  They mean it about deadlines.  It’s very similar to publication submission context.  The Radical Canning Association is looking  for ways to winnow the six foot pile of manila envelopes threatening to trap their program assistant in her cubicle.  Envelopes that don’t meet the deadline are the first to go. Period. No exceptions.

Finally, if you’re applying for a grant from an organization that has a website, read through it carefully.  Get a sense of what this organization wants to do, what their mission is.  Google key members. If you discover the President of the Radical Canning Association has had a lifelong interest in  the rutabaga as an underutilized vegetable and you can think of a way to mention that in your canning philosophy or give a subtle nod to rutabagas in your demographics analysis, believe me, you’ll attract attention.  Mostly the good kind.

Anyway, that’s what I know and it’s worked for me.  Happy grant writing and,

Bye y’all!

SV
PS–A shopping heads up if you’re ever in Berkeley. We only had one afternoon, but the Fourth Street Shopping District was fantastic. Lots of high end fun stores (i.e. my fave, Anthropologie, Bare Escentuals, etc.), two GREAT bookstores, including one devoted entirely to books about architecture and design, and my personal favorite, Castle In the Air, an emporium for writers and artists where I picked up a bone folder and a vial of German glass glitter (not the kind of thing you can get at Hobby Lobby) for my crafty side.  Check out their website here and see for yourself. It’ll draw you in!

This one goes out to all the junk drawer people. . .

February 10, 2008 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

You know who you are.  Got a junk drawer? Or two? Or three? Or four?

 Bella Dia can tell you how to organize them here.

 Wish I could write more but I’ve been reading National Writing Project Continued Funding Applications all day the last two days and writing response letters.  As fascinating as that is; and it really is, my brain is completely fried.  I’m sure sometime the middle of next week I’ll get back to my normal blogging self.

Till then,

Bye y’all

SV

Winners announced, Tornadoes devastate

February 6, 2008 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

winner
We had four sets of prizes from the AWP Bookfair to giveaway.   And the winners are:

 Tim Sisk

Monda Fason

Cindi Hoppes

Cindi Hoppes

Congratulations to the winners!  I’ll try to come up with another giveaway whenever I can. 

Cindi, please email me with your address.  I have everyone else covered.

You may have heard that my home state, as well as Tennessee (see Tim’s Bookspaz blog for more info) and Kentucky were devastated by tornadoes last night.  Our town of Conway was lucky but one of the worst tornadoes hit about twenty miles of north of us, in Atkins, as well as Clinton.

If you would like to contribute to relief efforts, click here.

In other news, WIOTD Resurfaces!
I just received a call from my youngest’s teacher. Apparently, the zipper has been stuck on his coat all day and they cannot get him out of his coat. They have tried everything but they can’t get it over his head (he’s always had a big head). Since he was beginning to really sweat, they were asking permission to cut the coat, just enough to get his head out.

Sigh. We’re going to hear about this when we get home I’m sure. But it was certainly good for a chuckle!

I’m going out of town tomorrow (again!) and may not be as able to blog for a few days.  I’m reading annual reports for the National Writing Project and I have a feeling they may not want me to blog about the process.  I’ll be taking notes of ideas for our own site, though. Can’t wait.

I’m home again Monday for a long time and thrilled!

Here’s to seasonable weather!

Bye y’all,
SV

Wordamour Goody Giveaway: A Teaser

November 17, 2007 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

Posts have been lean this week as I’ve been at the National Writing Project conference since Wednesday and they’ve kept me running.  Spent yesterday at an NWP Rural Sites Network workshop about site bibliographies that was amazing (NWPCA leadership team: I’m thinking I could modify this for a great leadership retreat).  Today was the General Session and workshops.  Also my day to visit the book fair.  Jump back, readers, I came, or rather, staggered,  out of that book fair with goodies GALORE.  In fact, despite having packed incredibly lightly, I am now a little worried about going over the 50 lb weight limit. I stocked up on pens (my personal fav; on principal, I never buy pens but snag them at conferences), advanced reader’s copies (Kevin Brockmeier’s latest!) children’s book posters, books to keep and books to give away, stocking stuffers and a even few goodies for The Perfect Grandson (no kidding, Monda, wait’ll you see).  And that’s what I can remember off the top of my head.  What treasure there was to be had this year.  And it was a madhouse.  Seriously, turning a bunch of teachers loose on this place when the doors open is kind of like the moment at a birthday party when the pinata finally bursts and spews candy everywhere.  Someday, somebody’s gonna lose an eye.  I swear, this year at the Scholastic booth, they came close.  So, this is going to be a short post but tune back in early next week when I detail the specfic items I will be giving away in my DECEMBER WORDAMOUR GOODY GIVEAWAY.  A working day tomorrow, planning spring and summer events for the Rural Sites.  Right now, my amazingly soft Marriott bed is calling to me.  Good night, y’all.

Arkansas Literary Forum. . .and, a contest!

November 12, 2007 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Arkansas Literary Forum, the annual online journal of Arkansas writing edited by Marck Beggs, has hit the wires, so to speak.  And what a liteary smorgasboard.  Great stuff from great writers, too many to list without repeating the table of contents.  A special section by and about Damien Echols, one of the West Memphis Three, incredible art from Nancy Dunaway.  And, yes, a personal essay from yours truly and a story from my husband, John Vanderslice.  Check it out.

In the midst of workon my book, Burning Down the Garrett: Revising Creative Writing in Higher Education, I am knee deep in reading about every MFA program listed on the Associated Writing Programs website, with the goal of creating an honor roll of programs breaking the mold and spotlighting a few particularly cutting edge programs.  About halfway through the fifty states (with several big states to go, phew), I can make a couple of perhaps not-so-suprising observations, namely that: programs housed in schools of art tend to be particularly forward leaning, as are programs in universities that in or near cities (though this is not always true).  It’s the rural programs that tend to be more old school.  More on this as it develops. 

In other news. . .

It was a good weekend: crafting, bread baking, chili-making, flu-shot obtaining (we’re all covered now), library visiting, UCA football (we won although my son’s favorite player, Brent Grimes, didn’t get the kind of playing time he usually does), and cruising the Sunday holiday open house downtown.  In spite of the fact that I was fighting crankiness about heading off to a conference this week.  Not that I don’t love conferences once I’m there, but I miss my husband and kiddos.  Also, this is the beginning of my annual November push where I’m away from home three weekends in a row; National Writing Project conference, Thanksgiving in Fayetteville  (with some of my favorite relatives), then Memphis for the St. Jude’s marathon my husband runs in.  Even though the latter two are great family fun, it’s hard to be away three weekends in a row just before the Christmas season begins.  Keeping one’s clothes laundered, for example, is a particular challenge.  The only time of year when I wish I had more underwear.

I am looking forward to the book fair at the conference, though, and am leaving LOTS of extra space in my suitcase for all the goodies I will inevitably bring home.  This year I even plan to bring a poster tube for all the gorgeous children’s book posters the publishers give out.  Last year’s highlight was the advance reader ‘s copy of Trenton Lee Stewart’s current bestseller, The Mysterious Benedict Society.  Tell you what, keep checking back at this blog and next week I’ll post some particularly choice goodies and have a drawing among people who post on this blog from November 19-December 19.  Sound like fun?

I’m off to pack, even though I don’t leave till Weds. on an ungodly seven am flight.  Some years back, my very well-organized sister-in-law, Polly, pointed out that if you pack a few days before you leave, you avoid all that last minute laundry/allnighter/packing stress.  Although I will never be as organized as she is, I do take this advice to heart and find it really does make for a much better leave-taking experience.   

More soon, ta for now.

SV

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STEPHANIE VANDERSLICE

Author, Professor, Blogger, and Huffington Post writer. Stephanie Vanderslice aims to write what she likes to read: fiction and nonfiction that spins a web to lure the reader in. Read More…

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