One day, when a young girl was in seventh grade, she won a poetry contest after writing a “metaphorical poem using the sea to represent different parts of [her] emotional world.” That young girl is now Mrs. Vanatta, a teacher here at Wayne Valley. Vanatta says, “I loved being able to say a lot without people understanding exactly what my intent was. Every reader was able to come to their own conclusions and I had my own ‘secret’ as a writer.” Years later, Vanatta gets to teach a class called Writing Workshop where she can pass on her knowledge and teach students how to write poems that will give them that exact feeling.
Vanatta has taught at Valley for 25 years, first having taught a class called HSPA which was “for students who were in danger of failing the state standardized test for graduation and they took it in addition to their required English class.” Vanatta continues with, “I always enjoyed teaching writing, but there wasn’t much freedom in the course for myself or the students because the goal was very specific—to pass the test and graduate.” So, when Vanatta was offered to teach Writing Workshop around seven years ago, she accepted immediately. Unlike the HSPA class, “this goal is very individualized and allows me to be creative as a teacher. I work with students to discover what they like about writing and help them develop their own writing style. Every semester I have a new group of students to work with and learn from.”
When asked what her teaching philosophy is, she answers with “nurturing accountability.” Vanatta loves to provide a space where all of her students “[feel] safe and willing to take risks in their reading and writing.” For Vanatta, when she first started teaching here, “[she] did not consider leaving for a different district, but it is shocking how quickly time has gone.” Since she began teaching, she has gotten married, bought a house, had two children, and gained multiple degrees. Even though Vanatta admits that not everyone that walks into her class is as excited to write as others may be, she lets it be known that her ultimate goal with teaching “is for the student leaving to feel better prepared for the future. They may not appreciate or feel this immediately, but usually they do in time.” This course is a perfect opportunity to sharpen your English reading and writing skills.
If you also want the feeling of giving your readers their own message to interpret, being able to express yourself creatively, or you want to experience what a class in Mrs. Vanatta’s room looks like, join Writing Workshop! It is a half year course (one semester), taken across two marking periods. This course is worth 2.5 credits. It is available to take for grade levels 9 to 11. Many students take this half year course along with another half year course following it to reach the requirement of 5 credits. This course will deepen the students’ potential in writing by focusing on the processes of writing from brainstorming through publishing. With the writing of poems and stories in this class, it’s a great way for students to grow their knowledge and skill in writing, especially on topics of their choice.
