Writer, Teacher, Person: Tensions between Personal and Professional Writing in a National Writing Project Summer Institute.

• DOI: 10.2307/40173322
• Publication Date: 2009-04-01
• Authors: Anne Elrod Whitney
• Keywords: Professional writing; Creative Writing

notion that teachers of writing must also write has been pervasive since the 1970s. But what should they write? On this question, consensus less clear. In National Writing Project (NWP), a professional network focused on improvement instruction and featuring summer institutes in which engage their own as well demonstrations effective teaching practices, tradition usually favored personal writing, particularly memoir, poetry, fiction. This emphasis has, at times, left NWP vulnerable to criticism occurring its is too self-focused, characterizing or creative done by during insufficiently classroom problems practice. fact, part have engaged 1974 (Healy, 1992, pp. 258-259), but relative place these two kinds point friendly contention among those involved NWP, with some site directors arguing for importance others requiring undertake still going so far insist most, if not all, take up topics. article redirects conversation about respective roles play toward more productive territory, demonstrating aspects role development spread beyond context research program generally. A case study one teacher's experience an institute illustrates dichotomy be