Teaching Against the Tide
Wellbeing
Reluctant Writer
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Reluctant Writer

A poem and reflection on how labels affect us

Reluctant Writer

‘Reluctant to write’ said my school report.
But that’s not true is what I thought.

When I was little, I used crayons in the bath.
And I love when we chalked all over the path.
I like to write with a stick in the sand.
I scribble little reminders on the back of my hand.
I love how drywipe pens slip smoothly across the board.
My tray is full of special pencils and pens that I hoard.
I enjoy using markers to write big and bold.
I made words in the snow with my fingers so cold.
I’ve written happy birthday on top of a cake,
And I love folding paper when little books we make.
In computing, I wrote the code for a game,
And when Jay broke his arm, I signed my name.
In drama, it was my story that we were acting,
And I make up poems and rhymes when I sing.
But when it’s lesson time and the teacher says ‘write’,
All my good ideas seem to slip out of sight,
My hand starts to hurt; the blank page I dread,
And the words ‘reluctant to write’ are all that fill my head.

Check out the Resource Drop page and Outdoor Learning section for lots of ideas and activities to support reluctant writers in your classroom. As this is a wellbeing post, I will be focussing here on how we adults may have been affected by things said about us.

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