Mentoring Talented High School Writers

 

One of the greatest challenges for a secondary school teacher is working with the talented writer. While having the opportunity to work with a gifted young writer can be one of the greatest rewards from working in the teaching profession, it can also create angst and stress because of the elements involved with developing this unique talent.

However, there is little question of the importance of the writing mentor. Susan Meyers, who has implemented a pilot program called the OSU Writing Liaison at Oregon State, feels a good mentoring program can “give students a practical application for the knowledge they’re gaining in class and provide them with a stronger connection to their community.”

There are a few important points to consider when working with the talented high school writer. The objective is to develop the imaginative side of your student’s writing while realizing the practical opportunities which are created by proficient writing ability.

Finding a Focus

There are three areas of development for the teacher to focus on when working with the talented young writer. The first is maintaining interest. This can be accomplished in several ways, such as holding creative writing workshops, various mentoring sessions with foci on poetry, fiction, non-fiction, journalism and other writing genres. This helps the student find a writing preference. One student may have great talent in researching and biographies while another may be a budding screenwriter or poet. The key is to be exposed to all different types of writing.

Challenge the Student

As with a subject within the core curriculum, the mentor must find ways to challenge the high school writer. In an ideal situation, the students compete with themselves as the mentor works in a facilitating role, escorting the students toward their highest potential. Exposure to all types of writing helps to broaden the writing range of the student. On the other hand, “raising the bar” may challenge the student and help with finding an audience. Examples of this can be entering in essay contests, applying for high school internships with newspapers and radio stations, creating a literary magazine or weblog at the school level and submitting a letter to the editor of a local publication. These lead to practical experience and the opportunity to see ones work published.

Career Exploration

A good mentor keeps students aware of career opportunities, partly through activities as the ones previously mentioned. While many proficient writers wish to hone their journalism or poetry writing skills, it is necessary to help students understand the importance of writing in careers such as real estate, business, politics and police work. The mentor should introduce students to elements of technical writing, including abstracts as well as proposal and incident reports. This helps the student acquire a broad range of skills as well as an understanding of business writing.

Examples of Successful Mentoring Programs

There are many mentoring programs at the school system and local level. Here are two examples.

Capitol City Young Writers is a non-profit organization based out of El Dorado Hills, CA. Their goal, as provided in its mission statement, is to educate today’s youth on the art and business of writing. They are known for exposing students to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and other forms, such as songwriting.

WriteGirl was developed to “help girls write their way to positive futures.” Founded in 2001, their goal is to help teenage girls who lack access to creative writing or mentoring programs. They also focus on developing writing in all genres through one-on-one mentoring and monthly creative workshops, as well as an annual seven full-day writing workshop.