Author in Residence
Our Grade 8 students recently had the opportunity to work with author Jack Gantos in their English classes, launching the first-ever Author in Residence program in the Middle School.
Gantos has written books for readers of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. Some of his works include Hole in My Life, a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert honors; Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, a National Book Award Finalist; Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor book; and Dead End in Norvelt, the 2012 Newbery Medal Winner and Scott O’Dell Award Winner for Best Historical Fiction.
“This is a culminating experience, something all students can look forward to as they complete Middle School. There is no better writer for the job than Jack Gantos, and we hope he will be a staple of this new program for years to come,” said Patchwork Coordinator Dean Schneider.
Although Gantos has been visiting Ensworth for over 25 years, this was the first time he spent a week mentoring students in the classroom. Throughout the week, students wrote short stories that they shared daily in class. To help students develop ideas for their stories, Gantos had them draw a map of their house and write some events that occurred in each room.
“For our homework assignment, on the first day, we drew maps of our house to get inspiration for stories. That was helpful, because I had no idea what I wanted to write a story about,” said Miriam Cross '29. “Once I drew out every single room in my house, we had to write some events that happened in each room; I had a good basis for the story.”
While this exercise inspired students to generate story ideas, Gantos said it is also one of his favorite exercises for helping students connect the physical and emotional aspects of writing. "By doing this, I'm giving the students a dimensional sense that there's the physical life, and then there's the emotional and thoughtful life; let's combine these things,” he said. “Otherwise, I find that a lot of the writing is ‘this happened and this happened and this happened and this happened’ and I'm like, ‘slow down.’ There's also the human being involved here. It's not just the action or what happened. Let's take a deep dive into the language of expressiveness and work on that side of it.”
Once students had an idea for their short story, they worked on it for homework. The next day, each person took turns sharing their writing, and Gantos provided specific, intentional, and individual feedback in a writing workshop format. “This is a very special visit because it entails working closely with the students on their writing,” Gantos said. “What this program has done is that I can see all of these students three or four times and get them to write and then give them feedback, so that they can feel like writers who are receiving direct instruction from another successful writer, a published writer. They can evolve through their engagement in a meaningful writing workshop.”
Some of the feedback he gave to students was to be more creative and looser. Evelyn Berry '29 said his personalized and professional advice helped her find her voice and refine her writing process. “His guidance was more individualized, and you got to establish a personal connection,” Berry said. “It was cool to work with him because he’s not just a name on a cover, but a living, breathing person we could interact with.”
Clarke Raybeck '29 said that his suggestions will help her when she writes in the future. “It’s a change from an English teacher to someone who has published multiple books and does this for a living. To get that advice is helpful,” she said. “The advice he gave us will always stay in the back of my mind. When I’m writing an essay, I’ll remember what Jack Gantos said to me in eighth grade.”
Gantos said he especially loved his time at Ensworth because the students and teachers were eager to embrace the creative writing process. “All of the students are fully committed to writing something and sharing it in a very short period of time. They're eager, and they jumped right in. The teachers are also fully on board,” Gantos said. "That makes all the difference."