Frequently Asked Questions
Q: WHAT IS
THE NATIONAL WRITING AND THINKING NETWORK?
A: The National Writing and Thinking Network was established
by the Institute for
Writing and Thinking at Bard
College with generous support from The Bingham Trust
to provide imaginative, stimulating, and enjoyable summer
writing programs for high school students. The Network's
summer Workshops
in Writing and Thinking are modeled on the innovative
three-week Workshop in Language and Thinking that Bard College
requires of entering students. Now in its 23rd year, the
Workshop in Language and Thinking encourages students to
think through writing, try many genres, be sensitive to
voice, and explore the world through fiction, poetry, and
memoir as well as through analytical essays.
Q: WHO ATTENDS
SUMMER WRITING AND THINKING WORKSHOPS?
A: Intellectually curious and motivated high school students
in grades nine through 12 who like to write and want to
develop greater fluency and confidence in their writing.
Q: IS THIS
A CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP?
A: Yes and no. Unlike “creative writing” programs that concentrate
on poetry or fiction, Network workshops offer students the
opportunity to work in a range of fiction and nonfiction
forms, including poems, narratives, and essays, for the
purpose of strengthening their writing and thinking skills.
Writing is seen as a complex activity that constructs form
through language and fosters an engaged imagination.
Q: WHAT KINDS
OF WRITING CAN STUDENTS EXPECT TO DO?
A: Daily writing ranges from reflective journals to stories,
poems, and personal or persuasive essays. The focus is on
informal, exploratory writing to generate drafts, define
topics for discussion, and make connections between what
students already know and new ways of thinking. Students
present portfolios of writing each week to their teachers,
who respond both in conferences and writing. The portfolios
contain informal writing, works in progress, and finished
pieces in various genres.
Q: WHAT
IS THE DAILY SCHEDULE LIKE?
A: Groups of 12 to 14 students work in three 90-minute or two-hour
sessions each weekday, punctuated by brief breaks. The focus
of each session varies, but every day includes exploratory
writing and collaborative learning that is initiated by
writing and sustained by discussion.
Q: WHAT ABOUT
READING?
A: Although the major “text” for each workshop is the students'
own writing, students are encouraged to be active readers,
responding to texts from many disciplines. By reading poetry,
narratives, and essays, students encounter different forms
that they then may emulate in their writing. This exposure
also prepares them for the quantity and difficulty of reading
they will face in college.
Q: HOW DO
STUDENTS GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER IN THE WORKSHOPS?
A: At each workshop site, students from across the country
build a supportive writing community in which writing, reading,
and responding to the writing of others provide a model
for peer collaboration. At the end of each week, students
and teachers meet to celebrate and read aloud from their
work. While ample opportunities for socializing are available
outside of class, students get to know each other first
as writers, readers, and thinkers.
Q: HOW DO
THESE WORKSHOPS PREPARE STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE?
A: Network summer writing and thinking workshops are modeled
on the Workshop in Language and Thinking required of all
students entering Bard College. As such, Network workshops
are designed to prepare students for the kind of writing
they will be asked to do in college. Workshops develop students'
fluency and confidence as writers, expand their experience
of writing in many genres, and develop enthusiasm for writing.
These skills are important no matter which college a student
decides to attend. Network workshops are not remedial, but
students find that their writing skills improve.
Q: HOW DO
THE WORKSHOPS DIFFER FROM SITE TO SITE?
A: While all the workshops are methodologically coherent and
emphasize learning by doing, they vary thematically from
site to site. Each campus uses its culture and location
to the best advantage, as described in the following pages.
Q: WHO LEADS
THE WORKSHOPS?
A: Workshops are led by college and high school faculty
from across the country—dedicated
writers and inspired teachers who seek to develop in their
own teaching community the collaborative practices that
are so important to the summer workshops. All teachers in
the summer writing and thinking workshops participate in
Teaching Writing and Thinking and Writing to Learn workshops
offered by the Institute for Writing and Thinking at Bard
College. They also attend an annual meeting at Bard.
Q: WHY DO
TUITION FEES SOMETIMES VARY FROM SITE TO SITE?
A: Although the Network is committed to offering the best summer
writing program at the lowest possible cost, regional differences
in the cost of living and institutional budgets affect tuition
fees at each Network site. Modest financial aid is available
at some of the workshop sites. Contact program directors
for information.
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