Felicia Rose Chavez

 Last Spring in my research into inclusive ELA instruction, I came across the book The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez. I was so blown away by her ideas into adjusting the writing workshop model to amplify historically quieted voices that I reached out to her and was able to talk with her in a zoom call for some tips on transforming my own writing program! While there were many takeaways and my own copy of the book is covered in post-its marking favorite reminders, my favorite two are the focus on author's voice and the need to ask permission before giving feedback. Writing is personal. When a student writes a story or an essay, they put themselves into it, and every author's voice is one that matters and should be heard. As an English teacher, part of my job is to help students develop their craft by writing complete sentences and using proper grammar rules and structures while also helping their work stay their own. Letting students take the lead during their writing conferences and tell me and their peers specifically what they'd like support with has been a game changer. My students feel like writers. Students with struggles and learning differences that make writing a challenge are writing pages upon pages in class. The number one rule for a writing workshop is that writers write. I'm happy to say that I have a class full of aspiring authors.