Our Writing and Learning Connect Us: Mia Robinson
Publication: NWP 2007 Annual Report
Date: 2007
Summary: Meet Mia Robinson from Dartmouth Elementary School, Denver, Colorado. She is a part of the Denver Writing Project and the Teacher Inquiry Communities Network.
Mia Robinson
"Research does everything for your teaching," says Mia Robinson, a kindergarten teacher at Dartmouth Elementary School in Denver, Colorado, and a literacy coach with the Aurora Public Schools. Professional literature— brought to her by the writing project when she was a new teacher—has been a mainstay for Mia. "I was on fire for the writing project. It completely turned my teaching around."
Initially, her entry into the profession with an emergency credential posed great challenges for Mia. "I was nervous about my lack of experience. The writing project offered me purpose, clear direction, and a focus on writing and reading."
Fifteen years later, Mia declares with absolute assurance that kindergarteners can write. "All of my students have been great writers. It's a gift from the writing project."
All of my students have been great writers. It's a gift from the writing project.
Her very young students are the authors of personal narratives, informational pieces, how-to procedural nonfiction, and "all about" books. In Mia's kindergarten classroom, authorship also means conducting research, taking notes, and creating a table of contents.
Mia's colleagues now turn to her for bi-weekly writing meetings and classroom support. Improving all aspects of literacy has become an urgent mission for Mia in a district wheremore than 30,000 students come from 100 different countries and speak more than 90 languages.
Mia stays rejuvenated by her participation and leadership in the NWP Teacher Inquiry Communities Network. Teachers from all over the country who join this network look together at teaching practices and research, and bring their own questions to the table. "These questions," Mia contends, "lead to stronger practices and to an understanding of what it means to be a lifelong learner."
"The writing project was my destiny," says Mia. "It's the greatest thing I have done in my career."