chat center
SUBSCRIBE MY LINKS:

Latest Posts Full Chatboard Submit Post

Current Issue » Table of Contents | Back Issues
 


TEACHERS.NET GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 2000
Volume 1 Number 9

COVER STORY
Yes, you CAN write a book and teach at the same time! This month's cover story by successful author and teacher Marjan Glavac explains how he was able to get published directly from the classroom.
COLUMNS
Effective Teaching by Harry Wong
Promoting Learning by Marv Marshall
A Chat with Alfie Kohn
Jan Fisher Column
4 Blocks by Cheryl Sigmon
School Psychologist by Beth Bruno
ARTICLES
Write A Book and Teach
Interview with Joe Pickett
Wake up Sleepyhead!
When We Care for Children
Teaching about Native Americans
Early Childhood Interventions
A Veteran Teacher Looks at SFA
Developing Homework Policies
Visually Impaired Experience in School
REGULAR FEATURES
Web News & Events
Letters to the Editor
Poll: What About Homework?
Archives: Alfie Kohn
New in the Lesson Bank
Upcoming Ed Conferences
Humor from the Classroom
Help Wanted - Teaching Jobs
Live Events Calendar
Gazette Back Issues
Gazette Home Delivery:


About Beth Bruno...
Beth is a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in mental health and education. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.A. in Psychology in 1966. She continued her education at Harvard University (Ed.M. in Educaton, 1967) and Yeshiva University (M.A. in Clinical Psychology, 1976). Beth has served as Chair of the Psychology Department for the Special Children's Center in Ithaca, New York, and has worked as Adjunct Instructor at Tompkins-Cortland Community College.

Beth Bruno has always been "fascinated by people--their motives, emotions, what makes them tick." Her ability to "read people and connect with them" is a true gift. As a school psychologist, her philosophy is not to solve problems for people, but rather "to help people discover their inner resources and create ways to help themselves." "Some people fear the unknown," she says. "I welcome it, because I can usually make the best of whatever happens." Beth encourages questions from young people, adults, educators and professionals. She will do her best to answer each question personally and in a timely manner. She can be reached via email at bethbruno@teachers.net.

Click here for more articles by Beth Bruno.

Ask a School Psychologist
by Beth Bruno, Ed.M., M.A.

Taking Creative Risks

On July 16, 1995, the first article of my weekly newspaper column, "Stand Up and Be Counted," appeared in print. It is still going strong. Since then I have expanded my essay writing and now publish four different columns per week in print and on the Internet. You too can see your ideas in print, but you have to put them down on paper first!

Several people have asked me how I got started. It began with a gift. A friend gave me The Artists Way, by Julia Cameron, a book that describes the creative process and many of the ways we inhibit ourselves from taking creative risks. The message rang true for me. Self-doubt or excuses have often prevented me from acting on my creative ideas.

Over the years I thought about writing a children's book. The main character would be Granny Gumption, a salty old gal and a real problem-solver. No hand wringing or bellyaching for her. Granny and I spent a few chapters together, but the story fizzled.

After that, I started writing about some of the personal experiences that have shaped my opinions and values. In the privacy of my journals, these became the basis for "Stand Up and Be Counted" essays. The decision to show them to someone else was the hardest step for me, a step which Cameron's advice helped me take.

"Once we admit the need for help, the help arrives. The ego always wants to claim self-sufficiency. It would rather pose as a creative loner than ask for help. Ask anyway."

Asking for constructive but gentle criticism, I first approached my daughter, an excellent writer herself. I knew I could count on her to give honest reactions. Her thoughtful comments prompted some revisions, but most importantly, she genuinely liked my articles and we enjoyed the lively discussions they prompted.

My husband and son were my next in-house critics, helping me clarify sentences, improve word choices and clean up my grammar. Little did I know they were such great cliché detectors and comma killers. They shot down my folksy dot-strings and hyphens, too.

Feeling much bolder, I sent my first five essays to an editor at the Meriden Record-Journal, a daily newspaper in Connecticut. A week later, "Stand Up...." was accepted for publication. I was overjoyed. Taking risks can reap rewards. Since then, the column has appeared in two more newspapers and I have expanded into feature writing for several magazines and Internet sites. My inner naysayers were wrong; perhaps yours are wrong, too.

Writing may not be your secret passion. You might long to sing professionally, dabble in photography, create films or dance on stage. Maybe that unique invention of yours will sell, if you take the time to develop it and bring it to light. You are the only person who holds you back.

Be sure to log in to Beth's live chat November 16 in the Teachers.Net Meeting Room!



Beth Bruno bbruno@snet.net
Welcome to Insights, the Luckiest Spot on the Internet

Click here for more articles by Beth Bruno.
 


#