Finding Our Voices by Erin Vogler

This year was a good one.  But it was also hard.  Really hard.  It is one that has been defined by struggle, disappointment, fear, anxiety, heart-wrenching loss, and, most importantly, celebration.

I started the year with the goal of fostering and empowering voice and choice in my students, students whose stories are as varied as those that sit on the shelves in my classroom library. We told our stories more this year than ever before.

This year I didn’t just assign academic writing, and our work wasn’t just about figuring out the formula for formal literary analysis and argument. This year, the writing that was front and center was the type of writing that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in our schools. 

We told our stories.  We wrote about the people, places, things, and ideas that matter to us.  We argued passionately and we told our stories honestly. As amazing as this sounds, it was also hard. Sometimes my students wanted to quit.  Sometimes I wanted to quit because there just wasn’t enough time or enough of me to go around to help every one of them in the moments they needed feedback.

You see, asking students to open their hearts and tell the stories that matter to them is not for the faint of heart. It can run the gamut from joy to heartache in a matter of moments, and you have to be prepared for that.  You also have to model that range, and that takes a level of vulnerability that, at times, feels impossible.

I shared more of my writing this year than ever before, and my students made me brave because they always handled my writing with the care I modeled for them.  Sure, at first they doubted whether or not I really wanted their feedback, but then they started to ask tough questions and pushed me to clarify things I thought were perfectly clear. They asked me to dig deeper to help them understand not just what I meant, but who I am at my core. It is because of the work we did together this year that I was finally brave enough to add my voice to this blog.

My favorite moments this year were the moments when we shared our writing, when students proudly read either a favorite line or a whole piece after working hard to get their words just right.  They were proud and respectful, and so supportive of the work, thinking, and bravery of their peers. There were spontaneous rounds of applause, high fives, and lots of WOW! moments.

I cried more than once at the beauty of these words and the care my students displayed for one another. We celebrated everyone’s voices, voices who don’t get heard nearly enough in these places that are supposed to be all about fostering and empowering our students to go out into the world and share their voices.

This year, even though it was nowhere near perfect or pretty, it was nothing short of amazing. I received an unexpected thank you note from a student on my last day that said, “Thank you! I appreciate you helping me this year no matter what. You’re a great teacher and I’m glad I could help you even if it’s not nearly as much as you helped me.” I spent a lot of time this year wondering whether the work we were doing was really giving my students the tools and practice they needed to become more effective, insightful, and focused writers.

That unexpected thank you was just what I needed. It reminded me that celebration often comes after the struggle.  We may have struggled to find our way, but we found and used our voices to say what matters to us.  I celebrate the strides we made individually, and the leaps we made together.



Erin Vogler has just finished her 18th year of teaching at Keshequa Middle/High School in the Genesee Valley in Western New York. She has taught grades 7-12, and has loved spending this year reading and writing beside her wise and witty 8th and 10th graders. She will be spending her summer reading, writing, doing yoga, and relaxing with her two Boston Terriers and a rambunctious Boxer who are excited for her to be home everyday. Erin shares her thoughts on teaching, reading, and writing at https://fosteringvoicesandchoices.wordpress.com/, a place where she is not quite as consistent as she’d like to be (yet). You can also find her on Twitter @vogler3024 and Instagram @mrsvogler3024.