Lessons for Writers of all ages

I spent a very inspiring morning recently, during a visit to P.S./I.S. 171 on East 103rd Street. The principal, Dimitres Pantelidis, had invited me to his school, of which he is very proud. The school has frequently been mentioned in lists of the city’s best elementary and middle schools (including in Our Town), and Pantelidis was an OTTY winner two years ago.

What I saw blew me away. The school buzzes with energy and enthusiasm. Parents are engaged, teachers convey passion about their subjects, and the kids radiate excitement about learning. In every classroom I visited, hands were up in the air. The environment is stimulating: there are shelves and baskets of books in every classroom, and students are given iPads for specific assignments. I remember looking at schools when my own children were young. The schools where I thought they would thrive were places I would want to spend time myself, and this school reminded me of that.

As a journalist, what especially impressed me was the importance Pantelidis and his teachers place on writing. The students are encouraged to write in every subject, including math and science. And they get savvy writing lessons from an early age.

The photos with this story are from two classrooms. One poster is a checklist for first-graders learning how to write opinion pieces. (At a time of concern about “fake news,” please note the last two entries on the list.)

The other poster is in a second grade classroom. It gives students a guide for how to write a lead — the start of a story. Even experienced journalists could learn a thing or two from this chart.

After my visit, I shared these images with some journalist friends. One summed it up this way: “Suddenly, the future doesn’t look so bad.”