ABSTRACT
In some ways teaching writing has become easier now that there are so many books and resources out there, but in other ways it has become more difficult. Teachers are now being given writing curricula and told what to teach, when, and how. What we had in those early days—because of principals like Jean Robbins, then principal of Atkinson Academy, who accepted the invitation of Don Graves and his researchers to come to her school—was professional freedom to look, to wonder, to use what we know about young childeren, teaching, and writing, thereby allowing children to show us how to help them learn. We were not teaching a premade writing curriculum; we were creating it based on watching our students. In a sense, Boston gave us that same freedom. People like Maryanne Martinelli and Syd Smith, curriculum leaders in Boston, trusted our expertise and allowed us the room to learn alongside the teachers and children.
