Students Seeking Validation Through Writing

Those of you have been reading my blog know that I recently had my book published. In fact, while I was in DC, I made a trip to the Library of Congress.  Not only is it a beautiful place, it is the home of books, learning, knowledge, and wisdom. Many people do not realize that it is solely a research library where books are not checked out. Also, many people do not realize that the Library of Congress only physically houses 10% of the books ever written. I was curious...would my book be one of the 10%? After asking several people to help me find the answers to my curiosity, I finally found a librarian who was willing to dive into their records. A few bated breaths later, she turned the screen to show me that my book was not only registered there (which I knew Stenhouse had done), but it was also one of the 10% housed there onsite as a physical book. She and I both did a little jumping and clapping to celebrate. I was waiting for another librarian to blow us over with her powerful, "Shhh!"

Afterwards, I have been thinking about the power of publishing your work for others to read...especially in regards to our students. Those of you who are familiar with my classroom know that my students use a wide variety of digital tools for publishing their work for a much wider audience. They love all of the different publishing tools that they use (and are constantly finding new ones), but one of their favorites is still using Lintor Make a Book to create their own hardcover book. It still surprises me that with all of the other digital tools that they use, my students thoroughly enjoy...and seek out new opportunities...to publish a hardcover, hardcopy version of one of their pieces of writing.

Lintor Publishing makes publishing a hardcover book extremely user-friendly. Their product makes it simple for students to create and publish their own hardcover books from start to finish. They have a variety of book publishing packages to fit most needs.

Just like me, (I wanted tangible evidence that my book was in the Library of Congress) sometimes our students enjoy having that tangible book in their hands as evidence of their hard work.They like taking it to share with others. My authors love taking their books to read to younger students.We keep a library of their books for them to be read by everyone in the class.They are shared with anyone who will take time to listen and look at their books. Their books always receive a lot of attention at our Young Authors' Conference because they look so professional and my students are so proud of and enthusiastic about what they've created. After all, they created it so that others would read it.

So next time your students begin to publish, remember that sometimes students want to have that tangible book in their hands to share with others. It's a way for them to receive validation for all of the hard work that they've done.

(As a side note: Many of you know that the community where I teach was hit by the April 27th tornado that came through Alabama. One of the first people to reach out to us was Janice Miller, owner of Lintor Publishing. She not only reached out as concerned  for our safety, but she suggested that the students have the opportunity to do some therapeutic writing about their experiences with those storms. She generously sent my class book covers so that they could publish their own books. Her generosity touched my students and they treasure those books that they wrote.)