Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 7, 1995 TAG: 9509080015
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They work intently at what they are doing, and;
They love their work.
Both are writers and teachers of writing at all grade levels.
"We are professional writers but we don't try to teach these kids to be professional writers," Ayyildiz said. "We try to teach them to think. If they can think, they can teach themselves."
That statement is in line with the duo's project in progress - a textbook on clear thinking. It's due in April and will be the third textbook they have produced together.
One of the others, "Creative Writing: Across The Curriculum," will be used as a supplemental text in Roanoke County schools this school term. Designed for middle and senior high schools, the book was published earlier this year by the Frank Schaffer Publications of Torrance, Calif.
Their other book, "Sky Hooks and Grasshopper Traps," subtitled "A Notebook of Poetry Lessons for all Ages," has been used in the Roanoke schools. Ayyildiz and Woodie write both from the heart and the classroom.
"Sky Hooks" is the result of their own classroom experiences and going into the classroom to learn what teachers want and need. They wrote it after Roanoke school officials asked them to write an elementary program to help students prepare for the Literacy Passport Test, a mandatory test for all sixth-graders.
The ideas for their other books have come from interacting with teachers and children, they said.
"We need to be on the front line of classrooms to write textbooks," Woodie said. "You've got to know what the teachers want and the kids need."
The critical part of this process, she said, is translating their own experiences to paper in a clear text that is practical and easy to understand.
This can be hard work, Woodie said, but after producing books together for about 12 years, the process is getting easier for them.
Ayyildiz pointed to another problem.
"The books are distributed throughout the U.S. and reach a tremendous range of teachers and students. The lessons in them must appeal to all," she said.
Ayyildiz and Woodie have known each other for about 15 years and have been writing textbooks together for about 12 years.
They work alone at their homes - Woodie in a rustic house in rural Botetourt County and Ayyildiz in the Hunting Hills section of Roanoke County. They critique each other's work and frequently meet at one of their houses to work together.
They balance their writing careers with being wives and mothers.
Ayyildiz, 54, lives with her husband, Vedii, and keeps tabs on their three grown children.
Woodie, 44, and husband, Neal Cook, have two school-age children.
Both Ayyildiz and Woodie are graduates of the Hollins College Creative Writing program. But they did not meet there - their meeting was coincidental.
Woodie explained that as a result of the Hollins program she wrote some poetry and wanted someone to read it at a program. She called the Hollins College office and was given the name of Ayyildiz as a possible reader.
Their meetings made them both realize they were compatible and had the same philosophy and teaching methods.
"Our brains get together and click," Ayyildiz said. "We have the same working methods and same thoughts."
Their writing styles are so similar, she said, that they can produce a book of one voice.
"No one can tell which of us wrote any particular passage," Ayyildiz said.
Ayyildiz said she regards her partnership with Woodie to be almost perfect.
"We've never had a fight," she said. "I don't think I could ever find another partner I could work with."
One reason they can work together so well, Woodie said, is because they both grew up in the same environment and in families with the same values. Ayyildiz grew up in rural West Virginia, and Woodie in rural Botetourt County.
And, professionally they seem to click.
In addition to their joint writings, each has written other material alone. Ayyildiz has published two books of poetry. Woodie has published a book on innovative teaching which she wrote with Mignon Chubb-Hale, a Roanoke teacher. She also writes a monthly personal column for the weekly newspaper, The Fincastle Herald.
"I love writing, and I love kids," Ayyildiz said.
And that seemed to sum it up for both of them.
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