THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406170272
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940619 LENGTH: Medium
Les Fortune, that is. Last year's citywide Teacher of the Year, Fortune teaches reading at the Kempsville Road school. He hit upon the idea of using writing to create more interest in reading and formed the Kemps Landing Writers Guild three years ago.
{REST} ``I wanted the students to become more involved with reading, to do more than leaf through the pages and write a book report,'' said Fortune. ``I wanted them to interact with the book and to express themselves, their opinions.''
His unconventional methods have clicked. Students in the writers guild meet voluntarily, arriving at 7 a.m., about 45 minutes before first bell, on Tuesdays and some Thursdays. Sixteen students started in September; 13 remained at the end of the year.
The writers thrive under Fortune's tutelage.
``He makes learning fun,'' said Aaron Reed.
Lisa Neely called Fortune ``more of a friend than a teacher.''
He has ``the best personality I've ever seen in a teacher,'' said Drew Mansfield.
As the precocious would-be writers realize, there is a method to Fortune's madness.
``If I want to teach them reading and writing, I have to find a way to make it exciting, to make it a passion,'' Fortune said. One of the ways Fortune makes that possible is by finding material that sixth- and seventh-graders will want to read.
``The classics are important, but not everybody is going to find Silas Marner interesting, for example,'' he said. ``We read novels certainly. We also find that the newspaper is a great way to get students involved in reading, writing, thinking.''
Despite commonplace criticism of the news media, Fortune theorizes that daily journalism has advantages for his hopefuls.
``If newspapers are written for high school-level, then my kids are reading above grade-level. In our discussions, they are thinking about the events as we read about them. They are writing about them and, sometimes, they stand and speak about them.''
Fortune's writers have become accomplished at this. Students have routinely had letters-to-the-editor published in the Beacon and other local journals, such as the Flagship. One member of the guild, Lisa Cotten, had eight published in a nine-week grading period.
Cotten is one of two editors in the class. She and Kathryn Luetke stay busy with their writing and editing assignments.
``We enter the articles on the word processor at my house, edit (each member's) copy working from rough drafts and contribute our own writing,'' said Cotten.
This year's big project was a group effort titled ``What's Wrong With Public Education?''
When Fortune decided the writers had gained enough experience in expressing their opinions through the letters to the editor forum, he shifted gears.
``I thought I'd raise the stakes, see what they could do with objective reporting, leaving out their own opinions, interviewing others and writing about that,'' he said. Each writer submitted three to five pages on the topic.
The result was a nine-page paper that is well researched and raises pertinent questions about a subject in which writers guild members have a vested interest. The students elicited responses from parents, educators and public officials on questions such as private vs. public schools, crime and violence in the culture and in school, gender bias, school prayer, public school bashing and returning to the basics.
It marks the final chapter, however, for the Kemps Landing group. The school has closed for good. Next fall students will attend either Kempsville Middle School or the sprawling new Larkspur campus. Fortune expressed some sadness.
``Kemps Landing has been a special environment for all concerned. We've had the last three Teachers of the Year. The staff will move intact to the new school, but some of the kids will be reassigned to Kempsville,'' he said.
Fortune will continue his maverick methods at Larkspur.
``If I'm dramatic, and I am, it's to draw them out, get them to think for themselves,'' said Fortune, who also teaches at St. Leo's College. ``I'm controversial to force students to work at thinking, reading and writing. If they can't do those things, they aren't going anywhere in life.''
by CNB