The Day I Met a Classroom Full of Authors

A True Story from Ms. Yelkovich’s Third-Grade Class

Yesterday, I walked into Ms. Alicia Yelkovich’s third-grade classroom at St. Luke School in Columbus, Georgia, carrying some of my books and just a tiny bit of nervousness.

Now, you may wonder, “Why would a teacher be nervous about going to school?

Well, I had been an educator for 43 years, but I spent most of those years teaching teenagers, college students, and adults. Third-graders? That was a different adventure!

As I walked toward the classroom, I wondered, Will they understand what I want to tell them? Will I know what to say? Will I be able to keep their attention?

I soon discovered I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

The moment I entered the room, I could feel the excitement.

There they were, Evelyn, Irbey, Everett, Landon, Ellis, Grant, Eleanor, Olivia, Priscilla, Bobby, Joshua, Kate, Quinn, and their classmates, ready and waiting.

I smiled.

“Good afternoon, authors!”

Yes, I called them authors.

Some of them looked surprised.

But I meant it.

“You are authors,” I told them, “because authors are people who have stories to tell, and you have stories to tell!”

Then something wonderful happened.

They began telling me about writing!

Wait a Minute, Who Is Teaching Whom?

The students told me about the personal narratives they were writing. They talked about the writing process and

some of the challenges they had faced.

“Dialogue can be hard,” someone explained.

“Spelling can be hard, too!” another added.

I smiled because I understood exactly what they meant.

“Guess what?” I told them. “Those are things authors have to work on, too!”

Their eyes grew wide.

I explained that when I write a book, I don't simply sit down, write it once, and send it off to become a book.

I plan.

I write.

I revise.

I edit.

I make corrections.

Sometimes I even have to go back and change things I thought were already finished.

Suddenly, the writing process they had been learning in third grade didn't seem like just another school assignment.

Published authors use it, too!

Then the questions started flying.

“Do you write other kinds of books?”

“How long does it take you to write a book?”

“Who made the pictures?”

“What kind of books have you written?”

I had brought some of my other books with me, so we talked about different genres.

Then I learned something that made me smile.

Two best friends in the class were already working together on a fantasy story. One was writing the story, and the

other was creating the illustrations!

“Now that,” I said, “is teamwork!”

 About My Age!

Everything was going wonderfully.

We were talking about books.

We were talking about writing.

We were talking about becoming authors.

And then somehow, we started talking about my age.

“I’m 72,” I told them.

The room came alive.

Eyes widened.

Faces changed.

And then one sweet voice said something I certainly wasn't expecting:

“I thought you were in your twenties!”

Well!

I liked this class more and more!

I laughed, and suddenly everyone had something to say.

“My grandma is—”

“My grandpa is—”

“My mom is—”

“My dad is—”

Before long, I knew the ages of half the families in Columbus!

At least, it certainly felt that way.

The students stared at me as though they were trying to solve the biggest mystery of the school year:

How could Dr. Smith possibly be 72?

Their expressions were priceless.

I was having so much fun that I almost forgot we were supposed to be talking about writing.

Almost.

Fortunately, Ms. Yelkovich was still in charge.

She gently guided her little authors and their visiting author back to the lesson.

The Question That Became This Story

Soon, our time together was about to end.

I had arrived wondering whether I could connect with third-graders.

Now I didn't want our conversation to end.

Then someone asked, “Will you come back?”

“Perhaps when you begin your unit on poetry,” I said.

And then Joshua asked me a question.

“Will you write a story about us?”

I looked around the room at all those bright faces.

How could I say no?

“Yes,” I promised. “I will.”

So, Joshua...

I kept my promise.

This is your story.

But it isn't only a story about the day an author visited Ms. Yelkovich's third-grade class.

It is a story about the day one author walked into a classroom and discovered a whole room full of authors waiting

for her.

I came to St. Luke School hoping to teach you something about writing.

Instead, you reminded me of something I had learned many years ago:

Every writer begins with a blank page, an idea, and the courage to say, “I have a story worth telling.”

So keep writing, Evelyn, Irbey, Everett, Landon, Ellis, Grant, Eleanor, Olivia, Priscilla, Bobby, Joshua, Kate,

Quinn, and every young author in Ms. Yelkovich's class.

Write the funny stories.

Write the exciting stories.

Write the fantasy stories.

Write the stories only you can tell.

And when spelling gets tricky, dialogue gets confusing, or your first draft doesn't sound quite right, don't give up.

Revise it.

Polish it.

Try again.

Because somewhere inside that third-grade classroom may be a future teacher, illustrator, poet, journalist—or published author.

And one day, many years from now, perhaps one of you will walk into a classroom carrying yourbook.

A child may raise a hand and ask,

“How did you become an author?”

And I hope you'll smile and say:

“It all started in third grade, when I discovered that my story mattered.”

The End...(or perhaps, for these young authors, just the beginning).

Thank you, young authors, for helping to reignite my passion for teaching and writing. Much love! God bless you all!

Dr. Marye Smith