In order to write shoulder-to-shoulder with authors, peer advisors should engage in their own writing practice. During the year-end reflection meeting for peer advisors, we used a structured poetry exercise to consider our experience working with authors in the past year. We started by brainstorming words to represent what we learned and wanted to learn. Then we chose the ones that felt the most evocative as an anchor for each stanza of the poem. Some advisors took up the challenge of using anaphora, a rhetorical device in which there is a repeated clause at the beginning of a stanza, similar to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at our reflections through poetry.

It’s easy to turn away.
Turning words in my hands, trying to choose, wondering how it will be received;
Picking my way through doubt and confusion.

It’s easy to turn away.
A deadline pressing, an email ignored, a story that vanishes into silence;
Ignoring the guilt makes paws on my lap like a cat I am allergic to.

It’s easy to turn away.

– Jamie Melton

In reflective pondering we delve deep,
In reflective pondering our insights sleep.

Through windows of learning our visions soar,
Through windows of learning we explore.

In collaborative efforts ideas unite,
In collaborative efforts knowledge takes flight.

– Sarah DiMaria

To make your writing more powerful,
We collaborate with you to read your story;
We collaborate with you to ask questions about your story;
We collaborate with you to push for more information about your story.

To make your writing more powerful,
We listen to your story;
We listen to your feedback reflection;
We listen to your questions.

To make your writing more powerful,
We are true fans of your story;
We love your story;
We give feedback, but we still want it to be your story.

Your writing is powerful.

– Sharon Johnson

Writing to process our thoughts
and learn something new about ourselves.
Journeying into the unknown dark matter.

Writing to process our thoughts
and seek empathy in the mundane.
Finding the lost spellsongs to conjure our understanding.

Writing to process our thoughts
and search for truth in love.
Community in our common unity.

– Erin Oakley

First teacher story:
If you approach every teacher story like it’s your first teacher story, you have a broader canvas with which to paint a picture.

First teacher story:
If you treat every teacher story like it’s your first teacher story, it becomes a coveted first edition.

First teacher story:
If you become nostalgic with every teacher story like it’s your first teacher story, you make unseen connections across contexts.

First teacher story:
If you recognize that a teacher story may be someone’s first teacher story, you become a number one fan.

First teacher story:
If you want someone to share their first teacher story, you peer advise their…

First teacher story.

– Anthony Stetzenmeyer

Wake up call!

This work is invigorating!
Others’ experiences make me introspective;
I’m inspired by the things that connect us.

This work is invigorating!
Without this work
I find myself tending toward stagnation.

This work is invigorating!
Helping others process their acts of leadership
Helps me recognize the leader in me.

– Beverly Stuckwisch

Somebody shows you their garden.
In it are plants
you have never seen, and some you have
in your own garden.

“These are such nice plants!”, you say, touching
a nettle by accident. “Have you ever thought
about pruning this one?” you ask,
pointing to a big rosy shrub.

They stand with your suggestion, laughing a little
as you itch your fingertip.
“That could be good,” they say.
That could be good.

– Tom Snarsky

At Kaleidoscope, we employ a staff of peer advisors to support authors with their writing. Members of the editorial staff also peer advise as part of their work. All of our staff is comprised of Knowles Senior Fellows who have been trained in various ways to support writing—both to process experiences and to facilitate making teacher knowledge public. You can read more about our Peer Advising Program in Peer Advising: A Lever to Promote Teacher Storytelling.

Citation

DiMaria, S., Johnson, S., Melton, J., Oakley, E., Snarsky, T., Stetzenmeyer, A., Stuckwisch, B. (2025). Poetry corner: Growing through peer advising. Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives, 11(2), https://knowlesteachers.org/resource/poetry-corner-by-kaleidoscope-peer-advisors.