A Belief Statement Inspired by Bull Durham

The Backstory

When Stacey and I planned our final podcast episode of the season, we focused on our beliefs about writing instruction, and I googled my own beliefs. I have to say– for the most part– the AI engines got it right. I know I have written about my beliefs in places before, so AI had content and material to pull from. You, too, can read my AI-created beliefs with a little prompt engineering. However, I am taking on the challenge of writing my beliefs better than AI. 

Beliefs matter since they drive practices, schedules, and budgets. When self-doubt or confusion poke at me, it helps me to check in with my beliefs. While they’ve evolved a bit over time, the core has stayed solid. 

A Powerful Mentor

I watched Bull Durham a long time ago, but one scene lingers with me. If you’ve watched the movie, you might remember when Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner, lets Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) know about his beliefs. Even though Kevin’s voice has stayed with me, full credit should go to the writer, Ron Shelton. Even without a couple key words (you can look uo the speech if you are super curious), this speech is an incredible mentor text for powerful belief-writing. 

“I believe in the soul, …  the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curveball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.” –Quoted from ESPN

Using Crash’s framework, here’s my try:

I believe in choice, mentor texts, the motivation of an audience, and the joy in celebrations, and that everyone learns to write with understandable instruction, accessible scaffolds, and relevant, responsive, and kind feedback. I believe technology provides pathways. I believe motor coordination, language, spelling, and syntax provide critical foundational skills. I believe that there ought to be a teacher, informed by research and their own writing life, who leans into every student, focusing on what they can learn from that student and celebrating what that student can do. I believe in stories, writing communities, agency, and unleashing every child’s ability to express themselves when they have time and opportunities for intentional practice. I believe in stories, speeches, love letters, great American novels, and words after words that lead to insights, revelations, and new understandings. And I believe in the recursive, unpredictable, and individual writing process that empowers writers to change the world.

A Summer Challenge

If you haven’t ever written your beliefs down about writing, I recommend doing so, and it could be a great summer challenge. This Crash framework was pretty powerful! This could be a great summer challenge… In many places, writing has become less of a priority than reading, and its instructional minutes have varied. Therefore, those instructional minutes are precious, and the more you lead with your beliefs, the more likely it is that you will see positive results and growing writers.