The Department of English of the University of Santo Tomas hosted the 1st Philippines Writing Project last October 2016, with two invited guests and facilitators from the University of Texas – San Antonio (UTSA).
San Antonio Writing Project Director Dr. Roxanne Henkin, together with Philippines Writing Project 2016 Workshop Co-Director Mr. Angelo Caverte, an alumnus of the UST College of Education Batch 2011, served as speakers and facilitators for the workshop-training held from October 17 to 21, 2016 for Batch 1 and October 22, 24 to 27, 2016 for Batch 2 held at the Arts and Letters Learning Resource Unit Room. The airfare of Henkin and Caverte was supported by the San Antonio Spurs Foundation, who selected the Philippines Writing Project from among other proposals.
The workshop engaged the selected faculty participants in daily journals, morning logs, and writing lessons. Participants were made to face writing fears, debunk writing myths, and eventually rediscover their writing skills by focusing on personal and informal writing that could have been sidelined due to other school-related tasks. At the end of the training workshop, the participants were recognized as Teacher Consultants who would help improve student writing across all levels and content levels. It was expected that teacher consultants should also be able to organize similar workshops and involve other teacher participants across disciplines and various grade levels.
Writing is essential to communication, learning, and citizenship. This philosophy of writing is what the National Writing Project (NWP) believes in. Its vision is about writing in its many forms as the signature means of communication in the 21st century. It envisions a future where every person is an accomplished writer, engaged learner, and active participant in a digital, interconnected world.
The UTSA is recognized as the largest research university in the San Antonio metropolitan region, offering a wide array of academic studies in the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. It is also known for its San Antonio Writing Project that promotes the improvement of the teaching of writing and improving learning through the teachers who share their expertise with other teachers in the community.
