Sharing Control

One of the first goals I had was to foster a sense of control for each woman in the group. During the VALTA course we had discussed how traditional school experiences can limit students' control over their learning or rob them of it altogether. Some students may experience almost no freedom to choose time, place, content or method. Even something as simple as when to go to the bathroom or get a drink may be determined by someone else.

In addition to experiences they may have had in school, the women in the writing group often had little or no control over many parts of their lives: the type and availability of work, finances and education, custody of and access to their children, relationships dominated by violent partners and parents, and a social system which offered them few opportunities to make meaningful substantive changes on their own terms. It was imperative that they knew they had control within the writing group.

In my Writing Out Loud training, as in the VALTA course, I'd learned about the importance of setting group guidelines. I saw this as one way to share control. At our first session, Laurie and I led a discussion about some of the fears a person might have about writing and being part of the group. Talking about fears gave the group the opportunity to address them as we created guidelines about how we would work together.