The Glazer & Lorton Writing Institute is a joint professional development effort of the University of Miami and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). Named after Zelda Glazer and Eveleen Lorton, two of the original co-founders, the Writing Institute has served M-DCPS teachers and their students since 1984. Part of the magic of the Writing Institute lies in its philosophy that in order to be an effective teacher of writing, teachers do just that; they write. They learn about writing from some of the country’s leading experts and then they write and share what they have created with their classmates. Each day brings new presenters and new purposes for writing. Each day there are more reasons for writing, for sharing, and for writing again.
By the end of the two weeks, the participants choose their best piece to revise, edit, and then submit for publication in Sun Strokes, the Institute’s official anthology. Writing Institute participants claim that the greatest reward of the Institute is a renewed vigor for teaching.
Comments from prior attendees: