 |
| Amy (Lesniak) Hirzel |
Amy (Lesniak) Hirzel, class of 2009, was one of fourteen educators chosen to create curriculum for Write Out, a free two-week writing event running October 10th-October 24th, organized through a partnership of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service. The Write Out curriculum is a series of online activities and instructional videos focused on finding inspiration in national parks and other public spaces through place-based writing.
Hirzel’s lesson, “Contrasting Worlds,” explores the intersection between the human and natural world through poetry. Over the summer, Amy filmed her video in Northeast Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park and was inspired by the park’s story of the rise of urban industrialism and then ultimately the crumbling of those rust-belt industries. In her video she encourages students, educators, and the public to “recognize the rich umber of autumn leaves in rusting smokestacks, the flash of bronze of the common carp in the swinging train bell, the cicada hum in the cadence of your Doc Martens.” 
As an Integrated Language Arts student at Ashland University, she refined her love of poetry and teaching. Whether staying up late in a computer lab writing poetry for Dr. Fleming’s workshop or reading student submissions to Passages Literary Magazine, Amy knew that she always wanted poetry to be a part of her life, and eventually her classroom. After graduation, Amy has taught high school students the importance of the written word for the last thirteen years.
Hirzel has worked her entire teaching career to elevate students’ voices and create opportunities for all her students to express themselves through creative writing. She is ecstatic to have her ideas and lessons on a national stage to help even more students fall in love with the poetry of nature. For the last eight years at Holy Name High School, Amy has given countless opportunities to her students to express themselves in her classes, but has also been a co-moderator for the NCTE REALM Award-Winning Splash Magazine of the Arts as well as created the new Next Wave Poetry Contest for local Catholic elementary students.
In addition to working with her own students, since 2017, Hirzel has been a consultant for the National Writing Project at Kent State University, an organization focused on teaching teachers how to teach writing. Through her work on their Teacher Consultant Council, Amy has helped showcase students across Ohio through her K-12 Write Where You Are Poetry Contest open to all Ohio students, and she has helped area teachers incorporate more poetry into their classrooms through presenting at the Write Where You Are conference this past summer.
Let Amy’s lesson and materials inspire you this October or anytime you find yourself inspired by the nature around you by viewing her video “Contrasting Worlds” at https://writeout.nwp.org/2021-inspirations/.
Links: Write Out Inspirations: https://writeout.nwp.org/2021-inspirations/
Handle: @thewordyteacher Hashtag: #writeout
Write Where You Are Poetry Contest: http://www.nwp-ksu.org/for-students.html
Editor of Teacher Teaching Teachers Blog: http://www.nwp-ksu.org/blog
Splash Magazine of the Arts: https://holynamehs.com/splash
Next Wave Literary Contest: https://holynamehs.com/nextwave
Contact Information: https://forms.gle/Y7abKbWqMaYgXRtw9
