“Off the Block” is an original essay written by Tyler Tran when he was in 5th grade attending Joseph R Dawe Jr Elementary School. This essay was chosen as a national Top Ten Winner out of thousands of entries submitted for the Summer 2013 contest.
Up until the third and fourth grade, Tyler used to dislike writing in school. He explains, “My third grade teacher was Ms. Noble. She was a tough love teacher. She pushed me hard especially because she knew I had a lot of potential. She made me do more challenging work and that’s why I always put in all my effort when I work. The next year in fourth grade, I had yet another supportive and caring teacher, Mrs. Murphy. She also pushed so I could reach my true potential. She made learning fun and easy. Most of the time, I barely knew I was learning!
“I still miss her along with Ms. Noble, but I couldn’t have done it without my writing tutor Mrs. Zabinsky, she is the one who introduced me to the contest. She is patient with me and teaches me strategies to make writing easier, and sound better when I reread it. She gives me more confidence in myself when I write. When I work with her, she doesn’t turn down my ideas right away, she tweaks them slowly and slightly at a time, so I don’t notice the idea changing.
“Mrs. Zabinsky is a retired teacher with a lot of experience. I wouldn’t have been published three times or have made it as a Top Ten writer without Ms. Noble, Mrs. Murphy, and Mrs. Zabinsky. If I ever need advice or just want to say, “Hi,” I can visit Ms. Noble and Mrs. Murphy at the Joseph R. Dawe Elementary School, and I can just call Mrs. Zabinsky. Some of my goals for the future are to continue to be published and maybe someday be a professional writer. That’s my writing journey and my future goals for myself, for now.”
Tyler has now been accepted for publication eight times for his creative poetry and essay writing. To read his Top Ten essay, click here. To learn more about our national writing contests, visit www.poeticpower.com.
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