16-17
If you are trying to produce a news sheet, statement, or any other piece of writing
as a group, the Barbiana school boys’ explanation of how they worked together to
write Letter To A Teacher may give you some ideas:
THIS IS THE WAY WE DO IT:
To start with, each of us keeps a notebook in his pocket. Every time an idea comes
up, we make a note of it. Each idea on a separate sheet, on one side of the page.
Then one day we gather together all the sheets of paper and spread them on a big
table. We look through them, one by one, to get rid of duplications. Next, we make
separate piles of the sheets that are related, and these will make up the chapters.
Every chapter is subdivided into small piles, and they will become paragraphs.
At this point we try to give a title to each paragraph. If we can’t, it means either
that the paragraph has no content or that too many things are squeezed into it. Some
paragraphs disappear. Some are broken up.
While we name the paragraphs, we discuss their logical order, until an outline is
born. With the outline set, we reorganize all the piles to follow its pattern.
We take the first pile, spread the sheets on the table, and we find the sequence for
them. And so we begin to put down a first draft of the text.
We mimeograph that part so that we each can have a copy in front of us. Then,
scissors, paste, and colored pencils. We shuffle it all again. New sheets are added. We
mimeograph again.
A race begins now for all of us to find any word that can be crossed out, any excess
adjectives, repetitions, lies, difficult words, overly long sentences, and any two
concepts that are forced into one sentence.
We call in one outsider after another. We prefer that they not have had too much
school. We ask them to read aloud. And we watch to see if they have understood
what we meant to say.
We accept their suggestions if they clarify the text. We reject any suggestions
made in the name of caution.